Caroline Winterer is the William Robertson Coe Professor of History and American Studies at Stanford University. She teaches courses on American history before 1900, the history of ideas, and the history of science. She is the author of five books—most recently, How the New World Became Old: The Deep Time Revolution in America. She speaks and lectures widely on the relationship between the present and the past.
Photo credit: LiPo Ching/Stanford University
How the idea of deep time transformed the way Americans see their country and themselves
Deep time refers to the idea that Earth is billions of years old and not 6,000 years old, as a literal reading of the Bible might suggest. Over a single century, from the American Revolution to the invention of the automobile, the majority of Americans came to see their ostensibly New World as the oldest world of all. It was a place of primordial natural beauty and wonder, from Yosemite to Niagara Falls. It was also a place of awe, a land once stalked by terrifying beasts, from T. Rex to saber-toothed cats. Over 100 illustrations bring the lost world of ancient America to life, showing how Americans crafted a modern nation built on their ancient land.