How do we know that archeology finds are real?

Question

What if an archaology team creates a false find and just wants attention and credit?

Answer 1

There is much more to it then that.

It is not just find a fossil an a few bones and make a cool looking work of art.

There is uch DNA testing, carbon age testing, etc.... before anything is proved.

Not only that, archeologist rarely get any credit for anything. Just try to think of an archeologist. I know, you can't.

Answer 2

Well.....you can look at the living,and compare it with the

dead.Some where between the pieces and decay one

will find a connection.

But i do agree with you that they do create false-finds

to win attention and be considered more than they are

so that they can win favor to get promotions.

Answer 3

In today's world, anything is possible.

Normally archaeologists are committed people, like those in any other profession.

Though, carbon 14 dating beyond about 50000 years, is highly speculative.

Answer 4

Only thing I can say about that is: If they're not real, their sponsors better not find out.

Answer 5

The validation process is peer review.  Fraud has happened, but is rather uncommon.  Honest mistakes are more frequent.  And honest disagreement happens all the time.  Still the process of peer review keeps everyone honest and provides us assurances on what's real.

Answer 6

This happened around the turn of the 20th century where some guys said they had found the missing link.  but it was made up.  They had doctored up a gorilla skull.  

Yes some people could get away with this in the past.  But that's why they have Carbon-14 dating Now a days.  To test to see if its what they say it is.

Answer 7

As someone said, honest mistakes are more common tham deliberate fraud. Modern techniques & knowledge often supplant the theories of earlier archaeologists.

  For instance it was once thought that the dagger carved on one of the stones at Stonehenge was Mycenean.many dreamed of some ancient greek prince travelling hundreds of miles to cloudy Britain & teaching the rude natives how to build monuments. 50+ years on, we know the stones were raised long before Mycenae flourished and the dagger may have been Breton or some kind of local copy.