Mark Patton. Science, politics and business in the work of Sir John Lubbock: a man of universal mind.

Mark Patton. Science, politics and business in the work of Sir John Lubbock: a man of universal mind. MARK PATTON. Science, politics and business in the work of Sir JohnLubbock John Lubbock can refer to: Several members of the Lubbock family: Sir John Lubbock, 1st Baronet (1744–1816) Sir John Lubbock, 2nd Baronet (1774–1840) Sir John William Lubbock, 3rd Baronet (1803–1865) : a man of universal mind. xiv+270 pages, 11 illustrations. 2007.Aldershot: Ashgate; 978-0-7546-5321-9 hardback 55 [pounds sterling]. Prehistoric archaeology History is the study of the past using written records. Archaeology can also be used to study the past alongside history. Prehistoric archaeology is the study of the past before historical records began. is one of the few 'narrowcircles' in which the name of Sir John Lubbock, later Lord Avebury(1834-1913), is still spoken of, according to Mark Patton in the closingparagraph of this biography (p. 250), the first of this important figurefor 64 years. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Patton aims to place Lubbock's story in a broader context thanis perhaps conventional for archaeologists. Archaeologists rememberLubbock as being the author of the first synthesis of Europeanprehistory prehistory,period of human evolution before writing was invented and records kept. The term was coined by Daniel Wilson in 1851. It is followed by protohistory, the period for which we have some records but must still rely largely on archaeological evidence to in English, one that would go into seven editions and stillfind readers a century after first publication; as acting as theParliamentary advocate for the protection of ancient (especiallyprehistoric) remains in Britain; and as providing a measure ofpreservation for certain ancient monuments by private purchase. In thewider world, Lubbock the Parliamentarian par��lia��men��tar��i��an?n.1. One who is expert in parliamentary procedures, rules, or debate.2. A member of a parliament.3. legislated for Bank Holidays,the governance of commercial companies and the regulation of banking andother professions; he constantly advocated a national school curriculumthat contained scientific subjects, the shortening of working hours, andpeace and free trade among the nations of Europe; he oversaw changes inthe governance of London as a city and London University; and as ascientist also found time to make significant contributions to thestudies of entomology entomology,study of insects, an arthropod class that comprises about 900,000 known species, representing about three fourths of all the classified animal species. , botany and geology. Patton's point--admirably made in the Introduction to thevolume, which is all anyone really needs to read to grasp the range ofLubbock's endeavours and their interconnections--is that in Lubbockwe see the manner in which areas that have since become quiteseparate--science, business, politics--were mutually reinforcing andsupportive in the work of individuals in the late nineteenth century.Lubbock can here be seen to apply ideas of 'progress' groundedin an understanding of social evolution influenced partly by Darwin, butmore by Lamarck and Spencer, and as outlined in the final chapter ofPrehistoric Times, to other areas of life: to the development of hisprofession, banking, by establishing the system of a central chequeclearing house still in use today (p. 401); in education, by thepromotion of increased leisure time for the literate population and theestablishment of institutions promoting self-education in sciencesubjects, given his views that the teaching of grammar in schools woulddo nothing to raise the recipients of such teaching above'savages' (p. 121); and by his regular habit of introducinghis political colleagues to his neighbour Charles Darwin whenever theyvisited, as well as using the occasion of Darwin's death to securea public acknowledgement of the importance of science by arranging forDarwin's burial in Westminster Abbey over the express wishes of thedeceased and his family (p. 149-51). Throughout the book, Lubbock'scentral belief in progress as made manifest in nature through evolutioncan be seen to inform his views on just about everything else. We areshown how, as a man of reason, he struggled to prevent what heconsidered to be the excesses of both his political opponents andfriends brought about by an excess of passion--the dangers, as he sawit, of the heart ruling the head, of savagery winning over civilisation. Patton's interest in Lubbock and the history of archaeology The history of archaeology has been one of increasing professionalisation, and the use of an increasing range of techniques, to obtain as much data on the site being examined as possible. OriginsThe exact origins of archaeology as a discipline are uncertain. was inspired by Glyn Daniel and Colin Renfrew during studies atCambridge University (Acknowledgements, p. xi) and this combines withhis current professional interests (as Dean of the Harrow BusinessSchool) in the study of organisational histories. The book is dearly theresult of a great deal of archival research into original publicationsand source material, yet the understanding of Lubbock offered herereflects very closely that of these two early mentors: on pages 79-80Lubbock is described as a 'scientific' archaeologist and onpage 88 as the 'most significant figure in the establishment ofprehistoric archaeology as a distinct discipline in Britain',although neither Daniel's nor Renfrew's work (e.g. The idea ofprehistory, 1988) on the development of prehistory are cited. It istherefore interesting, and despite the closing comment on the areaswhere Lubbock's name is still discussed, and original sourcesaside, that there is very little reference to the specificallyarchaeological literature on Lubbock here. Chippindale's importantstudy of the origins of the 1882 Act (in Journal of the BritishArchaeological Association The British Archaeological Association was founded in 1843. It is aimed at the promotion of the studies of archaeology, art and architecture and the preservation of antiquities. External linksBritish Archaelogical Society homepage 136 (1983): 155) to protect ancient monumentsis not referred to, nor the discussion of Prehistoric Times contained inTrigger's wider History of archaeological thought (1989: 144ff.;second edition 2006: 171ff.), nor indeed any other focused discussion ofLubbock's role in developing archaeology in the late nineteenthcentury, although several have offered contributions on this fromvarying perspectives. This small criticism assumes a predominately archaeologicalaudience for this book. In practice, archaeology takes up only a smallamount of the book's total volume: Patton concentrates far more onLubbock's political and other scientific work, especiallyentomology. Although the study of past peoples provided Lubbock with aworld-view that would last all his life, this book demonstrates that thepurpose to which it was put was always at the service of his present. Itis an issue that many archaeologists today wrestle with: how to put thestudy of the material human past at the service of present populations.This book reminds us it is not a new question. JOHN CARMAN Car´mann. 1. A man whose employment is to drive, or to convey goods in, a car or car. Institute of Archaeology The Institute of Archaeology is an academic department of University College London (UCL), in the United Kingdom. The Institute is located in a separate building at the north end of Gordon Square, Bloomsbury. and Antiquity, University of Birmingham Due to Birmingham's role as a centre of light engineering, the university traditionally had a special focus on science, engineering and commerce, as well as coal mining. It now teaches a full range of academic subjects and has five-star rating for teaching and research in several , UK (Email: j.carman@bham.ac.uk)