Question

Thor Heyerdahl proposed that Egyptians could have navigated to the New World and influenced the emergence of civilization in the Americas. Erich von Däniken suggested that major human achievements had been borrowed from beings from outer space. What do these two views, both lacking credible scientific evidence, have in common?

a-Both reflect the popular media's negative effect on the quality of high school and college education.
b-Both suggest that evolutionary mechanisms explain both biological and cultural diversity across time and space.
c-Both take the position that major changes in ancient human lifestyles were the result of outside instruction or interference rather than the achievements of the natives of the places where the changes took place.
d-Both suggest that anthropology benefits from a broad range of views on human history, even if these views challenge the mainstream and even lack credible scientific evidence.
s-Both argue that historical events such as plant and animal domestication, the state, and city life were not brilliant discoveries, inventions, or secrets that humans needed to borrow but were, rather, long-term, gradual processes, developments with down-to-earth causes and effects.

Answer 1

Both Thor Heyerdahl and Erich von Däniken's theories suggest that significant developments in ancient civilizations were due to external influences rather than indigenous accomplishments, despite lacking credible scientific evidence. Early anthropological views supported similar theories of cultural evolution, but modern anthropology recognizes the individualized historical trajectories of cultures and the role of environmental interactions.

Step-by-step explanation:

The views of Thor Heyerdahl and Erich von Däniken, which suggest major changes in ancient human lifestyles were the result of outside instruction or interference, share a common thread. Both theories challenge the idea that indigenous peoples developed their civilizations independently, without external input. The perspectives of Heyerdahl and von Däniken lack credible scientific evidence and instead propose that civilization in the Americas could have been influenced by Egyptians or that major human achievements borrowed from extraterrestrial beings. Early anthropology's ethnocentric theories, such as those proposed by Edward Tylor and Lewis Henry Morgan, promoted similar ideas of unilineal cultural evolution. In contrast, Franz Boas and other anthropologists emphasized that cultural change occurs through interactions with other cultures, and each culture has its unique developmental journey. Modern views accept that human migration to the Americas likely occurred through both overland and maritime routes over a considerable period, with linguistic and archaeological evidence supporting a more complex history than previously conceived. It's important to recognize the role of environment in shaping human biology and culture, acknowledging the ingenuity and agency of indigenous peoples in their accomplishments.