Perkins, TJ (2025) Mound builders, mound blunders: mythmaking in nineteenth century American archaeology. [Preprint]
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Abstract
In this paper, I critically examine and overturn a narrative from the history of American archaeology wherein historians have classified the overthrowing of the Mound Builders
mythology in the late 19th century as a triumph for science. Despite there being ample evidence that Indigenous peoples constructed the mound earthworks of the eastern USA, a mythical “lost race” was invented that embodied the colonial aims of the new America. The triumph for science view relies on a naïve demarcation criterion, wherein science is identifiable by its association with the correct hypothesis. I argue that the triumph narrative obscures the historical development of archaeological practice that progressed in steps, offering a view of science that is continuous and cumulative, making it difficult to draw a fine line between science and mythmaking at any point in the 19th century. I call for the reclassification of this episode as a demonstration of the ways that epistemically rigorous methodologies can still contribute to falsehoods in a science entangled with cultural aims.
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| Item Type: | Preprint | ||||||
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| Keywords: | Mound Builders, archaeology, demarcation, colonialism | ||||||
| Subjects: | Specific Sciences > Archaeology Specific Sciences > Historical Sciences General Issues > History of Philosophy of Science General Issues > History of Science Case Studies General Issues > Science vs. Pseudoscience |
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| Depositing User: | TJ Perkins | ||||||
| Date Deposited: | 03 Dec 2025 12:04 | ||||||
| Last Modified: | 03 Dec 2025 12:04 | ||||||
| Item ID: | 27349 | ||||||
| Subjects: | Specific Sciences > Archaeology Specific Sciences > Historical Sciences General Issues > History of Philosophy of Science General Issues > History of Science Case Studies General Issues > Science vs. Pseudoscience |
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| Date: | 2025 | ||||||
| URI: | https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/27349 |
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