# Would future archeologists get the wrong idea about Santa Claus? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 24, 2021, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-future-archeologists-get-the-wrong-idea-about-santa-claus/956603 "2021-12-24T20:55:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2021, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-future-archeologists-get-the-wrong-idea-about-santa-claus/956603/1 "2021-12-24T20:55:30Z")
If archeologists from the distant future are digging through the artifacts of our civilization, they would see countless references in song, books, TV shows, movies etc about Santa Claus, and would be forced to come to the conclusion that we thought he was real. . I mean…what would they find to dispute that? ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2021, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-future-archeologists-get-the-wrong-idea-about-santa-claus/956603/2 "2021-12-24T21:41:43Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > I mean…what would they find to dispute that? I’d be willing to bet that for every thing a future archeologist were to find suggesting Santa is real, you could find something that says otherwise. Pictures of kids with Santa/Pictures of parents getting dressed up as Santa. Movies from a kid’s POV during the holiday season/movies from the parent’s POV Kids unwrapping presents on Christmas morning/parents wrapping them a few days earlier And that’s ignoring everything supernatural about it since that would overlap with religious beliefs. I think, at least with enough research, it would be pretty clear that Santa isn’t real and something that (in general) only children believe in. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2021, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-future-archeologists-get-the-wrong-idea-about-santa-claus/956603/3 "2021-12-24T21:43:23Z")
A million references like this one, perhaps? Seriously, how many times have people written that they stopped believing in Santa Claus, or acted as Santa Claus to their kids, or argued about whether kids should even be allowed to believe in Santa Claus? It would be an extremely strange future in which only the fictional references existed while all the other adult mentions were eradicated. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2021, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-future-archeologists-get-the-wrong-idea-about-santa-claus/956603/4 "2021-12-24T21:48:29Z")
Well, future archaeologists have thought that TVs were devices to communicate with God. ([Cite](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003SNKBQE/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1)) ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2021, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-future-archeologists-get-the-wrong-idea-about-santa-claus/956603/5 "2021-12-24T21:54:18Z")
An archaeologist could explain this as play-acting – people dressing like the real thing for dramatic purposes. Like a Passion Play. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2021, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-future-archeologists-get-the-wrong-idea-about-santa-claus/956603/6 "2021-12-24T22:12:44Z")
I think it’s safe to say we are in an era where future archeologists couldn’t be confused about anything. The information is overwhelming for the truth. They couldn’t possibly mistake Santa Claus as real, or think an iPhone is something it isn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2021, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-future-archeologists-get-the-wrong-idea-about-santa-claus/956603/7 "2021-12-24T22:34:13Z")
I am all for screwing with archeologists. Bury me in a red suit monogramed “SC” and Santa hat, pipe in mouth and sleigh bells in hand, next to the body of a reindeer. Throw in a large sack for good measure. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2021, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-future-archeologists-get-the-wrong-idea-about-santa-claus/956603/8 "2021-12-24T23:27:14Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > An archaeologist could explain this as play-acting – people dressing like the real thing for dramatic purposes. Like a Passion Play.   Or they might think we were some kind of bizarre cargo cult. > [@Velocity](#): > > I think it’s safe to say we are in an era where future archeologists couldn’t be confused about anything. The information is overwhelming for the truth. Given the kind of politics we are seeing these days, it’s clear that “truth” is an obsolete concept in some circles. If we can’t produce clear and unambiguous “truth” that we can agree upon even in our own time, then what kind of “truth” can we leave behind that archaeologists in the year 10000 will ever comprehend, let along agree upon? ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2021, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-future-archeologists-get-the-wrong-idea-about-santa-claus/956603/9 "2021-12-24T23:41:59Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > If archeologists from the distant future are digging through the artifacts of our civilization, they would see countless references . . . If they saw countless references, they would get it right. Now, if they only saw a few references, or all the references trace back to one or two root sources, as typically happens in real archeology of the ancient world, then there is a good chance they would get it wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Kimera757](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kimera757/32/3765_2.png) [@Kimera757](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimera757)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2021, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-future-archeologists-get-the-wrong-idea-about-santa-claus/956603/10 "2021-12-24T23:43:45Z")
There will be future conspiracy theories that Santa was real. Or fake. Either way it could get really silly. I really hope knowledge engines like Wikipedia survive in some way into the future. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2021, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-future-archeologists-get-the-wrong-idea-about-santa-claus/956603/11 "2021-12-24T23:52:37Z")
Archaeologists of the distant future may not have any knowledge of ANY 21st century languages. Most forms of written or electronic information will be long decayed and lost. And anything that remains, perhaps carved into stone, will be totally unintelligible. How, then, can we communicate _anything_ that we might wish to communicate to the literate civilizations (if any) of the 100th century? Scientists and linguists have been trying to devise a way. It matters because of the nuclear waste sites we are creating, that will be radioactive and deadly dangerous for 10000 years or more. These sites must be clearly marked as deathly dangerous waste sites in some way that will be recognizable even then. It’s a problem that is being taken seriously. > **[How to build a nuclear warning for 10,000 years’ time](https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200731-how-to-build-a-nuclear-warning-for-10000-years-time)** > > The nuclear waste buried far beneath the earth will be toxic for thousands of years. How do you build a warning now that can be understood in the far future? ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2021, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-future-archeologists-get-the-wrong-idea-about-santa-claus/956603/12 "2021-12-25T15:14:46Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > I think it’s safe to say we are in an era where future archeologists couldn’t be confused about anything. The information is overwhelming for the truth. They couldn’t possibly mistake Santa Claus as real, or think an iPhone is something it isn’t. I’m with Velocity here. Barring some catastrophe that wipes out civilization and humans have to rebuild a new civilization (which admittedly is a definite possibility) I think we will have a through-line of knowledge 10,000 years from now that will enable future humans to have a pretty thorough understanding of our current culture. We don’t have 10,000 years of history going back only because humans first became literate and started recording things in written language what, around 5,000 years ago? We have a fairly good understanding through written records of what ancient Egyptians were up to 4,000 years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Happytree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happytree/32/3555_2.png) [@Happytree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happytree)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2021, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-future-archeologists-get-the-wrong-idea-about-santa-claus/956603/13 "2021-12-25T16:37:05Z")
Cool BBC article! I am going to read more about the Atomic Priesthood and ray cats! It all makes me think of one of the Planet of the Apes sequels. The one with the mutants who worship an A bomb. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2021, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-future-archeologists-get-the-wrong-idea-about-santa-claus/956603/14 "2021-12-25T16:38:14Z")
I think that literally, the response to the OP question is: no. It was more a whimsical observance that in sheer volume, the number of cultural references to Santa as real vastly outnumber the reality-based ones. ---
**Author:** ![plankter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ba0ec/32.png) [@plankter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plankter)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2021, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-future-archeologists-get-the-wrong-idea-about-santa-claus/956603/15 "2021-12-25T16:40:46Z")
_deleted, messed up post quote_ ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2021, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-future-archeologists-get-the-wrong-idea-about-santa-claus/956603/16 "2021-12-26T15:02:52Z")
You mean…you _don’t_ belive in Santa Claus? ATHEIST ! Stone him. 😆 🤡 🎅 ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2021, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-future-archeologists-get-the-wrong-idea-about-santa-claus/956603/17 "2021-12-26T18:41:11Z")
I once read an illustrated story about future archeologists digging down and uncovering a buried 1980s motel and determining the use of all the long forgotten objects. The picture stuck in my mind is about the toilet seat with the “Sanitized for your protection” paper strip secured around it. They suggested it was a ritual headwear and showed someone with the paper strip across their forehead holding up the U shaped toilet seat behind their head like a halo. Probably Mad magazine or similar. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2021, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-future-archeologists-get-the-wrong-idea-about-santa-claus/956603/18 "2021-12-26T19:43:33Z")
That’s _Motel of the Mysteries_ by [David Macaulay](https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=dp_byline_sr_book_1?ie=UTF8&field-author=David+Macaulay&text=David+Macaulay&sort=relevancerank&search-alias=books), a wonderful book. The idea of an archaeological recapture of current America I think was started by Robert Nathan’s short classic “[Digging the Weans](http://www.joshpachter.com/pages/weans.pdf)” in the November 1956 Harper’s Magazine. Not as much fun but a more pointed parody of archaeological speculation off of limited evidence. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2021, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-future-archeologists-get-the-wrong-idea-about-santa-claus/956603/19 "2021-12-26T21:17:29Z")
It all depends on their view of our culture. They might well assume we are gullible fools who spend a lot on myths given the number of churches they’d find which would be just like Greek and Egyptian temples to us. Given that view, they could easily believe we thought Santa was real. ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2021, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-future-archeologists-get-the-wrong-idea-about-santa-claus/956603/20 "2021-12-26T23:44:21Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > That’s _Motel of the Mysteries_ by [David Macaulay](https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=dp_byline_sr_book_1?ie=UTF8&field-author=David+Macaulay&text=David+Macaulay&sort=relevancerank&search-alias=books), a wonderful book. That’s it! And here is the image of the sacred collar: > **[motel of the mysteries – The Gonzo History Project](https://gonzohistory.wordpress.com/tag/motel-of-the-mysteries/)** > > Posts about motel of the mysteries written by gonzohistory [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-future-archeologists-get-the-wrong-idea-about-santa-claus/956603.md?page=2)