Stephen Shennan, professor of archaeology at University College London, says that there has been a degree of nationalism because the north Americans cannot believe that they do not have the oldest site. There is a feeling that it's a blow against U.S. imperialism . The evidence is open to different interpretations, so people tend to choose their favorite interpretation in terms of their biases. There is a certain tendency to cast aspersions on other people's excavation techniques. The whole thing is very fraught.
People get very defensive and sensitive.
Guidon has not published as much as she, perhaps, could have. But some commentators have suggested that the skeptical attitude toward her is also partly because of her gender and nationality. At 66, she still excavates indefatigably despite having two metal pins in her legs. Because of the poor state of funding in Brazil, only five archaeologists work there and only two of the 420 sites are fully excavated. The North Americans' doubts over Guidon's claims concern the charcoal remains and chipped pebbles that she believes are manmade.