Have researchers recently discovered the world’s oldest pyramid?
The mysterious Gunung Padang megalithic site in Indonesia has garnered massive attention throughout academia after a paper in the journal Archaeological Prospection suggested a pyramid-like structure that dates back an astonishing 27,000 years and surpassing the age of Egypt’s renowned Pyramid of Djoser and Turkey’s Göbekli Tepe.
This potential reevaluation of human civilization’s history has raised numerous questions among archaeologists, including the methodology of collecting soil samples in the region.
The journal Nature reached out to Bill Farley, associate professor of archeology, to evaluate these controversial claims, noting his concern that “the paper has not provided evidence that an advanced civilization existed during the last ice age.”
Farley’s research interests include Archaeological Theory, Archaeological Method, Indigenous Studies, Cultural Anthropology, and Colonial Studies.
Farley offered further commentary in a Dec. 16, 2023 article by The Guardian on the same topic.
“A theory that says a group of ancient sages taught us everything we know simplifies history to a crude level and also robs Indigenous people of the claim that they developed their own ancient culture and sophisticated crafts,” said Farley.
Click here to read the full story on Nature.com.
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