| Abstract: |
In this paper I explore some of the impacts of the discovery of high human antiquity, and the successful foundation of a science of prehistoric archaeology during the mid- to late nineteenth century. There are good reasons for this exploration of links between science and science fiction. It is widely acknowledged that the discovery of high human antiquity (along with the acceptance of Darwin's principle of evolution by natural selection) raised the issue of how an understanding of human social and cultural (as well as physical) evolution could be achieved when the scale of time was so vast. I argue that the threat of an unintelligible human prehistory was met by both scientists and artists, and that their strategies for dealing with it were a joint product. I also argue that these strategies have persisted in archaeology and that they currently hinder us from dealing effectively with contemporary problems arising from a re-evaluation of the meanings of archaeological time.
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