Pre-historic Times as Illustrated by Ancient Remains, and the Manners and Customs of Modern Savages

An extremely influential archaeological textbook for prehistoric archaeology which developed and popularised the cultural evolution interpretation of archaeology.

John Lubbock (Author)

9781108017213, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 26 August 2010

548 pages, 158 b/w illus. 1 colour illus. 1 map
21.6 x 14 x 3.1 cm, 0.69 kg

Sir John Lubbock (1834–1915) was an English banker who was fascinated with biology and archaeology. He was a close friend of Charles Darwin and a prolific writer who made influential contributions to both of these fields, being appointed the President of the Linnaean Society between 1881–1886. First published in 1865, it was written as a textbook of prehistoric archaeology. It became one of the most influential and popular archaeological books of the nineteenth century, being reissued in seven editions between 1865 and 1913. In this volume Lubbock develops an evolutionary interpretation of archaeology, using prehistoric material remains as evidence that human cultures become more sophisticated over time. He also introduces the division of prehistory, coining the terms Palaeolithic and Neolithic to subdivide the Stone Age. Lubbock's interpretation of cultural evolution was an extremely influential social theory which was widely adopted by contemporary archaeologists and anthropologists.

1. On the use of bronze in ancient times
2. The Bronze Age
3. The use of stone in ancient times
4. Tumuli
5. The lake-habitations of Switzerland
6. The Danish Kjökkenmöddings of shell-mounds
7. North American archaeology
8. Cave-men
9. The antiquity of man
10. On the antiquity of man continued
11. Modern savages
12. Modern savages continued
13. Modern savages conclusion
14. Concluding remarks
Index.

Subject Areas: Prehistoric archaeology [HDDA]