The Human Cultures house held a reception for current and prospective archaeology majors on Sept. 12. A panel of Professor Biwer and four students, one from each class year, were available to answer questions.
Prospective major, Ike Paull ’28, was asked about his thoughts on the program. His interest in Archaeology began with Graham Hancock, a known charlatan who he will get to research in Professor Biwer’s first year seminar– Bizarrchaeology: Evaluating What We Believe About the Past. The student reports a high satisfaction in a 200-level course with Professor Andrew Dufton. His dream excavation would be in the often-overlooked Amazon rainforest, drawing on new technologies to find ruins hidden through the trees.
Siobhan Morgan ’27 introduced herself as an enthusiast for cultural archaeology in the Mediterranean. She is happy with Dickinson’s Classics department as a double-major, and with the opportunity to use the Keck Archaeology Laboratory as a training ground for analysis in the field. Her interest in archaeology started with Latin in high school, and she is glad Dickinson College allows her to continue that passion.
Leo Marandola ’25, is the house manager for the Human Cultures house says he came to Dickinson explicitly for it’s Archaeology major. He proudly spoke of a month-long project he did in Sardinia on Bronze Age civilizations and his happiness with a course taught by Professor Dufton on Bronze Age archaeology. He believes Dickinson’s Archaeology department has set him up to succeed in graduate school through good teaching, the chance to go into the field and close cooperation with professors.
Finally, Professor Biwer, reflecting on the field of archaeology, sees both promising and limited futures for his discipline. His first year seminar focuses on what we believe about the past, and warning signs with charlatans such as Graham Hancock exploiting gullible masses for profit, such as by using connections to launder the reputations of companies such as Netflix. This phenomenon of pseudoarcheology varies from the most secluded conspiracy blogs to “relatively” mainstream outlets such as the Joe Rogan Experience. Biwer believes more should be done to counter these lies about the past, and hopes his students are able to handle them.
