Saturday, April 30, 2011

Edward gets punk'd?

Over the past few years Edward Ashby has been an indefatigable opponent of the various conspiracy theorists who claim that an ancient race of Celts - or Phoenicians, or Atlanteans, or extraterrestrials - were the first inhabitants of New Zealand.

After studying archaeology at the University of Auckland and taking part in various field surveys and digs, Edward became aware of how many apparently rational Kiwis had time for the claims of the pseudo-scholars. He also grew tired
of being accused of being a member of a 'politically correct' conspiracy designed to excise the true history of New Zealand's ancient white residents from the archaeological record. Weariness turned to alarm when Edward realised that many of the pseudo-scholars had links to racist and anti-semitic far right groups, and that his own hometown of Dargaville was a hotbed of pseudo-historial ideas.

Edward has taken part in a series of online debates with pseudo-scholars and also written a number of letters to institutions which have been duped or unknowingly used by the pseuds. He took a particular interest in the campaign to stop Dargaville museum from misappropriating a prehistoric pou and portraying it as an artefact from a fictional extraterrestrial civilisation.

Martin Doutre is perhaps the most high-profile of all the pseudo-scholars of New Zealand history. In his self-published tome Ancient Celtic New Zealand Doutre presents himself as an 'astro-archaeologist' and uses a series of inscrutable mathematical formulae to 'prove' that piles of stones he has found lying about on New Zealand hills are in fact the remains of 'open-air observatories' built by the same advanced ancient white race which supposedly raised Stonehenge and the pyramids. In a long debate with Edward and some of his other detractors a couple of years ago, Doutre outed himself as a Holocaust denier and a 9/11 'Troofer', as well as a pseudo-archaeologist.

Edward's history as a debunker of Doutre and other pseuds is well-known to his friends in the Archaeology Department of the University of Auckland, so when they wanted to pull his leg last week they knew just what to do. This poster (click to luxuriate in its details) was pinned to a noticeboard close to a departmental room Edward has been using: Edward sent me the poster, but he hasn't explained yet whether he fell for it...

8 Comments:

Anonymous Edward said...

Unfortunately I missed the poster while it was up, and it wasn't until it had already tricked a number of social anthropologists interested in the spectacle that I learnt of the prank. God it would've gotten a good reaction outa me though, as I suspect it might've for a number of other archies.

11:48 am  
Blogger Liz said...

Hah hah hah brilliant post thanks Scott.

I still waiting for the proof that the ancint Greeks were at the Kaihu Tavern last week.

How's the evil archeologists beer fridges then - I'll get the Kaipara Moles to stock em up.

Edward is a great guy.

Take care there
Liz

12:07 pm  
Blogger Marty Mars said...

nice one

kia kaha edward

with brash buying a new political party we can be sure of some real clangers coming forth soon from The Don and his minions

12:24 pm  
Anonymous Martin Doutre said...

Is Edward Ashby by any chance Maori?

7:27 pm  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

LOOK

new Obama birth certificate out now
http://www.freerepublic.com
/focus/f-chat/2712684/posts

DON'T get sucked in by the DICKS

8:12 pm  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Ha. That BC is a fake. See Fox.

I will accept the premise that Chairman Obama is a U.S. Citizen; however, no one will ever convince me that he was raised as a traditional American! Just ask yourself one simple question...what would someone do differently than our Supreme Leader to destroy our country as it was constituted and envisioned by our Founding Fathers? 2012 cannot get here fast enough to throw this POS out of office and onto the street where he is best at engaging in class warfare and rabble-rousing; as opposed to leading the greatest country this planet has ever seen!!!

8:48 pm  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Usurper (lat. usurpare = to seize for use, to use) is a derogatory term used to describe either an illegitimate or controversial claimant to the power; often, but not always in a monarchy, or a person who succeeds in establishing himself as a monarch without inheriting the throne, or any other person exercising authority unconstitutionally. It may also be applied to an official acting ultra vires, outside his authority or jurisdiction.

Some famous examples considered usurpers are Pope Leo IX, Henry IV of England, Miguel of Portugal and Habibullah Ghazi of Afghanistan.

RONBO SAYS:

"President" Obama (if that really is his family name) should be immediately removed from the office of President, United States of America on the basis of the foreign birth of his father. The U.S. Constitution requires BOTH parents of the president to be native born U.S. citizens.

Therefore, the man named "Obama" is a USURPER and ENEMY of the Republic who enjoys authority he is not legally entitled.

9:01 pm  
Blogger D.J.P. O'Kane said...

I am shocked and appalled that my former colleagues would do such a thing.

7:57 pm  

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