How the New World Became Old
The Deep Time Revolution in America
Published on 8. October 2024
Book
Hardback
392 pages
978-0-691-19967-2 (ISBN)
Description
How the idea of deep time transformed how Americans see their country and themselves
During the nineteenth century, Americans were shocked to learn that the land beneath their feet had once been stalked by terrifying beasts. T. rex and Brontosaurus ruled the continent. North America was home to saber-toothed cats and woolly mammoths, great herds of camels and hippos, and sultry tropical forests now fossilized into massive coal seams. How the New World Became Old tells the extraordinary story of how Americans discovered that the New World was not just old-it was a place rooted in deep time.
In this panoramic book, Caroline Winterer traces the history of an idea that today lies at the heart of the nation's identity as a place of primordial natural beauty. Europeans called America the New World, and literal readings of the Bible suggested that Earth was only six thousand years old. Winterer takes readers from glacier-capped peaks in Yosemite to Alabama slave plantations and canal works in upstate New York, describing how naturalists, explorers, engineers, and ordinary Americans unearthed a past they never suspected, a history more ancient than anyone ever could have imagined.
Drawing on archival evidence ranging from unpublished field notes and letters to early stratigraphic diagrams, How the New World Became Old reveals how the deep time revolution ushered in profound changes in science, literature, art, and religion, and how Americans came to realize that the New World might in fact be the oldest world of all.
During the nineteenth century, Americans were shocked to learn that the land beneath their feet had once been stalked by terrifying beasts. T. rex and Brontosaurus ruled the continent. North America was home to saber-toothed cats and woolly mammoths, great herds of camels and hippos, and sultry tropical forests now fossilized into massive coal seams. How the New World Became Old tells the extraordinary story of how Americans discovered that the New World was not just old-it was a place rooted in deep time.
In this panoramic book, Caroline Winterer traces the history of an idea that today lies at the heart of the nation's identity as a place of primordial natural beauty. Europeans called America the New World, and literal readings of the Bible suggested that Earth was only six thousand years old. Winterer takes readers from glacier-capped peaks in Yosemite to Alabama slave plantations and canal works in upstate New York, describing how naturalists, explorers, engineers, and ordinary Americans unearthed a past they never suspected, a history more ancient than anyone ever could have imagined.
Drawing on archival evidence ranging from unpublished field notes and letters to early stratigraphic diagrams, How the New World Became Old reveals how the deep time revolution ushered in profound changes in science, literature, art, and religion, and how Americans came to realize that the New World might in fact be the oldest world of all.
Reviews / Votes
"[An] elegant history." * New Yorker * "As the historian Caroline Winterer shows in her new book How the New World Became Old: The Deep Time Revolution in America, [geology] can shape how an entire nation sees itself. . . . [A] knotty, complex history of a previous intellectual transformation."---Jacob Mikanowski, Chronicle Review "A fascinating and extremely well written book that helps understand not only the facts but also the cultural roots and dimensions of the still fascinating mystery of deep time. . . . Winterer's book is a jewel, an awesome, jargon free, often witty, perfectly documented and suggestively illustrated synthesis of what remains one of the most powerful enigmas to the human brain."---Jan Baetens, Leonardo "Fascinating. . . . How the New World Became Old intertwines science, politics, culture and ideas to reveal a history of intellectual nationalism that fleshes out and raises up the story of nineteenth-century America."---Michael Taylor, Times Literary Supplement "Fascinating. . . . Winterer's book is a jewel, an awesome, jargon free, often witty, perfectly documented and suggestively illustrated synthesis of what remains one of the most powerful enigmas to the human brain."---Jan Baetens, Leonardo Reviews "Powerful. . . . A richly detailed and indispensable exposition of how American geology found its place commensurate with the Old World and became a partner in a truly global science."---Markes E. Johnson, H-Net Reviews "Winterer not only skillfully weaves together the discourses that professionalized the disciplines of archaeology, anthropology, paleontology, and geology; she also demonstrates how these same developments were deployed to effect a reality that would benefit the United States economically, politically, culturally and spiritually. . . . [A] major accomplishment."---Emmanuel Ramos-Barajas, Hemisphere "Recommended." * Choice * "[How the New World Became Old] remind[s] us that scientific truth isn't transcendent but, as historians of science have long argued, emerges from and reflects specific social circumstances."---Andrew Katzenstein, The Nation "[Winterer's] book is primarily concerned by the way these geologists read God's handiwork into these unexpected discoveries. She captures this labor beautifully, pinpointing how faith in a God-centered natural order, unfolding over previously unfathomable units of time, deepened as biblical literalism eroded. . . . [How the New World Became Old] is thought-provoking from start to finish."---Ryan Irwin, H-Diplo "Caroline Winterer's sophistication as an intellectual historian shines throughout this book. . . . [How the New World Became Old] will inspire and challenge historians of science and early Americanists alike. "---Cameron B. Strang, Journal of Southern History "In How the New World Became Old, Caroline Winterer tells the story of the discovery of American deep time as a story of intellectual nationalism and a rather halting advance of secularization."---Felix Luettge, Berlin ReviewMore details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
New Jersey
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Trade binding
Illustrations
32 color + 113 b/w illus.
Dimensions
Height: 240 mm
Width: 168 mm
Thickness: 35 mm
Weight
811 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-691-19967-2 (9780691199672)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
10/2024
1st Edition
Princeton University Press
€33.99
Available for download
Person
Caroline Winterer is the William Robertson Coe Professor of History and American Studies at Stanford University. Her books include American Enlightenments: Pursuing Happiness in the Age of Reason and (with Kaeren Wigen) Time in Maps: From the Age of Discovery to Our Digital Era.