Box Office Archaeology: Refining Hollywood's Portrayals of the Past

?How true is it?” is a common refrain of patrons coming out of movie theatres after the latest film on pirates, Vikings, or mummies. While Hollywood usurps the past for its own entertainment purposes, archaeologists and historians know a lot about many of these subjects, digging up stories often more fascinating than the ones projected on screen. This distinguished group of archaeologists select key subjects and genres used by Hollywood and provide the historical and archaeological depth that a movie cannot?what really happened in history. Topics include Egypt, the Wild West, Civil War submarines, Vikings, the Titanic, and others. The book should be of interest to introductory archaeology and American history classes, courses on film and popular culture, and to a general audience. Alternate Selection, History Book Club.

Julie M. Schablitsky’s academic and research pursuits are launched from the University of Oregon, Museum of Natural and Cultural History where she holds an adjunct professorship and directs excavations on American pioneer sites and Oregon Chinatowns. Within these projects she identifies expressions of ethnicity, assimilation, and adaptation to foreign environments. Her recent research includes the investigation of the Donner Party in California. Collaborating with experts in bone histology, forensic anthropology, and other scientific fields, she has contributed to a better understanding of how the emigrants survived while trapped in the Sierra Nevadas for four months. Schablitsky is also known for extracting nuclear DNA from artifacts. She recently published an edited volume by the Society for Historical Archaeology, Remains of the Day: Forensic Applications in Archaeology. She introduces a new field of study, ?genetic archaeology”, and highlights successful projects using traditional forensic techniques to better understand archaeological sites.