Men Among the Mammoths

Front Cover
University of Chicago Press, 1993 - History - 267 pages
Van Riper recreates scientists' first arguments for human antiquity, placing these debates within the context of Victorian science. Using field notes, scientific reports, and previously unpublished letters, he shows also how the study of human prehistory brought together geologists, archeologists, and anthropologists in their first interdisciplinary scientific effort. A vivid account of how the discovery of human antiquity forced Victorians to redefine their assumptions about human evolution and the relationship of science to Christianity.
 

Contents

Beyond the Present World
1
The Historical Archaeologists and Their Science
15
A Community and Its Beginnings
16
Aims and Methods
28
Historical Archaeology and Prehistory
39
Geologists and Human Antiquity to 1858
44
Geologic Thought in the Golden Age
45
The Geological Community
54
The Problem of Human Fossils
132
Lyells Antiquity of Man
139
The Public Debate over Human Antiquity 185975
144
The Structure of the Debate
148
The Problem of Absolute Age
156
The Impact of Human Antiquity
171
New Approaches to Prehistory
184
Historical Archaeologists and Prehistory 186080
187

Geologists and Human Antiquity
59
Solving a Geological Problem
74
Brixham Cave and Paleontology JanuaryJune 1858
76
Brixham Cave and Human Antiquity JulyOctober 1858
85
Hugh Falconer in Europe November 1858March 1859
100
Completing the Solution AprilAugust 1859
104
The British Association Meetings September 1859
113
Defending and Extending the Consensus
117
Defending the Data JulyDecember 1859
118
Gathering Corroborative Data July 1859December 1862
127
The Geological Archaeologists and Their Science
192
Geology and Geological Archaeology
204
Heterodoxy and Hegemony
214
A New Way of Seeing
222
Contents of National Archaeological Journals 185075
229
Commentaries on Human Antiquity 185975
232
Bibliography
239
Index
259
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