Archaeology Magazine - September/October 1989 - 2

Flying

This

Issue

Neanderthals

Mail from readers tells us how
the magazine is "playing" across
the land. Letters appearing in this
issue, for example, reflect a mixed
reaction to our May/June coverage
of De Soto's bloody trek through the
Southeast - praise from a Chickasaw Indian, dismay from a concerned Hispanic, scrutiny by fellow
archaeologists. In recent months,
readers have commended us for
"breathing life into the field of archaeology with good writing and attractive design," for reporting "finely
applied archaeological sleuthing,"
and for printing "stunning" covers as
well as "significant and enlightening
articles." We have also had our
knuckles rapped for suppressing hypotheses "different from mainstream
thinking," for "gossiping" about Qaddafi, for insulting the intelligence
of readers by affirming the historical validity of the New Testament,
and for printing outrageous graphics.
We read with glee a one-page tract headlined "Top Experts Say:
Neanderthals Flew Here from Outer Space'," wherein archaeology
students at Boston University reacted to a piece of art depicting a Neanderthal male suspended over a Grecian footpath. The flyer spoofs an illustration that accompanied an article by Curtis Runnels, titled "Greece before
the Greeks" (March/April). With collegiate bravado, it proclaims the
"incredible discovery reported in a recent issue of Archaeology" and
"quotes" Professor Runnels as saying, "We haven't quite worked out the
aerodynamics of it yet, but we're confident that Neanderthals could levitate and move through the air at a fairly rapid rate." The lampoon goes
on to say: "The fact that these ancient aviators had no need of mechanical assistance to perform these feats of aerobatic skill has stunning implications for human evolution. Their ability to fly assisted them in the
long journey from outer space to Earth, saving them the trouble of
building spacecraft. Neanderthals weren't as stupid as you think, but
on the other hand, they weren't exactly rocket scientists. The find will
change our view of early man. It certainly shoots 30 years of research
on trade routes all to hell." The satire concludes that it remains to be determined "exactly which galaxy these plucky prehistoric pilots came from."
We'd like to congratulate our Boston University readers for being
rather plucky themselves. We also appreciate their lighthearted spirit.

Gl.
Peter A. Young
Editor-in-Chief

2 Archaeology

AN
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Volume
42 Number
5 September/October
1989
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Archaeology Magazine - September/October 1989

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