Men Among the Mammoths. This item is unavailable.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 Using field notes, scientific reports, and previously unpublished letters, he shows also how the study of human prehistory brought together geologists, archeologists, and anthropologists in their first interdisciplinary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.

"[A]bove all it is a compelling account of one puff in the howling intellectual wind which buffeted Victorian society. And there is no doubting its importance, for, with the acceptance of an immense human antiquity, 'the bottom dropped out of history."  -- Adrian Desmond, Victorian Studies

"[Van Riper's] elegant and well-written book will be appreciated by any readers concerned with the nineteenth century relationship between science and society and the wide-ranging ramifications of scientific theories for a changing Victorian worldview."  -- Susan H. Farnsworth, Victorian Review

"The story Van Riper tells . . . is an interesting one, well told. He builds on an understanding already achieved by earlier work and adds much to it with material from his own researches in the documentary sources." -- J. W. Gruber, Geoarchaeology