Archaeology Shaming: Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

I know what you’re thinking. “Archaeology shaming Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981, dir. Steven Spielberg), first of the beloved Indiana Jones trilogy? How passé. How pedestrian. How pitiful. How paltry. You’re really scraping the bottom of the barrel. You’re really shooting fish in a barrel. You’re really doing a lot of stuff involving barrels that is super easy to do.”

Indiana Jones, bad at archaeology? Groundbreaking.

I know another thing you’re also thinking. “But, FPAN South,” you ask, “Are there not four Indiana Jones movies? Is there not a delightful film starring a one Cate Blanchett which you, yourself, referenced in a previous blog post?”

To which we say: No there is not. There are only 3 of them. We simply do not discuss Crystal Skull.

Look me in the eyes and lie to my very face and tell me you liked this movie. DO IT

Regardless, it must be done. Survey any group of archaeologists, and you will find that Raiders was a deeply influential film for many of them. The experience of poring over these films as a child, only to grow up, study archaeology, and learn that our beloved Dr. Jones was doing fake and bad science all along, is a near-universal glue which holds the discipline together (emotionally). Now you, dear reader, can also experience this crushing disappointment, in great detail, but without paying tuition! What an exciting time! Let’s begin at the beginning:

Set in 1936, Raiders of the Lost Ark follows archaeology professor Dr. Indiana Jones and Marion Ravenwood (the best Jones girl) on a globe-hopping quest to recover the famed Ark of the Covenant before the Third Reich use it in one of their weird occult rituals. We learn valuable lessons about the importance of historical knowledge, the power of friendship, the joy of punching Nazis, the fact that Marion Ravenwood is so great, and, unfortunately, a lot of stuff about archaeology that is totally wrong! Now that we have provided our crash course to the Indiana Jones film canon, let us take a journey into Raiders together: 

She has the face of an angel and the liver of a depressed 19th-century Russian novelist ❤ ❤

What does Raiders get wrong? 

(Besides pretty much everything)

Ancient booby traps– Although many human societies have developed some form of the “keep out” sign on sacred sites for millenia, and archaeology has its share of dangers, these do not include massive boulders or automated dart shooters. In Florida, these dangers include (but are not limited to) fire ants, heat stroke, and venomous spiders, and poisonwood (don’t Google pictures of any of these things). The idea of an ancient, cursed tomb in archaeology can be traced back to Louisa May Alcott’s short story The Mummy’s Tomb, and later became a common media trope after the mysterious deaths of some of the crew members associated with the excavation of Pharaoh Tutankhamun’s tomb at the height of Egyptomania in the 1920s and early 1930s. Although the idea of an ancient curse or deadly trap is exciting, the dangers experienced by archaeologists (at least down here) can be chalked up to Florida simply trying to destroy us all, as Florida does.

“I’m sure everything you do for the museum conforms to the International Treaty for the Protection of Antiquities.” There was no such International Treaty for the Protection of Antiquities in the 1930s (not that the US is the best at upholding treaties in the first place). However, preservationists introduced something similar to an international treaty for preventing the sale and trafficking of looted artifacts with the UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property in 1970. That said, many countries, such as El Salvador, had enacted cultural heritage protection legislation in the 1930s, and even as early as 1903, preventing artifacts from being legally removed from their home countries.

Looting-– At the end of the day, most everything Indiana Jones does in this movie is looting. Yes, everything! All of it! He doesn’t have a permit for any of this! Busting into a secret chamber and yanking out a sacred idol to sell to a museum? Looting. Busting into another chamber to grab the Ark of the Covenant? Looting. He doesn’t appear to take notes at all. I don’t think he even knows what a datum is (for the record, a datum is the fixed point against which all measurements on an excavation are taken. You know, measurements? To learn stuff? And compare some stuff to other stuff? Like how they do in science? I give up.) 

He even looted ladies’ hearts!!

We’ve covered this previously, but it bears repeating: archaeology is the pursuit of knowledge about the past through material culture, not a means for economic gain. This becomes abundantly clear once you meet pretty much any archaeologist and see how we dress/ the quality of the cars we drive/ the smells we may or may not emit, but most people never meet an archaeologist, and therein lies the rub–because the past belongs to everyone (not pointing any fingers, DR. JONES).

What does Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark get right? 

Piecing together mysterious old maps to locate archaeological sites–  Right before we get our iconic first shot of Indiana Jones, we see him holding the remnants of a tattered map in an attempt to find his way through a South American jungle. Obviously, this is a dramatized example, but archaeologists often consult historical records to confirm the locations of archaeological sites. However, this is never an “X marks the spot” situation, and archaeologists are not treasure hunters: maps are used to better understand how an archaeological site fits into the history of its surrounding region, and the world at-large, rather than gaining fame or riches. For example, public archaeologist Becky O’Sullivan, formerly of FPAN West Central, has utilized a historic map to assist in the relocation of Zion Cemetery in Tampa, Florida.

“You chose the wrong friends. This time, it will cost you. […] If only you spoke Hovitos.” French archaeologist, Nazi sympathizer, and Indy’s ultimate nemesis, Renee Belloq, was not wrong here, in this particular case, with this particular line. Whether working in their own cities or outside their home countries, archaeologists must collaborate closely with descendant communities. This phrase can mean many different things, but usually refers to direct descendants of a community, wider members of diaspora communities, or people who feel a spiritual or religious connection to a site. Archaeology has traditionally been limited to members of the academy in the past, but is slowly becoming more collaborative and accessible. Researchers now recognize that descendant communities provide invaluable information about the past and its connection to the present.

Only wearing tweed when dressing up– Have you ever been to an archaeological conference? It’s a sea of neutrals. No flair. Absolutely shameful. Very accurate there.

It’s not against the law to wear one (1) jewel-toned statement piece, you know!

“You and I are very much alike. Archaeology is our religion, yet we have both fallen from the purer faith.  Our methods have not differed as much as you pretend. I am a shadowy reflection of you. It would take only a nudge to make you like me, to push you out of the light.”– Here Belloq taunts Indy with his increasingly gray morality. Interestingly, even George Lucas did not intend for Indiana Jones to be an accurate representation of an archaeologist. In fact, Lucas characterized Indy as an outlaw fallen from grace from the earliest stages of pre-production on Raiders! However, this hasn’t stopped anyone from equating archaeologists to treasure hunters based on what happens in these movies. Indiana Jones is a bad archaeologist, and he knows it; Belloq knows it; George Lucas knows it; Indy’s dad knows it; Marion Ravenwood (the best Jones girl) knows it; perhaps, one day, the world will look beyond the punching and explosions and know this as well. Good archaeology makes for a pretty boring movie (usually)!

“Look at this. It’s worthless. Ten dollars from a vendor in the street. But I take it, I bury it in the sand for ten thousand years, it becomes priceless…” Beyond the fact that knowledge about the human past which can help us understand ourselves and plan for our collective future is priceless, there is some truth to the idea that time adds mystique and value to otherwise mundane objects and structures. Much like a work of art passing into the public domain several decades after the death of its author, historic preservationists consider structures to be historic once they arrive at 50 years of age. To be clear, age isn’t the only factor in what makes something historically significant, and preservationists with the National Park Service allow for a number of considerations when deciding whether a structure is historic or not. Archaeologists and historians must also consider how an object or structure fits into larger stories about the past, like mass migrations, political upheavals, wars, revolutions in technology, etc.

Age is knowing Belloq was right about some stuff. Wisdom is knowing he was still an actual Nazi!

“Your methods of archaeology are too primitive for me. You would use a bulldozer to find a…china cup…” While this is a brief offhand remark, Belloq may well be referencing Heinrich Schleimann, known piece of work and, some say, the father of prehistoric Hellenic archaeology. Born in Germany in the early 1820s, Schleimann would later claim to have located the lost city of Troy–and while he did not do this, he definitely did indiscriminately blast through several layers of Greek history. With dynamite. Such was archaeology in the 19th century.

Nazi-run archaeological excavations— Nazi archaeology really happened; throughout the late 1930s and early 1940s, archaeology was used as a tool by the fascist state to reinforce Nazi political and cultural beliefs through botched science. Longevity and history are powerful rhetorical devices used to legitimize different practices and ideals. For example, an imagined Viking past, as well as pseudoarchaeological ideas involving aliens, are currently in use by white supremacist groups for similar reasons as the Third Reich, and can even be connected to “Q Anon” followers’ attempted overthrow of the US Capitol on January 6th, 2021. 

Massive warehouse full of artifacts– This is probably the most accurate shot in the entire Indiana Jones franchise. It is an excellent way to illustrate the collections crisis that art museums, archaeological repositories, and natural history museums have been experiencing for decades. Essentially, every archaeological dig has to make a plan to preserve the objects they unearth in perpetuity, and as such, museums and other repositories are swiftly running out of space. 

There is so much stuff, and we are all so very, very tired.

So, how does Raiders of the Lost Ark stack up?

LOSES 5 OUT OF 5 TROWELS for looting, some more looting, and not working with descendant communities while also looting. 

GAINS 1 OUT OF 5 TROWELS for punching Nazis, addressing the collections crisis, and offhand mentions which reflect archaeology’s chaotic past. And MARION ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤

FINAL SCORE: 1 TROWEL

Malachi Fenn, MA, RPA

Public Archaeologist, FPAN Southeast