2012: Some recent examples of how media distorts information

ABC’s recent blunder regarding the identities of David Stuart and John Major Jenkins, and the fact that the Comalcalco bricks of much recent interest does not even refer to the correct Calendar Round date, are just two examples of how misinformation about the Maya and the supposed end date spread like a virus. There are some other recent cases. Facebook is a good source here.

Sven Gronemeyer, who has worked on the now infamous Monument 6 at Tortuguero, has been misquoted after his recent speech at the Mesa Redonda conference at Palenque. There he said that there is evidence of the future date of January 20, 154591 AD (20 Piktun). However, this piece of information was transformed into the date of the “end of the world” by someone else. This is not what Gronemeyer said, as he believes that there is no known end of the calendar.

Another example is the upcoming TV documentary by Raúl Julia Levy. As mentioned in an earlier post, he refers to the Guatemalan archaeologist Hector E. Mejía who is supposed to have written him a letter discussing a monumental head on a black and white photograph. The producer is using this letter to legitimize his claims that aliens actually visited the Maya. However, in a recent discussion on facebook Mejía believes the photo is a fake and there is some indications that the letter itself is not entirely correct. The fact that this website provides a photocopied version of Mejía’s letter is in itself suspicious. Why must their claims be supported by this document which someone else could have written? On facebook Mejía admits he has been in contact with the TV producer but things have been blown out of proportion. So, do not take the contents of this letter for being Mejía’s own view. I am not even sure which one is the true author of the letter. It does not seem to be written by anyone who knows archaeological discourse. Some truly old-fashioned concepts are being used that I hope archaeologists born during the latter half of the 20^th century no longer use. 2012ers and UFO believers may use them though…

Basically, what the letter says is that the monumental head has features that are not consistent with the Prehispanic “races” of America such as the Maya, Nahuatl, or Olmec. It relates the monument to the “Baby Face” at Monte Alto, and what in the letter is called the “cradle” of Mesoamerican civilization. Because of this the author of the letter assigns the monumental head with a date 3,500 to 5,000 BC. Apart from the discussion of old-fashioned concepts like “races” and “cradle” there is nothing extraterrestrial in the letter thus far. The problem begins in the second half of the letter.

 The author of the letter states that the head was created by an extraordinary and superior civilization that had an amazing knowledge which is unknown on this planet. It settled in southern Guatemala and its light and knowledge radiated to hunter-gatherers who were their disciples and received their teachings. This is a diffusionist perspective, which has not been popular in archaeology for the past fifty years or so. In this perspective civilization emerges in one place and then spread their teachings to less civilized neighbors. The use of words like “unknown on this planet” etc. does not necessarily mean that these people were aliens, but that they had a knowledge “greater” than others. All it reflects is a stereotypical view of hunter-gatherers and an old-fashioned view of archaeology (which most 2012ers also share so that is why I suspect that at least this part of the letter has another author than Mejía).

Finally, the author of the letter compares the head with the statues of Easter Island and the Great Sphinx of Egypt. This could potentially only be a comparison between various forms of facial depictions without references to aliens. However, I do believe the author wants the reader to make that connection and hence the author is probably someone else than Mejía. I suspect that Raúl Julia Levy’s “documentary” will include statements like “extraordinary and superior civilization that had an amazing knowledge which is unknown on this planet”, and insinuate that a Guatemalan archaeologist support him. You should know that is not true. Raúl Julia Levy is a fraud.