set in the 1950s with the focus on an aging Indiana Jones (played by Harrison Ford) who’s been
out of the limelight for a while and (apparently) raring for a new adventure. This movie begins
with the kidnapping of Indiana Jones by Russian soldiers. The leader of this group, Ukrainian
KGB agent, Irina Spalko, uses telepathy to seek out artifacts that have paranormal powers for
warfare. This film portrays an unrealistic version of archaeology, one that involves dangerous
weapons, state held military intelligence secrets, international spies, and many ulterior motives.
Additionally, perhaps more seriously, the film gives credence to the fringe theory of pseudo-
scholar Erick von Daniken, who claims “that our human ancestors were too dumb to have, all by
themselves, using their own abilities, intelligence, and labor, produced the admittedly spectacular
works of engineering, architecture, mathematics, astronomy, botany, and zoology in the
archaeological record” (Feder 2014, 231). At the end of the film, viewers are led to believe that
the development of some, and maybe many, great civilizations was dependent on benevolent
extraterrestrial guidance. This segment of the film is particularly damaging for mainstream
archaeologists and anthropologists who, in the absence of extraterrestrial visits to Earth, operate
on the premise that human beings are inherently creative, inventive, and intelligent beings that
are capable of many amazing feats, such as building pyramids or mapping the cosmos.
Educating the public about the true role of an archaeologist is clearly not the goal of this
movie, or any others in the franchise; however, this is not to say that this movie does nothing for
the field of archaeology. In many ways Indiana Jones, is actually a pretty capable and clever
archaeologist. First, he displays vast and detailed knowledge of ancient cultures. When sent a
letter from an old archaeologist friend including a passage of impenetrable looking pictographs,
Indy quickly deciphers the text and notes they are part of an ancient South American language.
While investigating remains in a crypt in Nazca, Peru, Indy notes that the practice of binding
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