Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-x4r87 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-26T19:34:42.134Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Coins to Flint: John Evans and the Numismatic Moment in the History of Archaeology

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 January 2017

Nathan Schlanger
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

John Evans was a key actor in the establishment of high human antiquity in 1859, and his pioneering role in launching the study of ancient stone implements is still celebrated today. However, scholars have overlooked the fact that Evans actually forged this contribution by shifting practices and preoccupations from coins to flint, from one well-established antiquarian domain in which he excelled, to another, new and as yet untested, domain. While providing relevant information on Evans' numismatics, this article shows how these transfers bear successively on the documentation of stone implements (terminology, descriptions, illustrations), their authentication (with regards to frauds and experimentation) and indeed their interpretation (the identification and explanation of their formal variability). Besides serving as an instructive historical case in ‘trans-disciplinarity’, the recognition of this initial numismatic imprint on the study of stone tools also has several consequences for current practices and interpretations in Palaeolithic archaeology.

Résumé

Résumé

L'un des principaux acteurs de la confirmation de la haute antiquité de l'homme en 1859, John Evans joua un rôle fondateur, célébré encore aujourd'hui, dans l'étude des anciens outils et instruments de pierre. Or, il se trouve que cette contribution originale a été façonnée par Evans en transférant des pratiques et des préoccupations de l'étude des monnaies à celle du silex, c'est-à-dire d'un domaine antiquaire bien établi où il excellait vers un autre, nouveau, en formation. Tout en fournissant quelques indications sur la numismatique de Evans, je montrerai ici comment les transferts en question portent successivement sur la documentation des outils de pierre (terminologie, description, illustrations), leur authentification (fraudes, expérimentation) et enfin leur interprétation (identification et explication de leur variabilité formelle). Tout en servant d'étude de cas historique en termes de ‘transdisciplinarité’, la reconnaissance des origines numismatiques de l'étude des instruments de silex a aussi plusieurs conséquences pour nos pratiques et nos interprétations actuelles de l'archéologie paléolithique. Translation by Nathan Schlanger.

Zusammenfassung

Zusammenfassung

John Evans spielte eine Schlüsselrolle in der Etablierung der Erforschung der Stammesgeschichte des Menschen im Jahre 1859 und seine Pionierrolle in der Einführung der Untersuchung von prähistorischen Steinobjekten wird noch heute gefeiert. Dennoch hat die Wissenschaft bislang die Tatsache übersehen, dass Evans seinen Ansatz eigentlich aus seiner Beschäftigung mit Münzen auf den Flint ausdehnte – von einer wohletablierten antiquarischen Domäne, in der er herausragende Kompetenz besaß, zu einer anderen, damals noch nicht erforschten Sparte. Indem er relevante Informationen zu Evans' Numismatik liefert, zeigt dieser Artikel, wie die methodischen Übertragungen schrittweise auf die Dokumentation von Steingegenständen (Terminologie, Beschreibungen, Illustrationen), ihre Authentifizierung (unter Berücksichtigung von Fälschungen und Experimenten) und auch auf ihre Interpretation (die Identifikation und Erklärung ihrer formalen Abweichungen) ausgreifen. Neben seiner Bedeutung als instruktiver historischer Fall von,, Transdisziplinarität“, hat die Herausstellung dieses initialen numismatischen Einflusses auch verschiedene Konsequenzen für derzeitige Praktiken und Interpretationen der Archäologie des Paläolithikums. Translation by Heiner Schwarzberg.

Keywords

John Evanshistory of archaeologyPalaeolithic archaeologyhigh human antiquitystone implement studiesnumismaticsterminologytechnologyillustrationsdisciplinary transfersJohn Evanshistoire de l'archéologiearchéologie paléolithiqueantiquité de l'hommeoutils de pierrenumismatiqueterminologietechnologieillustrationstransferts disciplinairesJohn EvansGeschichte der ArchäologieAltsteinzeitforschungGeschichte der MenschwerdungSteinartefaktstudienNumismatikTerminologieTechnologieIllustrationenTransfer von Fachdisziplinen
Type
Articles
Information
European Journal of Archaeology , Volume 14 , Issue 3 , 2011 , pp. 465 - 479
Copyright
Copyright © 2011 Maney Publishing 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Ashton, N. and McNabb, J., 1994. Bifaces in perspective. In Ashton, N. and David, A. (eds), Stories in Stone: 182–191. London: Lithic Studies Society (Lithic Studies Society Occasional Paper 4).Google Scholar
Babelon, E., 1901. Traité des Monnaies Grecques et Romaines: Première Partie: Théorie et Doctrin. Paris: E. Leroux.Google Scholar
Blanckaert, C., 2011. Chrono-logiques: le tournant historiciste des sciences humaines. In Hurel, A. and Coye, N. (eds), Dans l'Épaisseur du Temps. Archéologues et Géologues Inventent la Préhistoire: 53–95. Paris: Musée National d'Histoire Naturelle.Google Scholar
Bompaire, M. and Dumas, F., 2000. Numismatique médiévale: Monnaies et documents d'origine française. Turnhout: Brepols.Google Scholar
Boucher de Perthes, J., 1847 (1849). Antiquités Celtiques et Antédiluviennes. Mémoire sur l'Industrie Primitive et les Arts à leur Origine. Paris: Treuttel and Wurtz.Google Scholar
Brézillon, M., 1968. La Dénomination des Objets de Pierre Taillée. Matériaux pour un Vocabulaire des Préhistoriens de Langue Française. Paris: CNRS éditions.Google Scholar
Callata, F. de, 2007. L'historique de l'étude des liaisons de coins (XVIIIe-XXe s.). Bulletin de la Société Française de Numismatique 62: 86–92.Google Scholar
Colbert de Beaulieu, J.-B., 1973. Traité de Numismatique Celtique. I. Méthodologie des Ensembles. Paris: Les Belles-Lettres.Google Scholar
Coye, N., 1997. La Préhistoire en Parole et en Acte. Méthodes et Enjeux de la Pratique Archéologique (1830-1950). Paris: L'Harmattan.Google Scholar
Evans, J., 1850. On the date of British coins. Numismatic Chronicle 12: 127–137.Google Scholar
Evans, J., 1856. Errors respecting the coinage of ancient Celtic kings of Britain. Numismatic Chronicle 18: 161–165.Google Scholar
Evans, J., 1859. On the form and nature of the flint-implements (letter to J. Prestwich, 25 May 1859). In J. Prestwich, On the occurrence of flint-implements, associated with the remains of animals of extinct species in beds of a late geological period, in France at Amiens and Abbeville, and in England at Hoxne: appendix A, 310-312. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society 150.Google Scholar
Evans, J., 1860. On the occurrence of flint implements in undisturbed beds of gravel, sand and clay. Archaeologia 38: 280–307.Google Scholar
Evans, J., 1862. Account of some further discoveries of flint implements in the Drift on the Continent and in England. Archaeologia 39: 57–84.Google Scholar
Evans, J., 1864. The Coins of the Ancient Britons, Arranged and Described by John Evans F.S.A., F.G.S. and Engraved by F. W. Fairholt, F.S.A. London: Quaritch.Google Scholar
Evans, J., 1866. On the forgery of antiquities. Notices of the Proceedings of the Royal Institution of Great Britain 4: 356–365.Google Scholar
Evans, J., 1868. Man and his earliest known works. The Archaeolithic period (Part II). In Some Account of the Blackmore Museum: 87–103. London: Bell and Dadley.Google Scholar
Evans, J., 1869. On the manufacture of stone implements in prehistoric times. Third International Congress of Prehistoric Anthropology and Archaeology, 1868, London and Norwich: 191–193. London: Longmans.Google Scholar
Evans, J., 1872. The Ancient Stone Implements, Weapons, and Ornaments, of Great Britain. London: Longmans.Google Scholar
Evans, J., 1875. The coinage of the ancient Britons and natural selection. Notices of the Proceedings of the Royal Institution of Great Britain 7: 476–487.Google Scholar
Evans, J., 1881. The Ancient Bronze Implements, Weapons and Ornaments, of Great Britain and Ireland. London: Longmans.Google Scholar
Gamble, C. and Kruszyński, R., 2009. John Evans, Joseph Prestwich and the stone that shattered the time barrier. Antiquity 83: 461–475.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Giard, J.-B., 1986. L'évolution de la numismatique antique au XIXe siècle. Revue Suisse de Numismatique 65: 167–174.Google Scholar
Gomme, G.L. (ed.), 1886. The Gentleman's Magazine Library. Archaeology, Part I. Boston: Houghton Mifflin and Co.Google Scholar
Goodrum, M.R., 2002. The meaning of ceraunia: archaeology, natural history and the interpretation of prehistoric stone artefacts in the eighteenth century. The British Journal for the History of Science 35: 255–269.Google Scholar
Goodrum, M.R., 2011. Recovering the vestiges of primeval Europe: archaeology and the significance of stone implements, 1750-1800. Journal of the History of Ideas 72: 51–74.Google Scholar
Grayson, D.K., 1985. The Establishment of Human Antiquity. New York: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Grierson, P., 1975. Numismatics. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Hammond, M., 1980. Anthropology as a weapon of social combat in late nineteenth- century France. Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences 16: 118–132.Google Scholar
Hill, G.F., 1922. Ancient methods of coining. Numismatic Chronicle 5(2): 1–42.Google Scholar
Hollard, D., 1991. L'illustration numismatique au XIXe siècle. Revue Numismatique 6(33): 337–342.Google Scholar
Humphreys, H.N., 1853. The Coin Collector's Manual, or Guide to the Numismatic Student in the Formation of a Cabinet of Coins. London: G. H. Bohn.Google Scholar
Hurel, A. and Coye, N. (eds), 2011. Dans l'Épaisseur du Temps. Archéologues et Géologues Inventent la Préhistoire. Paris: Musée National d'Histoire Naturelle.Google Scholar
Jersey, P. de, 2008. Evans and ancient British coins. In MacGregor, A. (ed.), Sir John Evans (1823-1908). Antiquity, Commerce and Natural Science in the Age of Darwin: 152–172. Oxford: Ashmolean Museum.Google Scholar
Kemmers, F. and Myrberg, N., 2011. Rethinking numismatics: the archaeology of coins. Archaeological Dialogues 18: 87108.Google Scholar
Lamdin-Whymark, H., 2009. Sir John Evans: experimental flint knapping and the origins of lithic research. Lithics 30: 45–52.Google Scholar
Lubbock, J.W., 1865. Prehistoric Times. London: Williams and Norgate.Google Scholar
MacGregor, A. (ed.), 2008a. Sir John Evans (1823-1908). Antiquity, Commerce and Natural Science in the Age of Darwin. Oxford: Ashmolean Museum.Google Scholar
MacGregor, A., 2008b. Sir John Evans, model Victorian, polymath and collector. In MacGregor, A. (ed.), Sir John Evans (18231908). Antiquity, Commerce and Natural Science in the Age of Darwin: 1–38. Oxford: Ashmolean Museum.Google Scholar
Mortillet, G. de, 1867. Promenades Préhistoriques à l'Exposition Universelle. Paris: Reinwald.Google Scholar
Mortillet, G. de, 1873. Classification des diverses périodes de l'âge de la pierre. In Congrès International d'Anthropologie et d'Archéologie Préhistoriques, 6e Session, 1872 : 432–459. Brussels: Muquardt.Google Scholar
Munroe, R.A., 1905. Archaeology and False Antiquities. Methuen: London.Google Scholar
O'Connor, A., 2007. Finding Time for the Old Stone Age: A History of Palaeolithic Archaeology and Quaternary Geology in Britain, 1860-1960. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Pinkerton, J., 1808. An Essay on Medals: Or, an Introduction to the Knowledge of Ancient and Modern Coins and Medals; specifically those of Greece, Rome and Britain. 3rd edn, vols III. London: Cadell, Davis, Longman et al. Google Scholar
Prestwich, J., 1860. On the occurrence of flint-implements, associated with the remains of animals of extinct species in beds of a late geological period, in France at Amiens and Abbeville, and in England at Hoxne. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society 150: 277–318.Google Scholar
Richard, N., 2008. Inventer la Préhistoire, les Débuts de l'Archéologie Préhistorique en France. Paris: Vuibert ADAPT-SNES.Google Scholar
Roberts, A. and Barton, N., 2008. Reading the unwritten story: Evans and ancient stone implements. In MacGregor, A. (ed.), Sir John Evans (1823-1908). Antiquity, Commerce and Natural Science in the Age of Darwin: 95–115. Oxford: Ashmolean Museum.Google Scholar
Roe, D.A., 1968. British Lower and Middle Palaeolithic handaxe groups. Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society 34: 1–82.Google Scholar
Schlanger, N., 2002. Editorial introduction to ‘Ancestral Archives: Explorations in the History of Archaeology’ special section. Antiquity 76: 127–131.Google Scholar
Schlanger, N., 2005. The chaîne opératoire. In Renfrew, C. and Bahn, P. (eds), Archaeology: The Key Concepts: 25–31. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Schlanger, N., 2006. Le travail en éclats: perspectives historiques sur des problématiques actuelles. Techniques & Culture 46: 19–32.Google Scholar
Schlanger, N., 2010. Series in progress: antiquities of nature, numismatics and stone implements in the emergence of prehistoric archaeology (1776-1891). History of Science 48: 344–369.Google Scholar
ScHNAPP, A., 1994. The Discovery of the Past. London: British Museum Press.Google Scholar
Schnapp, A., 2002. Between antiquarians and archaeologists. Antiquity 76: 134–140.Google Scholar
Van Ripper, A.B., 1993. Men among the Mammoths: Victorian Science and the Discovery of Human Prehistory. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Vayson de Pradenne, A., 1932. Les Fraudes en Archéologie Préhistorique avec quelques Exemples de Comparaison en Archéologie Générale et Sciences Naturelles. Paris: Emile Nourry.Google Scholar
White, M.J., 1998. On the significance of Acheulean biface variability in southern Britain. Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society 64: 15–44.Google Scholar
White, M.J., 2001. Out of Abbeville: Sir John Evans, Palaeolithic patriarch and handaxe pioneer. In Milliken, S. and Cook, J. (eds), A Very Remote Period Indeed: Papers on the Palaeolithic Presented to Derek Roe: 242–248. Oxford: Oxbow.Google Scholar
Wickens, J.M., 1996. The production of coins. <http:/www.lawrence.edudeptart/buergeressaysproduction7.html>>Google Scholar