Hoaxyz   

     Allan Krill, Professor of Geology

 

Stone Age Archaeology and Paleoanthropology (study of ancient humans) are not natural sciences. They are interdisciplinary fields that combine elements of natural and social sciences with humanities. They exist mainly to inspire and entertain us. I think of them as sports. Their funding depends on public interest and enthusiasm people want to know about human origins and history, and they enjoy good stories about unsolved mysteries and exciting new discoveries.

Major mistakes or falsifications in archaeology and paleoanthropology are not fatal; no plane will crash or bridge will collapse because of an exaggeration, an error, or a hoax. I have begun to realize that just like in professional sports, cheating should be expected and guarded against. A hoax can make the difference between winning and losing, between success and failure. But unlike sports, no one seems to think that academic professionals or their teams would ever cheat. I think they would, and they do. It's surprisingly easy. A fossil tooth or bone fragment or piece of chipped flint can be found only once, usually in a remote place, and there are no impartial witnesses.


Left: Human footprints in a layer of false 'lava ash', Laetoli, E. Africa. The layer is young lake mud, now hidden from geologists. It is not millions of years old.
Right: False 'artifacts' (fresh, with no iron stains) from a recent Norwegian excavation. The artifacts were planted by someone on the team to help the dig succeed.


It should not be surprising that there are hoaxes. A successful excavation or dig can bring millions of dollars in funding, which pays not only for the dig, but supports labs and administrations and the salaries of many researchers. A dig with nothing found is a disaster, because no follow-up study or publications are warranted. With a simple hoax, a dig's success is certain, and another well funded dig is more likely.

The simplest hoax is when someone secretly helps the excavation team by planting an artifact that others will find. Such discoveries can seem miraculous to the team, but everyone is willing to accept a miracle. We might say it in biblical terms: "Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap."

Experts need artifacts to demonstrate their expertise. There are many eager researchers, and relatively few artifacts to be found. In most cases, the experts don't know if an artifact was falsified, because it was secretly planted by a coworker, a student assistant, a prankster, or someone who wants to create a tourist attraction. An archaeologist or paleoanthropologist can work with a suspected fake. Their goal is to produce professional publications that demonstrate their knowledge, efforts, and talents, and to get media reports that generate public interest. It's like professional football players who need a ball in order to demonstrate their athletic ability and talents. If they don't have a leather ball of regulation size and weight, a rubber ball of any kind will do. The fans are in the stadium and want to see some action.

Hoax and fake are 'four-letter words'. An archaeologist or paleoanthropologist might suspect a hoax, but won't investigate or mention their suspicion. If a specialist were to publicly suggest that someone falsified a find, and the accusation cannot be proven, it would end his own career. Even if he is proven right, colleagues and organizations would shun him. The academic institutes and journals discourage investigation of possible hoaxes, because such discussion will harm their reputations. Maintaining their good reputations is actually their highest priority.


Stone Age archaeology in Norway was 'invented' in 1909
I hypothesize that no one actually lived in Norway in the Stone Age, when glaciers covered most of the land, and that all Stone Age finds are either misinterpreted or totally false. A firm belief Stone Age archaeology in Norway was established by Anders Nummedal, a school teacher with a geology education. In 1909 he began reporting finds of chipped stone artifacts on ancient shoreline terraces. The artifacts were supposedly lying loose on the ground, and were so obvious that they 'jump out at you'. Nummedal was given a prestigious job as an archaeologist. His colleagues eventually realized that there are no chipped stones to be found on the surface. Nummedal must have chipped the stones himself. But everyone kept quiet about it, because the belief in Nummedal's claims greatly benefitted them all. Exposure of his hoaxes would be devastating for the reputation of Norwegian archaeology.

Nummedal published photographs of his artifacts. For a geologist with experience studying and collecting Norwegian rocks, it is easy to see that his artifacts are fake. Stones lying on the ground in Norway have lichen that has grown on them Nummedal's artifacts don't. Light-colored stones that have been buried under the iron-rich sand or soil have rust stains on the surfaces Nummedal's don't.

The experts who give it any thought out to be aware of Nummedal's hoaxes, but try not to think about it. They don't cite his groundbreaking publications in their own publications. And they accept falsified new finds without question. Stone Age specialists routinely 'find' a few false artifacts during digs that are generously funded by road projects and construction projects, as required by law. The artifacts are not found on the surface, as most of Nummedal's were. They are found by digging below the surface. If artifacts had been dropped on the surface in the Stone Age at most of these sites, they would not have gotten buried. There are no geological processes that would have buried them.

There is flint in Norway, but no natural flint, and there was none in the Stone Age. Flint boulders and cobbles can be found along some modern beaches of western Norway, but not ancient uplifted beaches. Flint rocks were brought as ballast to Norway in longships in the Viking Age, and also in the Iron Age, from about 300 BCE. Flint was the most common rock on Danish beaches, and a longship required a few tons of ballast to sail to Norway. When arriving at a beach, the flint would be dumped in the shallow water before the longship was pulled up onto the beach. When the land rose, those flint boulders became exposed, and could be used to make chipped stone implements, before iron was readily available.

No Stone Age human burials or bones are found on archaeological digs, and neither are worked pieces of antler, bone, or wood. Such items could be radiocarbon dated and the DNA analyzed. Sometimes bits of charcoal or seashells are found on uplifted terraces. They are often radiocarbon dated, and give Stone Age dates that are supposedly related to human activity. But shells and charcoal are normal on beaches, and the dates simply show the geological ages of the beaches. They have nothing to do with humans. If humans left a hearth or campire, there would be larger pieces of unburned wood, not only fragments. but the fragments show that human artifacts such as worked pieces of wood or bone would be preserved if they had existed in the Stone Age. When real human bones are available, such as the Hitra Man, and the buried Nyelv skeletons, archaeologists simply claim that they are from the Stone Age, without reporting radiocarbon dates. They are probably Iron Age burials or even younger.

There are two cases of dated Stone Age bones that were found in Norway. The first is Vistegutten 'The Lonely Boy.' I think he probably drifted to Norway from the Stone Age Doggerland, and then climbed into a cave and died. The other is some human bones that were found in shallow marine muds at Hummervikholmen. Carcasses may have floated there and gotten buried. It has been suggested by archaeologiusts that some reindeer carcasses drifted to Kaupanes, Egersund where their bones were found. Even at the present time, with no Doggerland and with a wider sea between Norway and Europe, carcasses sometimes drift all the way to Norway.

The main evidence of Stone Age activity in Norway, other than false finds such as Nummedal's, is the occurrence of supposed Stone Age petroglyphs at more than 70 sites. By 'shoreline dating' they have been incorrectly dated to the Stone Age. That dating technique gives maximum possible ages, not likely ages. I contend that the supposed Stone Age petroglyphs were actually carved in the Iron Age about 400 CE, by two artists whom I have named Ingi Innrisser and Oddr Omrisser. See Helleristninger.com.

Norwegian archaeologists will not communicate with me. But as a professor, I want to document my research and evidence. And I want to warn students to be wary of Norwegian Stone Age archaeology. The links below show some of this documentation.

Allan Krill
allankrill@gmail.com


Here are blog posts documenting my research.


67. Fresh flint found in a marsh: fake! (11.2024)

66. Three leading archaeologists lied to Norwegians in the 1930s (11.2024)

65. English translation of LE FINNMARKIEN by Be and Nummedal 1936 (9.2024)

64. Anders Nummedal: the geologist who invented Norwegian Stone Age archaeology (9.2024)

Sometimes scientists don't want to know (8.2024, See also post 182 below, from August 2023)

63. The priests of Stone Age archaeology wont communicate with me or come to my Heterodox Talks (8.2024)

62. The 'Hitra Man' found buried in shell sand has been (mis)interpreted to be from the Stone Age (8.2024)

61. Heterodox Talks (ideas worth shunning ;) (8.2024)

60. The evidence of Neanderthals having lived in northern Europe was shown to be false (7.2024)

59. Archaeologists obtain Stone Age radiocarbon dates from shells and charcoal bits that occur on shorelines (6.2024)

58. The Melkya Project: the greatest archaeology hoax since Nummedals 'Finnmarkian' (5.2024)

57. Nummedal: "Tools of Antler and Bone from Finnmark" (in the journal Viking, 1938) (5.2024)

55. At Gamnes Finnmark: 19,902 natural fragments of quartz, and 38 special fragments (probably brought there and dropped)

54. Melsvik chert near Alta in Finnmark: a 2012-2013 quarry using Stone Age techniques (4.2024)

53. Hammerstones: easy to make, but are they really possible to find? (4.2024)

52. Nummedal's stones: many of them "speak for themselves" (4.2024)

51. Gjessing (1936) fully endorsed Nummedal's discoveries of early Stone Age finds in Finnmark

50. Le Finnmarkien (1936) has not been available online at the National Library of Norway  (3.2024)

49. These ten local school kids are enjoying a totally 'fictional' archaeological dig at Gamnes (3.2024)

48. Modern archaeologic reports in Finnmark have not mentioned Le Finnmarkien (1936) (3.2024)

47. Why didn't archaeologist Gutorm Gjessing blow the whistle on Nummedal's falsifications? (3.2024)

45. Nummedal's knapped stones originated as local cobbles from most of his 61 sites  (3.2024)

44. The Finnmarkian. English translation of Le Finnmarkien by Be & Nummedal (1936) (2.2024)

43. Nummedal's 6 sites around Alta (translated from French)  (2.2024)

42. Nummedal's 7 sites along Porsanger (translated from French)  (2.2024)

41. Nummedal's 2 sites along Lafjorden (translated from French)  (2.2024)

40. Nummedal's 2 sites on Magerya (translated from French)  (2.2024)

39. Nummedal's site near Lebesby, Laksefjorden (translated from French)  (2.2024)

38. Nummedal's sites at Gamvik, Nordkyn peninsula (translated from French)  (2.2024)

35. Nummedal's 5 sites at Berlevg (translated from French)  (2.2024)

34. Nummedal's sites at Syltefjord, Btsfjord, and Kongsfjord on Varanger Peninsula  (2.2024)

33. Nummedal's 5 sites at Vard (translated from French)  (2.2024)

32. Nummedal's 12 sites along Varangerfjord (here translated to English)  (2.2024)

31. Johannes Be's reference list in 1936 (trs impressionnant, en franais)  (2.2024)

30. Using faked artifacts, Be & Nummedal (1936) established Fictional Archaeology in Norway

29. Le Finnmarkien (1936). Translation of the chapter: "General character of the Finnmarkian" (2.2024)

28. Le Finnmarkien by Be & Nummedal (1936). Translation of figure texts (104 plates, 495 figures)

27. Stone Age Finds in Finnmark: searchable text of Nummedal's 1929 article. (1.2024)

26. Le Finnmarkien (1936) Translation of the chapter "The Finnmarkian in Universal Prehistory"

25. Be & Nummedal (1936). Translation of "How far back was the Finnmarkian?" (1.2024)

24. List of Nummedal's 61 sites of falsified discoveries in Finnmark (1.2024)

23. Le Finnmarkien (1936). English translation of the Foreword by Johannes Be and introduction

22. Nummedal's eight sites at Kirkenes (1.2024)

20. STONE AGE FINDS IN FINNMARK Anders Nummedal (1929) PDF (1.2024)

19. Nummedal's six sites at Grense Jakobselv (1.2024)

18. The 'Finnmarkian' claims by Be & Nummedal (1936) should now be studied and debunked

17. How leading archaeologists deal with Nummedal's obvious hoaxes (1.2024)

16. Nummedal's 1927 Vads site (Finnmark) (1.2024)

14. Nummedal's 1927 Berlevg site (Finnmark) (1.2024)

13. Nummedal's 1926 Brselvneset site (Brselv, Finnmark) (1.2024)

11. Nummedal's 1926 Steinneset site (Lakselv, Finnmark) (1.2024)

10. Nummedal's 1926 Storbukta site (Kolvik, Porsanger, Finnmark) (1.2024)

9. Nummedal's two 1926 dwelling sites at Russedalen Kolvik (Finnmark) (1.2024)

5. Stone Age implements that Nummedal supposedly found in 1926 at Repvg in Finnmark (1.2024)

4. Nummedal must have knapped these 70 artifacts himself in Alta in 1925 (1.2024)

2. English translation of Anders Nummedal's 1926 lecture 'Stenaldersfundene i Alta' (1.2024)

1. Dubious Digs questioning finds of fossil finds and artifacts (10.2023)


188. Flint was brought from Danish beaches to Norwegian beaches as ballast in longships (9.2023)

187. Nummedal aggressively kept others from joining him in the field (9.2023)

186. Archaeologists thought that Nummedals's shoreline dates were much too old, but yielded ...

184. A recent hoax: Supposed Stone Age discovery at Vinjera, mid-Norway (8.2023)

183. Four things that new NTNU archaeology students should be told (8.2023)

182. Sometimes scientists don't want to know (8.2023)

125. Archaeologists struggle to keep thinking inside Nummedal's faked box (7/2023)

41. An open secret: Anders Nummedal used falsifications to become an archaeologist (11.2022)

28. 'Le Finnmarkien': an archaeologic hoax for the ages (11.2022)

27. Newly discovered petroglyphs at 26m show that shoreline-dating gives us falsely old ages

26. Grahame Clark (1975): The Earlier Stone Age Settlement of Scandinavia (11. 2022)

25. The early stone-age Fosna- and Komsa-cultures: unrecognized hoaxes (11.2022)




Paleoanthropology with focus on East African fossils

Everyone would like to know where in Africa humans came from, and why humans lost their fur and evolved to be so different than apes. But paleoanthropologists are fossil experts, not evolutionists. If our questions about human evolution get answered, their fossil-expertise would be pass, and their careers would suffer. For over 60 years paleoanthropologists have avoided discussing the 'Aquatic Ape Hypothesis'. They ridicule it and ignore it.

 

'Fictional' paleoanthropology was initiated by Eugne Dubois. He went to Java in 1887, saying before he left that he would find bones of the missing link. In 1891 he supposedly found them (Java Man / Homo erectus.) This was a Piltdown-type hoax. He did not let experts study the bones of Homo erectus, and the bones have still never been chemically tested or DNA-tested. It should be obvious that his fossils are falsifications, but that topic is not openly discussed.

 

In the current story of human evolution, humans evolved in East Africa, where it is dry and fossil bones can be found. I think humans actually evolved in wet western Africa where living chimpanzees exist (see Paleohuman.com). But there is no fossil bone of any mammal in all of western Africa. It is too wet there. Fossil-experts need fossils, so they ignore western Africa. And they allow East African hoaxes to go unchallenged.

 

The accepted story of human evolution in East Africa is based on four major fossil hoaxes: Lucy skeleton, Laetoli footprints, the Turkana-Boy Homo Erectus skeleton, and Little Foot skeleton. Read my manuscript: The story of human evolution is based on fictional fossil evidence (submitted to many journals, but quickly blocked by the editors.)


Lucy bones are now known to include a baboon vertebra. They are a mix of human and ape bones, like the Piltdown Man. I think the Lucy bones were planted by PhD student Tom Gray to make Professor Don Johansons expedition a success.


Laetoli footprints are not millions of years old as claimed. They were incorrectly interpreted to be fresh lava ashfall that is datable. I claim that they are lake muds, and give false old ages. The footprints and lake mud layer were covered up by Mary Leakey to help hide the incorrect interpretation.


The Turkana Homo Erectus was faked. It is really a 100-year-old human skeleton from the Congo massacres. It is missing hands and feet, that were routinely cut off by soldiers in those massacres. The head was also cut off, and that is why a neck bone is damaged. The skeleton was fragmented and planted in Kenya and then 'discovered' by Kamoya Kimeu. The bones were saturated in vinyl acetate solution by Richard Leakey and Alan Walker, making them seem millions of years old, and making them unsuitable for dating or chemical testing.


Little Foot 'skeleton' was assembled by Ronald Clarke, from parts of 3 different monkey skeletons, and human foot bones from a university medical school collection.


'Handaxes' in England are genuine, but they were not used for cutting or chopping. I hypothesize that they were trading tokens from the late Stone Age or even the Bronze Age. Supposedly million-year-old handaxes in East Africa were probably planted to make African archaeological sites more convincing and famous.


A short list of hoaxers in paleoanthropology.



280. How can an entire science be based on falsehoods and misinterpretations? (7.2022)

273 & 275. Some F-words in paleoanthropology (7.2022)

237. Paleoanthropologists pull their punches to get published (5.2022)

236. Examples of kayfabe in paleoanthropology (5.2022)

235. Professional wrestling and paleoanthropology are unlike other sports and sciences

224. Piltdownian science experts won't mention the possibility of hoax (2.2022)

110. New ideas on the possible use and misuse of the Stone Age handaxe (2.2021)

105. Allan Krill's talk on Laetoli footprints at the 34th Geological Winter Meeting in Norway, 2021 (1.2021)

103. The earliest human footprints (Laetoli) occur in lake sediments that have been misinterpreted as datable volcanic ash (1.2021)

76. The story of human evolution is based on fictional fossil evidence (12.2020)

56. The earliest human footprints (Laetoli) occur in lake sediments that have been misinterpreted as datable volcanic ash (11.2020)

9. Paleoanthropology promotes untestable evidence and unfounded beliefs (7.2020)

7. Johanson's 1981 version of the 1974 Lucy fossil discovery (5.2020)

3. Did student Tom Gray plant the Lucy fossils, and then trick professor Donald Johanson into discovering them? (4.2020)


73127.  Three taboo topics in scientific journals: aquatic-ape-hypothesis, humanzee, hoax (4.2020)

66954.  Should we really believe in fossil material that is not allowed to be fluorine tested?

66718.  3.6 million year old bipedalism at Laetoli is a geological hoax (4.2020)

Allan Krill
allankrill@gmail.com