CONTROVERSIES SECTION GUIDE

Some are whimsical, some are serious

Buffalo Village
 A mid-17th century stockaded village on the Kanawha River in Putnam County. Advocacy groups want to rebury hundreds of individuals recovered during excavations in the 1960s, one of the largest prehistoric populations in the East. A Charleston Gazette writer bought into the idea and published a 5-part series, reprinted here with his epilogue.

Reburial and NAGPRA - The Other Side of the Controversy
 Many in the scientific community have a problem with the trend towards indiscriminant repatriation and reburial of ancient human remains.

"Ogham" Inscriptions: Did Irish Monks Visit West Virginia 1300 Years Ago?
Cult archaeology comes to the Mountain State. Three popular magazine articles making extraordinary claims about some petroglyphs in southern West Virginia, the responses they invoked from the professional community, and some recent research into the allegations.

Future Additions:

Primitive Societies as Ecologists
 Explores the reality of primitive societies as ecologically conscious and responsible.

The Walam Ulom and West Virginia Petroglyphs
 The book Shaman's Story used a purported text of Lenni Lenape (Delaware) oral history, the Walam Ulom, to interpret petroglyphs around West Virginia. Unfortunately, the Walam Ulom is a 19th century fraud, and one of the featured petroglyphs, the "Water Monster's Daughter," was exposed as a prank by local kids. This section attempts to contain the damage.

Shroud of Turin
 To most scientists, another demonstrated fraud. But to some folks, it just has to be real.

Evolution vs. Creationism
 A concise guide to reliable web sites discrediting the creationist arguments

Mitochondral Eve and the Out of Africa Hypothesis
 DNA evidence is showing us to be an unexpectedly young species.

Peopling of North America
 New sites, new radiocarbon dates, new ideas.


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