Professor Caroline Winterer

Well, thank you. It's a pleasure to be here.

Well, thank you. It's a pleasure to be here.

Well, thank you. It's a pleasure to be here.

Yeah, there were a lot of misconceptions until very recently, actually, 200 years ago, people around the world thought that the Americas were only about 6,000 years old, which was the age of the Earth. And within the space of a mere century, they absolutely changed their minds about it, thinking it was a billion or even more years old. So that was quite a change of their minds.

Yeah, there were a lot of misconceptions until very recently, actually, 200 years ago, people around the world thought that the Americas were only about 6,000 years old, which was the age of the Earth. And within the space of a mere century, they absolutely changed their minds about it, thinking it was a billion or even more years old. So that was quite a change of their minds.

Yeah, there were a lot of misconceptions until very recently, actually, 200 years ago, people around the world thought that the Americas were only about 6,000 years old, which was the age of the Earth. And within the space of a mere century, they absolutely changed their minds about it, thinking it was a billion or even more years old. So that was quite a change of their minds.

Yes. Deep time is the view that actually probably most of your listeners carry around with them without knowing it. And that is the view that the planet Earth itself is billions of years old and life upon it several hundred million of years old.

Yes. Deep time is the view that actually probably most of your listeners carry around with them without knowing it. And that is the view that the planet Earth itself is billions of years old and life upon it several hundred million of years old.

Yes. Deep time is the view that actually probably most of your listeners carry around with them without knowing it. And that is the view that the planet Earth itself is billions of years old and life upon it several hundred million of years old.

That view, even though it's broadly accepted today, is in fact a very new idea and it emerges in the space of a mere century between around 1800 and 1900 when people in Europe and the Americas began to imagine that the Earth was quite old and not the 6,000 years that a literal reading of the Bible would suggest.

That view, even though it's broadly accepted today, is in fact a very new idea and it emerges in the space of a mere century between around 1800 and 1900 when people in Europe and the Americas began to imagine that the Earth was quite old and not the 6,000 years that a literal reading of the Bible would suggest.

That view, even though it's broadly accepted today, is in fact a very new idea and it emerges in the space of a mere century between around 1800 and 1900 when people in Europe and the Americas began to imagine that the Earth was quite old and not the 6,000 years that a literal reading of the Bible would suggest.

So today, scientists believe that the North American continent is over 4 billion years old.

So today, scientists believe that the North American continent is over 4 billion years old.

So today, scientists believe that the North American continent is over 4 billion years old.

Yeah, whoa. And also, you can walk on some of those 4 billion years old rocks if you go to the eastern part of Canada, where the so-called Canadian shield of extremely ancient rocks is visible at the surface. So you can walk on 4 billion year old rocks.

Yeah, whoa. And also, you can walk on some of those 4 billion years old rocks if you go to the eastern part of Canada, where the so-called Canadian shield of extremely ancient rocks is visible at the surface. So you can walk on 4 billion year old rocks.

Yeah, whoa. And also, you can walk on some of those 4 billion years old rocks if you go to the eastern part of Canada, where the so-called Canadian shield of extremely ancient rocks is visible at the surface. So you can walk on 4 billion year old rocks.

You can still see them today. Most rocks of that age have been submerged under the continental shelves, right? So they're swimming under the crust of the Earth somewhere and gradually getting digested deep in the bowels of the Earth. But for whatever reason, the kind of luck of long geological time in Eastern Canada, there are some that are still

You can still see them today. Most rocks of that age have been submerged under the continental shelves, right? So they're swimming under the crust of the Earth somewhere and gradually getting digested deep in the bowels of the Earth. But for whatever reason, the kind of luck of long geological time in Eastern Canada, there are some that are still