Men among the Mammoths

Victorian Science and the Discovery of Human Prehistory

By: A. Bowdoin Van Riper

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Paperback | 1 August 1993 | Edition Number 1

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284 Pages

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22.98 x 16.35 x 1.6

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A. Bowdoin Van Riper provides an account of how Victorian scientists raised and resolved the question of human antiquity. During the early part of the 19th century, scientists divided the history of the earth into a series of "former worlds," populated by mammoths and other prehistoric animals, and a "modern world," in which humans lived. According to this view, the human race was no older than 6000 years. The discovery of tools with mammoth bones, however, prompted a group of British geologists to argue in 1859 that the origin of humankind dated back to prehistoric times. The idea of prehistoric human origins threatened long-cherished religious beliefs and set off an intense debate among scientists as well as members of the clergy and the educated public. Van Riper chronicles this debate within the context of Victorian science, showing how the notion of human antiquity forced Victorians to redefine their assumptions about human evolution and the relationship of science to Christianity. The new study of human prehistory also crossed the boundaries of scientific disciplines, and the once-distinct fields of geology, archaeology and anthropology were drawn together to study early human life. Van Riper shows how, from the beginning, the study of human prehistory was an interdisciplinary endeavour.

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List of Figures
Acknowledgments A Note on Terminology "Monkeyana"
Beyond the Present World
The Historical Archaeologists and Their Science A Community and Its Beginnings Historical Archaeology: Aims and Methods Historical Archaeology and Prehistory
Geologists and Human Antiquity to 1858 Geologic Thought in the "Golden Age" The Geological Community Geologists and Human Antiquity
Solving a Geological Problem Brixham Cave and Paleontology, January-June 1858 Brixham Cave and Human Antiquity, July-October 1858 Hugh Falconer in Europe, November 1858-March 1859 Completing the Solution, April-August 1859 The British Association Meetings, September 1859
Defending and Extending the Consensus Defending the Data, July-December 1859 Gathering Corroborative Data, July 1859-December 1862 The Problem of Human Fossils Lyell'sAntiquity of Man
The Public Debate over Human Antiquity, 1859-75 The Structure of the Debate The Problem of Absolute Age The Impact of Human Antiquity
New Approaches to Prehistory Historical Archaeologists and Prehistory, 1860-80 The Geological Archaeologists and Their Science The Grand Alliance: Geology and Geological Archaeology Heterodoxy and Hegemony
A New Way of Seeing
Contents of National Archaeological Journals, 1850-75
Commentaries on Human Antiquity, 1859-75
Bibliography
Index
Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.

Men among the Mammoths

Victorian Science and the Discovery of Human Prehistory

At a Glance

Paperback

Shipping

How to return your order

Defective items

You Can Find This Book In

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