Finding Time for the Old Stone Age : A History of Palaeolithic Archaeology and Quaternary Geology in Britain, 1860-1960

Finding Time for the Old Stone Age explores a century of colourful debate over the age of our earliest ancestors. In the mid nineteenth century curious stone implements were found alongside the bones of extinct animals. Humans were evidently more ancient than had been supposed - but just how old were they? There were several clocks for Stone-Age (or Palaeolithic) time, and it would prove difficult to synchronize them. Conflicting timescales were drawn from the fields of geology, palaeontology, anthropology, and archaeology. Anne O'Connor draws on a wealth of lively, personal correspondence to explain the nature of these arguments. The trail leads from Britain to Continental Europe, Africa, and Asia, and extends beyond the world of professors, museum keepers, and officers of the Geological Survey: wine sellers, diamond merchants, papermakers, and clerks also proposed timescales for the Palaeolithic. This book brings their stories to light for the first time - stories that offer an intriguing insight into how knowledge was built up about the ancient British past. "Finding Time for the Old Stone Age explores a century of colourful debate over the age of our earliest ancestors. In the mid-nineteenth century, curious stone implements were found alongside the bones of extinct animals. Humans were evidently more ancient than had been supposed - but just how old were they? Answers were drawn from geology, palaeontology, anthropology, and archaeology. Some saw clues in a succession of Ice Ages; others preferred the chronological patterns in river sediments, bones, or shells, or even looked to the implements themselves for an answer. There were several clocks for Stone-Age (Palaeolithic) time, and it would prove difficult to synchronize them." "Anne O'Connor draws on a wealth of lively, personal correspondence to explain the nature of these arguments. The trail leads from Britain to Continental Europe, Africa, and Asia, and extends beyond the world of professors, museum keepers, and officers of the Geological Survey: wine sellers, diamond merchants, papermakers, and clerks also proposed timescales for the Palaeolithic, defended their views in publications and private letters, excavated caves, and fought forgers of stone tools in the gravel pits of London. This book brings many of their stories to light for the first time - stories that offer an intriguing insight into how knowledge was built up about the ancient British past."--Résumé de l'éditeur In the mid 19th century, curious stone implements were found beside the bones of extinct animals. Humans were evidently more ancient than had been supposed - but just how old were they? A colourful cast of characters - from professors to wine sellers - debated the question and even came to blows over it. Anne O'Connor tells their fascinating story. - ;Finding Time for the Old Stone Age explores a century of colourful debate over the age of our earliest ancestors. In the mid nineteenth century curious stone implements were found alongside the bones of extinct animals. Humans were evidently more Before the Stone Age existed Arguments over the Ice Age Ancient dwellers of the Thames Valley Riverdrift men and cave men Eoliths : an earlier phase of the Stone Age? The Prepalaeolithic of East Anglia Chronologies of the early twentieth century Swanscombe : a standard Stone Age sequence for Britain The advent of the Abb Breuil Geological reshuffling and the growth of suspicion Conclusion.