There is nothing more speculative than evolutionary psychology.

I’m 38 years old and I think I’ve read a “What We Know About Lucy Is Wrong” article every year.

It’s not surprising, of course, because this is the entirety of the fossil.

What are some of the harmful things that he’s attached his name to? I’m out of the loop…

Kinky

Isn’t that Lamarckism? If I recall correctly, that’s an older model of evolution that is not commonly recognized anymore.

I swear that I’m not trying to be obtuse, but I have a lot of doubts.

What kind of ropes and wooden sleds, manufactured in 4000 BC, can move 80 ton stones? There are tensile limits…

I’ve also heard of this. It seems to me that this theory should be easy to confirm with some sort x-ray or radar or lidar or something, so that we can see the shape of the structure beneath the superficial layers…

Source? I’m not doubting you. I’m just surprised that the government would limit research, probably for political reasons.

It seems like you’re out for blood, my friend.

I’ve cited three academic scientists in this conversation. You’re welcome to check them out if you want.

This is a great resource for looking up published research and also unpublished theories.

I don’t know, my friend. I’m not an archeologist or Egyptologist. I’m just an enthusiast who has read a dozen conflicting theories.

Yeah, I remember this guy. He claimed that Stonehenge in England could have been built like this. The pyramids of Giza are much more complex, of course. Still, I think it’s entirely possible that the pyramids were built using very clever engineering principles that were forgotten and that we don’t need because we have cranes and power tools and hydraulics, etc.

They also depict gods with the heads of jackals and birds, beings from other planets, their conception of the afterlife, pornography, and obviously exaggerated claims about the power and influence of the Pharoahs.

I’m saying that we should be skeptical. dubitante omnibus, as Descartes would say…

I never suggested that they couldn’t.

Personally, I don’t think that the “brute force” argument is the best. I think it’s arguing from ignorance.

Again, there are hundreds of articles about the adjacent work camps. Please look at the publications of Zahi Hawass, chief archeologist of Egypt, and Amihai Mazar, a professor of archeology in Jerusalem.

Most claim that there could have been up to ten thousand workers. Some claim that the number of workers was as low as 1600.

“The study was done by Christian Wagner and colleagues at Saarland University in Germany, along with researchers in the Netherlands, Iran and France. The team was inspired by an ancient Egyptian wall painting showing a huge statue being hauled across the sand on a sledge in about 1800 BC. The painting has a detail that has long puzzled Egyptologists: a worker who appears to be pouring water onto the sand in front of the sledge while others appear to be carrying water to replenish his supply.”

https://physicsworld.com/a/did-slippery-sand-help-egyptians-build-the-pyramids/

There are hundreds of articles about this theory. It was all the rage a few years ago.

Yes. I’m familiar with this image. Some scientists claim that when just the right amount of water is poured over sand it reduces the friction by about 30%.

Some also claim that there were not hundreds of thousands of laborers at the Giza pyramids, based on evidence discovered in the work camps near the site.

I’m 38 years old and I think I’ve read about a new theory every year of my life…

All jokes aside, this is another great example of a trend towards bio-inspired engineering.

Scientists may have solved the mystery behind transporting some of the materials to the pyramid site: a dried-up a river

Fixed the title for you.

The construction of the Giza pyramids is still baffling. Some of the stones are purported to weigh 80 tons. That’s four or five times more weight than what modern trucks can pull on paved roads.

It’s not so farfetched to presume that this ancient civilization employed technology that is lost to time. I’m not talking about aliens and laser beams, but good ol’ fashioned mathematics. They could have exploited a principle of leverage and incline that we simply don’t understand or recognize. Or perhaps something entirely different from our six simple machines…

The problem with this theory, of course, is that we like to believe that humanity is always progressing and that we are superior to our forebears by default. That is ultimately a subjective opinion.