America Unearthed

[Konrad Hartmann]

America Unearthed — Episodes, Video & Schedule - H2 on History.com

Has anyone watched this show? I watched the Copper episode. It had some of the melodramatic music and big reveal staged spontaneity of many shows, but it was manageable. I like that the subject/narrator, Scott Wolter (who reminds me of the Governor in the Walking Dead) didn't simply grab every piece of tenuous evidence to support the hypothesis that ancient Minoans mined copper in the Great Lakes region.

While copper from the region apparently matched copper found on a Minoan shipwreck, does this necessarily mean that Minoans were present at these mines? Or did it mean that materials and artifacts made their way to Minoans elsewhere?

 

[exo_doc]

I watched it last night. There was about 80% fluff, including repeating what the show was about after each commercial which is irritating, and road shots and pretty sceneary shots that were time fillers.
If he had actually gotten to the meat of the topic, and presented all of his findings without the fluff it would have been much easier to follow.
BTW, he did have that copper sample examined and tested, but I didn't see him compare those findings with those of the Minoan copper ingots, which would have been the smoking gun.
I just going to DVR the shows from now on and speed through the fluff. It could be a good show, IF he presented more evidence.

 

[ProphetofOccam]

It's a fun watch. I've been having it on since I think it started. Like Ancient Aliens, the subject matter is interesting, but the science isn't.

"Hey, here is this piece of circumstantial evidence that I subjectively gave meaning to in the first place! Ohh, here's another one! This can only logically mean this huge, contrived, nonsensical thing happened, despite the fact that there is no other evidence for it in any other place where there should be! Case closed!"

H2 is for fun. The stories on America Unearthed are the meat of what make it a show. It doesn't matter if it's real, or not.

 

[pong]

A show of this type is long overdue on the History Channel. America is chock full of archeological artifacts and remains, many of which have been largely ignored or "misdiagnosed" by the academics. All the TV producers have to do is go through the pages of Ancient American magazine for their storylines. Much is yet to be discovered, too, I am certain.

 

[Konrad Hartmann]

It's a fun watch. I've been having it on since I think it started. Like Ancient Aliens, the subject matter is interesting, but the science isn't.

"Hey, here is this piece of circumstantial evidence that I subjectively gave meaning to in the first place! Ohh, here's another one! This can only logically mean this huge, contrived, nonsensical thing happened, despite the fact that there is no other evidence for it in any other place where there should be! Case closed!"

H2 is for fun. The stories on America Unearthed are the meat of what make it a show. It doesn't matter if it's real, or not.

You summed it up. I watched the episode about the runes carved in Arizona, allegedly by an Englishman in the 12th century. I may be forgetting some of the assertions presented. I wanted to find an image online of the runes found. The program identified them as Anglo-Saxon runes, though they did not appear to have the characteristics of A-S runes (they looked like elder Futhark),
Anglo-Saxon runes - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
not to mention the fact that the 12th century would be a quite late usage of the runes. The alleged translation sounded really long for the number of runes present. And, for some reason, the carver chose to make the sigel rune two different ways, sometimes right next to each other, as if they were two different letters. I don't know if I've ever seen that, and I have to guess that the modern carver may have just been arbitrarily picking runes. Maybe I'll go back and try to see it, but then I don't know old English (though the carver probably didn't either). Plus the runes were carved pretty nicely compared to many surviving inscriptions. Wolter, a forensic geologist, is not able to determine the age of the inscription.

So, what do we know? We know that someone carved them, and they weren't visible there in the 1980s. Wolter says that's because the rock was covered up from the elements inside. His phone source "translates" the text, and allegedly gets a name out of it. And, guess what? There was someone in England who had that name! And, his name disappears from the record after the 12th century, which I guess is pretty shocking considering the meticulously kept records of medieval England. Therefore, he must have traveled to Arizona, buried his friend who was apparently well enough to hike up a mountain, and took time to use his chisel that he carried to carve some runes that were anachronistic to both the time and to England. Still not convinced? Well there is a building carved out of caves in Staffordshire, England, and the construction kinda sorta looks like a tribal structure in Arizona that was built around 1500. Therefore, medieval English dudes in AZ. Solid.

 

[Randall]

Scott Wolter's Apparently Non-Existent Degree:

America Unearthed star Scott Wolter claims to hold a 1987 honorary master's degree in geology from the University of Minnesota-Duluth. This claim appears in his corporate biographies, and he claimed the degree in a 2009 Coast to Coast interview. He uses this as one of his credentials as a "forensic geologist," for which his primary training is a bachelor's degree in geology, awarded in 1982. I consulted the University of Minnesota, which keeps a list of all honorary degrees awarded by the University dating back to at least 1932 ... More Here

 

[Tyger]

Scott Wolter's Apparently Non-Existent Degree:

America Unearthed star Scott Wolter claims to hold a 1987 honorary master's degree in geology from the University of Minnesota-Duluth. This claim appears in his corporate biographies, and he claimed the degree in a 2009 Coast to Coast interview. He uses this as one of his credentials as a "forensic geologist," for which his primary training is a bachelor's degree in geology, awarded in 1982. I consulted the University of Minnesota, which keeps a list of all honorary degrees awarded by the University dating back to at least 1932 ... More Here

If you scroll down you will find this exchange from Scott Wolter and the blogger -

"Jason,

I find your blog entertaining and the comments interesting, but nothing I would normally care to comment on or defend. However, this latest post merits a response since your research is partially right, and partially wrong. There is no way for you to get to the bottom of this so I will help you out.

In 1986 I self-published my first book entitled, The Lake Superior Agate. It was inspired by a mentor who suggested I write the book shortly after the death of my father as a way to focus on something other than grief and guilt. My father drown while we were scuba diving together on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. The details of why he died are unclear to me to this day, but the fact is a diver is responsible for his partner’s safety and I lost him.

For the next two years I had tough time. I had to quit my job as field geologist with Mapco Minerals, my first job out of college one of my professors helped me get, feeling I needed to stay home and help my family. Writing the book helped get me back on my feet, in addition to the support of my then girlfriend and now wife of 26 years.

Shortly after the book was published, I was invited by the UMD Geology Department to give a lecture at the college about my research. Afterword, six of my former professors asked me technical questions which I answered to their satisfaction. Afterward, they had an informal reception in the Professor’s lounge where they gave me an honorary degree with a whipped cream-topped coffee as my “certificate.”

Was it officially recognized by the University? No. They gave it to me as I have always presented it to be, a sympathy degree. At the time I was quite proud and when I told my then supervisors at my new job at Twin City Testing, they published the story in the company newsletter and added it to my resume’. Not long ago, the question was asked by the State licensing board if it was an official degree and I said no. Because I didn’t want my professors who now in their eighties to have to answer questions about this, I removed it from my resume’.

I am still proud of that “degree” because it came from people I respected and still are some of the most important mentors in my life. I am also proud of the other books I’ve written and the research I’ve done in the arena where many scholars have dropped the ball. The Kensington Rune Stone is the prime example. Thank you for the opportunity to clarify the situation and I’m glad you’re enjoying the show.

Scott F. Wolter, PG
President/Geologist/Petrographer
MN License #30024
American Petrographic Services, Inc.
550 Cleveland Avenue North
St. Paul, MN 55114
651-659-1345
(Cell) 612-875-7871"

Response from the blogger - Jason Colovito -

Scott,

Thank you for taking the time to clarify this. I appreciate your forthright honesty and your willingness to address this here directly. This stands in stark contrast to Sean David Morton, whose supporters sent death threats to me after I reported that his PhD could not be verified. Morton continues to claim the non-existent degree.

I trust you will ask that the false credential be removed from your biographies online, at the American Institute of Professional Geologists and elsewhere, to avoid misleading anyone by accident, as it fooled me and many of your supporters between 1987 and 2012, the period when you included it on your resume.

I, too, am proud of the recognitions that my former professors bestowed upon me, but I would never want anyone to mistake these private recognitions for official honors.

So far as I can tell, none of my statements was factually incorrect, so I am not sure why you say I am "partially" wrong. As you note, you claimed on your resume an honorary degree that was not in fact awarded to you offically. I'm not sure how this is "partially wrong." The only error I see is that I used the present tense, since, as you note, I had no way of knowing that you recently revised your resume.

I am glad you find my blog entertaining, but I would much rather you found it informative. My goal has never been to attack individuals as people, but rather to hold claims up to facts, and I sincerely hope you have learned where your interpretations have far exceeded the available facts and, in places, stand in stark opposition to fact. In the case of Mithraism, your show committed violent assault on fact.

I have made plain my feelings about "America Unearthed" as both history and as television, so I will trust that your reference to my "enjoyment" of it is entirely conventional. I had sincerely hoped your program might celebrate the actual archaeology of America rather than grasping at the faded remains of Victorian pseudoscience. A series that offered a real look at the amazing history of our continent, based in sound archaeology and verifiable fact, would truly be an accomplishment of which to be proud.

I'm so glad you enjoy my blog. Please do keep reading. There's great stuff coming, and I hope you and all my readers will continue to learn along with me about how historians and archaeologists put together the story of our shared past.

Jason

 

[Charlie Prime]

...80% fluff, including repeating what the show was about after each commercial which is irritating, and road shots and pretty sceneary shots that were time fillers.

I agree. This is a big part of why I have not been able to watch any program on the History or Discovery Channels for years.

I have a DVR. It's more work to fast-forward through the fluff & filler than the shows are worth. Add to this the fact that the whole Learning Channel franchise abandoned any semblance of credibility, and it's a waste of time to even fool with them.

I transitioned to watching everything via computer. I monitor RSS feeds of certain YouTube channels and certain torrent sites, then use Downloadhelper to copy them to my hard drive for watching later with XBMC. I would completely ditch corporate television except my wife is old and enjoys murder porn police procedurals.

I'll make a post elsewhere later about my computer -> TV setup.

 

[Psychedelic_Alchemist]

I always had a sneaking feeling that Wolter was a bit of a dodgy character. Interesting topic in and of itself, however, it probably needs investigating by someone with actual credentials and experience of the field. Not sure that Wolter is that guy.