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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
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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 

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