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Gaming Archeology: The Excavation of Mushroom Island

This article is over 15 years old and may contain outdated information
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Logan Zawacki has released a book detailing the recent groundbreaking archeological discovery that has shaken the foundations of our understanding of human history to its very core – The Excavation of Mushroom Island.

You thought it was just a game, but what if there was more to it? What if a renowned and respected archeologist presented the world with evidence that the Mushroom Kingdom was not the product of a fertile Japanese imagination, but instead was based directly on a very real place that existed long ago in Earth’s history, sometime between the Arcadic Period and the Early Snesolithic? If you saw these maps, fossils, anatomical diagrams and other evidence for yourself, would you believe?

If you said yes, then maybe you should put down the controller and go outside for, oh, a year or two to get some fresh air. Those of you who maintain a functioning grip on reality, on the other hand, might get a kick out of the new book from Zawacki called The Excavation of Mushroom Island, a 76-page documentary of his “find”. Zawacki, a freelance artist rather than an archeologist, has packed the book with site locations, detailed fossil documentation and more, using a blend of science and art to create a deep, believable illusion of a “real” Super Mario World that existed many millennia ago.

In a bit of a strange twist, Blurb.com warns that The Excavation of Mushroom Island “contains some information not suitable for young children,” although what that actually means is unclear. Not that you’d be buying this book for your kids anyway; the regular softcover edition is selling for $50, while 100 copies of a numbered and signed hardcover edition are available for special order directly from the author. Pricing for the hardcover edition isn’t mentioned, but as the saying goes, if you have to ask…

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