If you ask the majority of citizens of the United States their opinion on the validity of cultural heritage claims based on geography, there are chances are they will look at you the way you do. are crazy or dive into an explanation of the most recent show they saw on the History Channel about the repatriation of the Kennewick man. As with any other subject, the extent of a person's knowledge of archeology is limited to the material to which they have been exposed. In today's society, the majority of this information is taken from popular media sources such as National Geographic, History Channel, Wikipedia, and other mainstream "educational" resources. Although very popular, these resources often offer sensationalist interpretations and misrepresent archaeological data. The media is the primary channel of educational information and therefore has a societal obligation to accurately describe archaeological finds and data. References to archeology have become increasingly common in popular culture. Images of icons, themes, and cultural artifacts are found in a wide range of media formats. Some films, such as Indiana Jones, National Treasure and Tomb Raider, do not claim to have educational significance while other films, such as Breaking the Maya Code and The Bible's Buried Secrets, are presented as non-fictional works. These latter films claim to have educational intent and are expected to further public knowledge by clarifying and interpreting archaeological data that depicts educational issues. They should contribute to the clarification and interpretation of data. This same principle applies to other forms of media such as magazines, journals, websites, and television shows that provide educational value to the viewer. (Clarke 3) Agreement...... middle of paper ...... for archeology, media not only facilitates the archiving of past events, it actively creates the present by exposing past events. Even more credit is given to television programs, films, articles and magazines that claim “educational value” for the viewer. The extent of an audience's knowledge is limited to the information it receives; it becomes problematic when the media only portrays one side of an issue to create a cohesive narrative. Value-based conclusions are drawn from information presented to the public and can have lasting impacts. Media that claims to be "educational" should take into account archaeologists' comments and emphasize the accuracy of the assessments. By holding the media to a higher standard of presentation, we can ensure that values-based opinions will be the result of empirical data and not sensationalist errors..