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Results for Boucher:

Boucher (de Crèvecoeur) de Perthes, Jacques (1788-1868)

SYNONYMS OR RELATED TERMS: Boucher de Perthes
CATEGORY: person
DEFINITION: French archaeologist and writer who was the first to develop the idea that prehistory could be measured on the basis of periods of geological time. In 1837, in the Somme Valley, he discovered flint hand axes and other stone tools along with the bones of extinct mammals in deposits of the Pleistocene Epoch (or Ice Age, ending about 10,000 years ago). Boucher de Perthes was the first to draw attention to the Stone Age's revolutionary significance, because at the time, 4004 BC was still believed to be the year of the creation. His claims that these objects were the tools of ancient man and that they occurred in association with the bones of extinct animals were ridiculed. In 1859, Boucher de Perthes's conclusions were finally upheld by a group of eminent British scientists, including Charles Lyell, Hugh Falconer, John Preswich, and John Evans, who visited the excavated sites. His archaeological writings include De la Création: essai sur l'origine et la progression des êtres" (1838-41) and "Antiquités Celtiques et Antédiluviennes" (1847-64)."

Abbevillian

SYNONYMS OR RELATED TERMS: Abbevillean, Chellean, Abbeville
CATEGORY: chronology; culture
DEFINITION: The name for the period of the earliest handax industries of Europe, taken from Abbeville, the type site near the mouth of the River Somme in northern France. The site is a gravel pit in which crudely chipped oval or pear-shaped handaxes were discovered, probably dating to the Mindel Glaciation. This was one of the key places which showed that man was of great antiquity. Starting in 1836, Boucher de Perthes excavated the pits and the significance of these discoveries was recognized around 1859. These pits became one of the richest sources of Palaeolithic tools in Europe. In 1939, Abbé Breuil proposed the name Abbevillian for both the handax and the industry, which preceded the Acheulian in Europe.

Pengelly, William (1812-1894)

CATEGORY: person
DEFINITION: A British geologist and archaeologist who did cave excavation and demonstrated the antiquity of Palaeolithic artifacts by showing that stone tools made by humans were contemporary with remains of extinct animals. At Kent's Cavern, he was able to confirm the conclusions of Reverend J. MacEnery that flint tools were associated with the bones of extinct animals. Though this association was not widely accepted, he continued to find further proof with work at Windmill Cave, Brixham (Devon). He gained academic support and, in 1859, John Evans and several of Britain's leading geologists joined him in contradicting the 4004 BC date as the Creation of man. The discoveries of Jacques Boucher de Perthes in the Somme Valley in France corroborated Pengelly's findings and were used to demonstrate the antiquity of man in 1859, the same year that saw the publication of Darwin's revolutionary Origin of Species"."