When fossils were discovered in the US during the 19th Century, it altered American understandings of science, religion, race and more. So what was the Hadrosaurus Foulkii, and why did it have such an enormous effect?Caroline Winterer, William Robertson Coe Professor of History and American Studies at Stanford University, joins Don for this episode. Caroline's book on this topic is 'How the New World Became Old: The Deep Time Revolution in America'.Produced by Sophie Gee. Edited by Nick Thomson. Senior Producer was Charlotte Long.Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe. You can take part in our listener survey here.All music from Epidemic Sounds/All3 MediaAmerican History Hit is a History Hit podcast.
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Haddonfield, New Jersey, is about 10 miles east of Philadelphia. And on this day in October 1858, lawyer, philanthropist and social reformer William Parker Folk is a filthy mess. Covered in marl, a clay-like substance, as he finishes up a day of meticulous excavation. Folk is searching for dinosaur bones.
Twenty years ago, it seems, farm laborers working in this same pit happened upon unusual skeletal remains, large bones they couldn't identify. They reported the find, but without much consequence. Decades later, folk wonders if he can find more. Paleontology is still a new science in America, and there have been important findings, imprints of feet, individual teeth and bones.
But these have been mostly scattered and incomplete. This pit, where Folk now digs, will eventually produce the first complete set of dino bones in North America, a skeleton that will be named Hadrosaurus fulci, after the man himself. Nose to tail, it will measure more than 20 feet. The animal would have weighed an estimated 2.5 tons.
It's a discovery that will alter the course of paleontology, not to mention how museums are designed and constructed to display the beasts. But it will also change Americans' understanding of the age of their continent, and by association, how they feel about themselves. Hi there, I'm Don Wildman. Thanks for clicking through to another episode of American History Hit. Glad you're here.
Back in the 19th century, against a backdrop of so much industrial, economic, and social transformation, a tectonic shift happened to American consciousness. It had to do with time, specifically the time the North American continent had existed. Prior to the 1800s, there was widespread acceptance of the biblical version of cosmic origin.
The planet was 6,000 years old, and the Great Flood came about 1,500 years later. Noah built the ark, saved the animals and mankind from death by drowning. But that theory would be fundamentally challenged as humans began to closely consider the fossilized bones and other evidence of prehistoric creatures, all of it suggesting the Earth was much older than the Bible would have us believe.
A new book released this year grapples with this entire phenomenon and its profound implications, entitled How the New World Became Old. The Deep Time Revolution in America, authored by historian Carolyn Winterer, the William Robertson Co-Professor of History and American Studies at Stanford University, where she also chairs the department. It is an honor to meet you, Professor.
May I call you Carolyn? Absolutely. And it's a pleasure to be here as well. The Deep Time Revolution. Let's first consider the book's title. What is the concept of deep time?
Deep time is the idea that emerges in the 19th century that the Earth is not, in fact, 6,000 years old as a literal reading of Genesis and the rest of the Bible will tell you, but in fact, millions, if not billions of years old. And that idea emerges quite rapidly in our very modern history.
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