| xu do morji lo du'u bu'u la irunias ueleias cu facki fi lo traji be lo ka ce'u purci bei fo lo'i selci'a be bau lo bangrxeuskera .i ca ku ba'o jarco lo ka jai tcica to ki'e la'o zoi Language Hat zoi toi | Remember when they found the earliest inscriptions in Basque at Iruña-Veleia? Turns out they were fake. (H/t: Language Hat) |
It would be interesting to read an investigative account of how the fraud escaped detection (or exposure) for so long. Sounds as if references to Descartes would have given the game away sooner.
ReplyDeleteIt is a puzzle left unsolved by the articles I've read. This was 2½ years ago! I am guessing that the outrageous stuff (Descartes, Nefertiti) was either not seen before the initial announcement, or they thought they could hide it. I'm guessing they kept the stuff from review for so long hoping the whole thing would shimmy down the memory hole. And I'm guessing there was some fiscal and political pressure driving the premature release. But I don't know.
ReplyDeleteLanguage Hat was right. Any revelation about the Basque language should be greeted with skepticism. Someone else wrote eloquently that the Basques are a blank canvas on which academics & nationalists paint their hopes and dreams for groundbreaking theories & nobler ethnic origins.