Harrison Ford Watches Indiana Jones

Believe it or not, Harrison Ford has never sat down and watched himself in the Indiana Jones' movies. For most of us aspiring archaeologists, or those of you that are already living this dream everyday, the Indiana Jones' movies were the reason we went into archaeology.



Just imagine. The first Indiana Jones, Raiders of the Lost Ark, came out in 1981. At that time, Harrison Ford was in his mid 30's. He probably had no idea how his movies would impact archaeologists, and students, who flocked to anthropology and archaeology programs all over the world.

If you haven't seen this video, just take a moment and watch the childlike reactions Harrison Ford has while watching it. This made my day!

PS. He's not really watching Indiana Jones, but playing Uncharted 3, a videogame about an adventure-seeking treasure hunter. He watches in  absolute amazement as if he forgot he is the guy who made being an adventure-seeking treasure hunter cool.

Indiana Jones Gets Animated in Raiders of the Lost Ark

If you're an archaeologist then most likely you're a fan of Indiana Jones. Even if you're not an archaeologist, this animated short film by Jeff Gurwood will keep you glued to your computer screen, as Jones removes a handful of sand before he exchanges the sand bag for the gold idol. The photo below shows a stacked comparison of the scenes, and as you can see, it's hard to tell which one is animated and which is the original.

This animation using HASBRO figures was specially made to mark the film’s thirtieth anniversary of the Raiders of the Lost Ark. The movement and expressions are spot on. Gurwood has painstakingly recreated one of my favorite action, adventure movies of all time.


Indyanimation from Jeff Gurwood

To see behind the scenes photos for Indyanimation or other films by Jeff Gurwood check out his Facebook page.

Special thanks to RJ Evans over at Kuriositas for bringing this to my attention.

Penn State Abington College Professor Dr. Capelotti Creates Trailer For Archaeology Class

It’s your first year of anthropology classes and you’re nervous. You have no idea who to take for classes and the ratemyprofessor reviews are filled with falsified information *smile*.

What if you had another option? If every anthropology professor created a movie trailer for their classes, wouldn’t you be that much more excited about taking them? Well, one Penn State Abington College professor did just that.

“There’s only one name for archaeology!” Dr. Capelotti. Ok, with Indiana Jones subtitles, this is sure to draw a crowd of students for an archaeology class. I say job well done Dr. Capelotti.

Was There A Real Indiana Jones?

The results are in ladies and gentlemen and I’m not at all surprised that many of you said “yes”, there was an Indiana Jones. The problem with this answer is that many people can’t agree on who it actually was.

The film character “Indiana Jones” played by Harrison Ford was actually based off of the Nazi archaeologist Otto Rahn, whom Spielberg based his movies on. Otto was a bizarre chap, and if you’d like to learn more about Otto Rahn, the Telegraph did a great piece on him.

Another rumored Indiana Jones was Robert Ripley, from “Ripley's Believe It or Not!”

Robert was an eccentric and avid traveler. He took the world by storm visiting far off lands and unblemished territories and cultures. Places like India and the Orient were unconventional areas for the American traveler during the 19th century, however Ripley's obsession drove him to these areas to study the local customs and speak with people in the area. In total, Ripley traveled to over 201 countries. Yet, my only question with Ripley is that he represents more of an anthropologist collecting ethnographies, however he did come back with some pretty bizarre finds, including the shrunken head.

The famous Howard Carter who had worked in Egypt since the age of 17 was an adventure seeker. Even though he was warned against entering the Tomb of King Tut he went forward with his excavations anyway and made one of the most famous and infamous discoveries in Egyptian archaeological history. With his charm and wit and drive to conquer the sands of time, many believe he was the true Indiana Jones.

So the answer to the question, “Was there really an Indiana Jones?” is actually yes, there were many.

You’re turn. Let me know who you think it should be, or is, in the comments area.

© Gnostic Liberation Front (Otto Rahn) © Ancient Digger (Unicorn Man)

Petra In Under 3 Minutes

It's one of my favorite archaeological sites on earth. The mysterious city of Petra was carved into the steep cliffs, lining Arabah, a valley that runs from the Dead Sea to the Gulf of Aqaba. Most remember Petra from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, however they probably never knew the history behind it.