Space Time and Man

Grahame Clark is an eminent prehistoric archaeologist and his latest book looks at how man has increased his understanding of space and time far beyond that of his primate forebears through technology social organisation and above all through his capacity for abstract thought. Even Palaeolithic peoples had long outstripped their forebears in comprehending time and space. While people in pre-industrial societies fully aware of these dimensions were nevertheless severely hampered by their circumscribed social and cultural worlds. The advance of geographical discovery and the beginning of recorded history marks the transition to modern times and expanded horizons of time and space. In the late twentieth century through natural science we are able to extend our horizons even further to outer space and seek to understand our place in the cosmos.