The World That Was : An investigation of lost cities, hidden empires, and their role in online pseudoarchaeological communities.

In recent years, alongside the rise of innovative social media platforms such as TikTok, fast increasing pseudoarchaeological conspiracies have spread across the western world. The legacy of these conspiracies, their uptake on social media, and their impact on heritage identity has largely been ignored amongst archaeologists and heritage professionals with exceptions being studies of online communities, discussions of how pseudoarchaeology misrepresents the past, and most recently the vast number of blogs written both within and without the archaeological establishment discussing various aspects of pseudoarchaeology.1 In this dissertation pseudoarchaeology, pseudoheritage and pseudohistory are all to be investigated through how they are spread on social media as well as the role they play in the identity of both individuals and online communities. While many successful attempts have been made to define pseudoscience, an umbrella term under which pseudoarchaeology can be seen to fall, no one definition has found a consensus among scholars investigating fraudulent archaeology.2 The intention of this dissertation is to address the definition of pseudoarchaeology through the lens of a modern pseudoarchaeological theory, that of Tartaria, which although recent in its creation, draws on historical precedents set by 19th and 20th century pseudoarchaeological theories. Tartaria is seen by its believers to be a globe spanning civilisation unified by a single language and culture including architecture, technology, and originating from Hyperborea3 . It is hoped that by analysing the Tartarian theory this dissertation will provide a framework for future researchers on how best to address the problematic nature of pseudoarchaeology and its viral spread on social media platforms.

Name dc:type.qualificationname

ma

Level dc:type.qualificationlevel

masters

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

University of Wales Trinity Saint David

Year dc:date.issued

2023

Author dc:creator

• Ward, Andrew

• CC Archaeoleg
• D Hanes (Cyffredinol)
• DS Asia

Dc Identifier Grantnumber

UWTSD

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:repository.uwtsd.ac.uk:2983