Men among the Mammoths
9780226849911
Men among the Mammoths
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 Using field notes, scientific reports, and previously unpublished letters, he shows also how the study of human prehistory brought together geologists, archeologists, and anthropologists in their first interdisciplinary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.
284 pages | 6 x 9 | © 1993
Science and Its Conceptual Foundations series
Anthropology: Physical Anthropology
Earth Sciences: Paleontology
Table of Contents
List of Figures
Acknowledgments
A Note on Terminology
"Monkeyana"
1. Beyond the Present World
2. The Historical Archaeologists and Their Science
A Community and Its Beginnings
Historical Archaeology: Aims and Methods
Historical Archaeology and Prehistory
3. Geologists and Human Antiquity to 1858
Geologic Thought in the "Golden Age"
The Geological Community
Geologists and Human Antiquity
4. 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
5. Defending and Extending the Consensus
Defending the Data, July-December 1859
Gathering Corroborative Data, July 1859-December 1862
The Problem of Human Fossils
Lyell’s Antiquity of Man
6. The Public Debate over Human Antiquity, 1859-75
The Structure of the Debate
The Problem of Absolute Age
The Impact of Human Antiquity
7. 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
8. A New Way of Seeing
Appendix 1. Contents of National Archaeological Journals, 1850-75
Appendix 2. Commentaries on Human Antiquity, 1859-75
Bibliography
Index
Acknowledgments
A Note on Terminology
"Monkeyana"
1. Beyond the Present World
2. The Historical Archaeologists and Their Science
A Community and Its Beginnings
Historical Archaeology: Aims and Methods
Historical Archaeology and Prehistory
3. Geologists and Human Antiquity to 1858
Geologic Thought in the "Golden Age"
The Geological Community
Geologists and Human Antiquity
4. 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
5. Defending and Extending the Consensus
Defending the Data, July-December 1859
Gathering Corroborative Data, July 1859-December 1862
The Problem of Human Fossils
Lyell’s Antiquity of Man
6. The Public Debate over Human Antiquity, 1859-75
The Structure of the Debate
The Problem of Absolute Age
The Impact of Human Antiquity
7. 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
8. A New Way of Seeing
Appendix 1. Contents of National Archaeological Journals, 1850-75
Appendix 2. Commentaries on Human Antiquity, 1859-75
Bibliography
Index