Indiana Jones bad for archaeology? Debate  Yes? or No?

Is Indiana Jones Bad for Archaeology?  YES by Ray Burke - Ancient Archeology Assistant Editor

Archaeology is the search for facts...forget about lost cities and exotic travel...' so said Indiana Jones in the film Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989). Yet the last part of that sentence typifies Indiana Jones and the facts get left by the wayside. His is the life of adventure, where skulduggery, quests and secret societies haunt the world. Yes, these may only be films, but what impression does it give about archaeology, when any self-respected and professional archaeologist is always compared to a fictional adventurer, rather than being appreciated for their real work.

It all started early for Indiana Jones, enjoying adventures that school boys and adults could only dream about. Later, his most famous adventures involved quests for supernatural objects, the Ark of the Covenant and the Holy Grail. You can't afford to take mythology at face value,' he says, but off he goes gallivanting around the world; adventure over archaeology. His every adventure has a conspiracy, whether it's Nazis or evil temple worshippers, and there are secret societies such as the Brotherhood of the Cruciform Sword who are sworn to protect the secret of the Holy Grail. Even for an Inter-War period film, there is also a lack of proper procedures and often destruction of viable property is used to reach artefacts. Who can forget that scene in the church in Venice when Indiana Jones discovers that the tomb of Sir Richard lies beneath the 'X' marked on the floor and proceeds to hammer a hole into it, in what is a scene of comic relief. This was an irresponsible action and prejudices people to the way archaeologists behave.

Indiana Jones is driven by a passion to find things. Many of his colleagues and rivals have obsessions and personal ambitions leading to deceit and double-crosses. Even his own father, a historian, is obsessed with finding the Holy Grail and bizarrely states The search for the Grail is not archaeology, but a race against evil.'; more supernatural clap-trap and definitely not the words of a devoted professional. The life of Indiana Jones is more adventure than work. Nothing is learned, nor nothing gained through or about archaeology. Through the films, archaeologists are trivialized as treasure hunters, so archaeology is also trivialised. Archaeologists are seen as glory seekers with maps to lost lands, as greedy grave robbers intent on outwitting the 'savage natives', and enduring all sorts of creepy-crawlies and booby-traps to find their treasure. Belief in archaeological truth and evidence is stretched as the implausibility of the storylines slights the profession, which in turn causes people to become wary of archaeological claims.

The films have also stirred controversy, alienating audiences in Asia in the film Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, which they saw as depicting Asians as untrustworthy, child-enslavers and sacrifices. It also gives credible Biblical Archaeology a bashing in Raiders of the Lost Ark, again making archaeologists seem either ultra pious or completely skeptical of heavenly powers. In both cases it could serve to confuse the public with myth and innuendo interwoven into history. Indiana Jones is such a cult figure with his trademark fedora and rugged character that such things are overlooked in favor of action and box office dollars.

A real-life Indiana Jones had been unearthed. He was the late explorer Gene Savoy. He discovered a lost civilization deep in the Amazon jungle. Now, the mythical Cloud People have emerged from history, but Savoy was marginalized as more coverage was given to scientists who examined the mummified bodies discovered at the site. The archaeological community was more interested in the scientists' research than in Savoy's exploits and he continued to be ignored. There was and is no place for an Indiana Jones in the real world.

Is it a coincidence that because of the Indiana Jones films, there has been a rise in maverick adventurers claiming to have found the secrets of ancient civilisations? These non-archaeologists roam the world, professing great knowledge, and write popular new-age books. It seems that the films broke the mould, allowing discussion and literature to appear about the Ark and the Grail outside of the biblical stories and the Arthur legends. Before the Indiana Jones films, Hollywood archaeologists dealt with untold treasures and haunted tombs, but the arrival of Indiana Jones has added the esoteric factor and now everyone has joined in. This has caused controversy between new age writers and professional archaeologists. Do the faux Indiana Jones' know more than the dedicated archaeologists? I think not, they only offer creative stories, but no archaeological proofs.

The Indiana Jones factor has made adventurism in archaeology desirable, but upon closer inspection, many of the public and would-be archaeologists are disillusioned by the actual reality of archaeology, which is academically based and hard physical work. And that is when they see that Indiana Jones has failed them; his life the stuff of Hollywood myth. And that is why Indiana Jones is bad for archaeology.

Is Indiana Jones Bad for Archaeology?  NO by Jon Coe - Correspondent

When my eldest daughter was around eight years old, one summer evening I went out and rented the first Indiana Jones movie, Raiders of the Lost Arc.' We watched it together and to my pleasant surprise my daughter absolutely loved it. Weeks later, my daughter announced that she was going to be an Archaeologist when she grew up.

Appreciating the inspiration that such a movie can give to someone, the following week I proceeded to rent the second in the series, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.' My daughter loved that too and the following week, we watched the third, Indiana Jones and the Last crusade' co-starring Sean Connery, as Indiana's father, Professor Henry Jones, Sr.

I had watched all three of these movies in my younger years and I had always found them entertaining. I never thought that I would be sitting on my living room sofa, glued to the television set with my daughter, several years later, watching something that I thought would have been outdated.

When my daughter turned twelve, we went on a father-daughter camping trip together. She loved nature and was particularly enthralled by the whole outside- adventure experience. The first day, we hiked and looked for firewood, returning hours later with arms laden with twigs and branches.

That evening, my daughter began to empty out her pockets in front of the camp fire and it was quite evident that she had spent a great deal her of time, unknown to me, collecting interesting stones and metallic objects.

We camped for two nights and eventually returned home. The first evening at home, I was invited into my daughter's bedroom. I was shown a very large selection of geological findings, dating back about four years and spanning several family outings and vacations at the beach.

In my daughter's sixteenth year, she suggested one Friday night that we watch all of the Indiana Jones' movies all over again. I didn't mind at all. I think we must have watched them all over the course of that weekend. During the movies, my daughter made references to certain scenes that had become clearer to her, than the her first viewing.

My daughter was attending a very unique high school at that time, where the children were encouraged to follow their creative instincts. As the time grew near to her final years at that school, her interests had become very clear.

Everything that she believed in had been quite clearly reflected in her portfolio, right down to her extremely detailed sculptures and elaborate oil paintings. Although she met the standards of an artist at every level, her art portrayed the interests of an Archaeologist as well.

It was during this time that my wife and I learned that my grandfather, who was a successful oil painter of his time, had embarked upon an Archaeological expedition during the earlier part of the twentieth century. As we found out, my grandfather had traveled across Africa with his oil paints and canvases, lending companionship and support to an Archaeologist friend and his findings.

Upon hearing the news of my grandfather and his travels, my daughter felt supported on many levels. Art-Archaeology.... As simple as that! In fact we found out that many Archaeologists are proficient artists, as they tend to document their findings with crayon and paper.

My daughter won a scholarship from her high school and was able to attend a local art college which was very conveniently affiliated with a local university. She has spent the past three and a half years pursuing her dreams and taking classes in anthropology and fine art, amongst other things.

My daughter is now twenty one years old. She spent the summer of 2007 on a Greek Island, painting in the morning and excavating an Archaeological site in the afternoon. When I ask her why she wants to be an Archaeologist, she replies, "I just want to find out where we all come from."

Two years ago, my daughter gave me a wonderful Christmas present; It was the entire CD collection of the Indian Jones movies and, in full wide screen.

Before my daughter went to Greece in 2007, she splurged on a very nice hat for herself. When ever I look at her now, I see Indiana Jones and I just hope there that there will be no Temple of Doom or Lost Ark in her future.

So, the answer is NO, Indiana Jones is not bad for Archaeology! My daughter likes spiders, but she does find Sean Connery a little frightening.