Alison Chiu

Sommers, Spielberg and the Portrayal of Archaeology in Film

Introduction Films are a form of entertainment, meant to invoke curiosity and excitement. In real life, it can take years to excavate a single site, making archaeology an arduous and length process. For film directors, this presents the challenge of how to make archaeology exciting and entertaining. As a result, the role of real life archaeologists is often over dramatized. Archaeologists in films spend less time excavating and more time using knowledge to seek out artifacts through a variety of dangers that attempt to thwart them. In Stephen Sommers, The Mummy (1999), and Steven Spielbergs Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008), inaccurately depicts the role of real world archaeologists. The Mummy (1999) Hamunaptra is a city of the dead, and center of the plot in The Mummy. The map leading to the city location is hidden with a key, which is introduced at the beginning of the film by Evelyn Carnahans brother, Jonathan. Although he is the only archaeologist of the group, he shows a lack of respect multiple times throughout the film. At the beginning of the film, he scares Evelyn in the museums display area by hiding in a sarcophagus and causing the mummy to leap out in front of her. Jonathan is also seen doing the same within Hamunaptra and later playing golf, while the rest of the group investigates the chamber without causing wreckage to the site. Rather than excavate and discover the artifact, Evelyn learns that her brother had stolen it from another, Rick OConnell. Once Jonathan is informed about the riches of the city, he and his sister decide to seek out its location. As an aspiring Egyptologist, Evelyn Carnahan values knowledge and discovering the past, viewing the Book of Amun-Ra as historically significant. Despite warnings from Rick OConnell, Evelyn chooses to pursue the ancient city in order to seek out the Book of Amun-Ra as she has made it her life pursuit to discover it. Evelyn exhibits the characteristics of real archaeologist, and reflects the idea that discovering artifacts is what drives archaeologists (Pruitt, 2013) and journeys to Hamunaptra for scholastic purposes and seeks out knowledge rather than capital or fame. In contrast to his sister, Jonathan is in pursuit of riches instead of knowledge and is attracted to Hamunaptra by rumors of the immense treasure buried within it. Unfortunately, her brother, Jonathan Carnahan, is depicted as her opposite. Despite being an archaeologist, he shows little respect for the artifacts. Once inside Hamunaptra, Rick and Evelyn are seen inspecting an underground chamber while Jonathan plays golf. By accident, he miraculously reveals a sarcophagus without having to perform any excavating. Evelyn then states the individual must have either been of great importance, or committed a heinous crime. Upon Evelyns inspection of the mummy, she reveals that the individual was subject to Egypts worst curse known as the HomDai, which supports one of her initial perceptions about the mummy. This is similar to how archaeologists will fine-tune ideas by answering new questions during excavation as they arise through appropriate measure (Muller-Pelletier, 2013). Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)

Alison Chiu
Indiana Jones is a professor and archaeologist, and in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, he is forced to locate the crystal skull by the Soviets. Upon travelling to Peru with Mutt Williams, Indiana Jones believes he has found the burial site of Francisco de Orellana by counting the number of bodies in the crypt and eventually discover Orellanas corpse. Musing aloud, Indiana Jones questions the state of the site, Thats odd. Someones been here and gone, and they left all this gold and all the artifacts. What were they looking for. Like Indiana Jones, archaeologists often know little to none about the excavation site, and must gather information based on the artifacts discovered. Archaeologists know nothing previously about their excavation site, but based on their surroundings, archaeologists are able to create hypotheses (Kay, 2013). Both characters do not know what exactly transpired, but they are able to make educated assumptions based on their surroundings. Upon further investigation, they discover the crystal skull without excavating. Uncovering the crystal skull, which is hidden behind Orellanas corpse, Indiana Jones inspects it and notes several interesting traits, Unbelievable. No tool marks. A single piece of seamless quartz, cut across the grain. Its not possible, even with todays technology it would shatter. Crystals not magnetic. Eventually, this leads Mutt to propose the idea that, Maybe the Nazca Indians thought this was their God. Indiana Jones fascination with the oddity of the crystal skull and theories surrounding its identity reflect the same process real life archaeologists follow as they try to discover the purpose of artifacts. Like Evelyn, Mutt is able to make finetune possible hypotheses through observation. Based on the traits of the artifacts, archaeologists are able to determine purpose. For example, archaeologists inspect figurines for technology, styles, gender and gesture amongst other traits to for indicators of social status or age (Morris, 2013). By inspecting the crystal skull, Indiana Jones and Mutt are led to believe that the skull is not of human make. Not only is the technology superior, but while the skull appears to be made of crystal, it posses traits that say otherwise when it attracts gold, which is not a magnetic material. While initially Indiana Jones believes the skull is made of crystal, the traits of the skull lead him to believe otherwise. Real Life Archaeology Archaeology enables scientists to learn about the human past through the artifacts of lost cultures. In both The Mummy and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Hamunaptra and Mayan pyramid known as the Palace of Eternity are destroyed. During excavation, archaeologists respect their sites and the local community even if they are working in a position of authority (Clarke, 2013). During excavation, archaeologists also seek to preserve the integrity of the site. In The Mummy, Jonathan Carnahan disrespects the artifacts and sites by playing with the mummy in the museum to scare his sister, and playing golf in the underground chamber. While playing gold may have inadvertently revealed Imhoteps sarcophagus, it also revealed the dangers of the excavation. Indiana Jones also almost removes a knife from one of the mummies, because he did not want to keep borrowing Mutt, in addition to cutting open the wrappings of a body. Through the magic of filmmaking, the characters spend little to no time at all actually excavating the site. While Rick OConnell presents Evelyn with tools, she is not seen using them for a long period of time for the sake of moving the plot along. Instead of spending time to allow viewers to witness the excavation process, characters are thwarted by an undead

Alison Chiu
mummy and Indiana Jones, by the Soviets. In most cases, real archaeologists are thwarted by nature due to the location of excavation sites. Nature can be unpredictable and impede on progress, as most excavation sites are generally outdoors making conditions difficult to work under (Heathcote, 2013). Archaeologists are careful in their work, taking time to process and analysis artifacts in order to properly understand their purpose. Evelyn showed interest in excavating despite not being an archaeologist and Indiana Jones did none at all. Rather than make assumption, such as assuming the wall is a wall, archaeologists find evidence to support their claims regardless of the wall is actually a wall. Excavations have the potential to create new discoveries, as each site is like a briefcase because anything the archaeologist can imagine might be hidden within the earth (Pruitt, 2013). Both films feature a sought after location or artifact. The characters know specifically what they are looking for, even if they do not know how or where it is located. For real life archaeologists, excavation sites can hold a number of surprising artifacts. During excavations, it is difficult to predict the kind of artifacts that will be discovered. Most artifacts do no bring much public attention and media, but for those that do, the significance or story of the artifact is often forgotten without the archaeologist (Pruitt, 2013). When society becomes interested in a certain artifact, their meaning becomes lost without the help of archaeologists. Conclusion The portrayal of archaeologists in films is highly inaccurate. Filmmakers choose to exaggerate on the discovery aspect of archaeology, finding adventurous ways for their characters to discover artifacts. Less time is spent in excavation, and more time is spent running away from or causing danger. In real life archaeology, the past is embraced and is used as a way to learn about ancient cultures. In both The Mummy and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, the main characters are responsible for releasing danger into the world. Evelyn resurrects a ancient mummy who bears Egypts worst curse, and Indiana Jones must keep the crystal skulls from being abused by the Soviets, preventing world domination. Word Count: 1,487 References Clarke, B. (2013, July 26). Bob clarkes varied day of archaeology. Message posted to http://www.dayofarchaeology.com/ Daniel, S., Jacks, J. (Producers), Sommers, S. (Writer), & Sommers, S. (Director). (1999). The mummy [Motion Picture]. United States: Universal Pictures. Heathcote, J. (2013, August 1). 1st dig. Message posted to http://www.dayofarchaeology.com/ Kay, S. (2013, July 28). Digging in segni. Message posted to http://www.dayofarchaeology.com/ Marshall, F. (Producer), Koepp, D. (Writer), & Spielberg, S. (Director). (2008). Indiana jones and the kingdom of the crystal skull [Motion Picture]. United States: Paramount Pictures. Morris, C. (2013, July 26). East Cretan peak sanctuary project. Message posted to http://www.dayofarchaeology.com/

Alison Chiu
Muller-Pelletier, C. (2013, July 31). Les queyriaux (france): an exceptional discovery for inrap. Message posted to http://www.dayofarchaeology.com/ Pruitt, B. (2013, July 27). Archaeology stories and discovery. Message posted to http://www.dayofarchaeology.com/