Project Assignment
For this class project you will be exploring other claims made by pseudoarchaeologists about visitors to the Americas from the Old World, and the impact these might have on our understanding of the history of our continent and its peoples.
First, pick one of the possible "visitors" to the New World from the list I have provided below. These are all discussed in your textbook and can be found in the list of blogs and web pages written by archaeologists about pseudoarchaeology (see the Class Project prompt for the list of links). Next, put together a brief presentation that addresses the following questions:
o Who are the visitors this claim is referring to?
o Who has promoted (and is promoting) this claim
o Have these "visitors" been featured in a TV show, movie, or a "documentary"? If so, where? (please provide a link to a video or webpage)
o What evidence has been given to support the presence of these visitors in the Americas before Columbus?
o What have archaeologists said or done with regards to this claim (for example, have they conducted excavations, done laboratory analyses, etc.)?
o Who do you think would be happy to see this claim be true (in other words, whose confirmation bias would this be supporting)?
o Who do you think is harmed by this claim? Why?
List of other possible "visitors" to the Americas before Columbus:
o Saint Brendan of Ireland
o Prince Madog/Madoc of Wales
o Celts and Mystery Hill
o Vikings in America (the invisible kind) - the Newport Tower, the Kensington Runestone, the Vinland Map
o African visitors to the Americas
Format your assignment according to the following formatting requirements:
o The answer should be typed, using Times New Roman font (size 12), double spaced, with one-inch margins on all sides.
o The response also includes a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student's name, the course title, and the date. The cover page is not included in the required page length.
o Also include a reference page. The Citations and references must follow APA format. The reference page is not included in the required page length.