Post by p***@hotmail.comHis site, www.archeologyanswers.com, certainly somehow covers most of
the more mainstream archeology stories I've come across over the
years--egyptians in australia, planes in Indian/Tibetan tracts, Chinese
maps of everywhere, for instance, but how much of what he says is, I
dunno. Credible? Has anyone bought things from him or interacted with
him? And can someone tell me his general reputation in academic circles?
The correct url is: www.archaeologyanswers.com. The website you
linked to crashed my browser, and was a site about distance
education.
I don't know whether he has any reputation in academic circles.
I do subscribe to his email newsletter. My reaction is based on
my experience with that newsletter.
The first thing I noticed was that Mr. Gray assumes a conspiracy
exists to cover up evidence, including archaeological evidence,
of facts that would challenge the 'mainstream' understanding of
human history--if true. Gray calls himself an archaeologist,
among other things; but I can't find any evidence that he has any
training in archaeology.
Then I saw the way he presented his information. He has set his
e-newsletter up with a mail-merge function which allows him to
appear to be speaking just to you. This is sort of pleasant, but
it functions to set up an 'us' that is then counterpoised with
the 'them' who are engaging in the massive cover-up. That,
together with the 'sales letter' on his home page, tells me that
he has a fair grasp of salesmanship.
Then I paid attention to the evidence he was presenting. What
stuck me was how much of this evidence was already known, and
already shown to be fallacious. His latest e-newsletter is
dedicated to the story of a giant found in Saudi Arabia, and
reported in a Bangladeshi newspaper. (This is always a red flag;
if the references are to locales and/or publications that are
largely closed to outsiders, a technique beloved of 'Weakly
Whirled Noose' and other rags to protect them from lawsuits, the
story told smells fishy from the start.)
The purported source for the story, "Dr. Richard Paley" of
"Fellowship University", is a creation of OBJECTIVE: Creation
Ministries, a spoof site on the model of Landover Baptist. He,
and the 'university,' are sly creations of folks who may be just
enjoying their little joke, and/or who may be happily selling
cafepress stuff based on their web site. For Gray to rely on this
sort of hoax as though it were real betrays a true lack of
scholarly activity.
So, I think he is a colorful salesman trying to milk the market
Von Daniken and Hancock have nailed down. IOW, enjoy the stories
as fiction; but don't imagine that he is on to something other
than a way to make a buck. What he has to sell is no different in
type or quality from myriad other kook books; he just has a
better marketing plan.