Lost Tribes & Sunken Continents; Myth and Method in the Study of American Indians

by R. Wauchope

166 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1962

Reviews

[Jeb Card · Rating 4 out of 5]

Robert Wauchope, a previous director of Tulane's Middle American Research Institute, gets out his frustration at pseudoarchaeologists and mystics mostly supporting transoceanic civilization diffusion ideas. He has a particular hate-on for Augustus Le Plongeon. There is no real discussion of the larger context for these ideas, or why they are popular (or how popular they actually are, other than a few assertions that such books are bestsellers. In the case of Donnelly's Atlantis, this was true). Instead, Wauchope describes the ideas, discusses their logical problems, and focuses on the disdain and anger coming from these purveyors of woo towards mainstream scientists and the scientific method. Most of Wauchope's complaints ring true today, but most have only gotten worse. The book was written just before the explosion of Alien Astronaut ideas, which would go on to eclipse the popularity of transoceanic diffusionism.