Time capsules : a cultural history / by William E. Jarvis.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Jarvis, William E., 1945-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Time capsules--History.

Time capsules.

Civilization--History.

Civilization.

History.

Physical Description:

vii, 321 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Jefferson, N.C. : McFarland & Co., [2003]

Summary:

This work is a cultural history of five thousand years of time capsules and other related information transfers across time. It examines both the formal and the popular culture aspects of the time capsule, from its roots in ancient Mesopotamian and Egyptian building-foundation deposits to the present utilization of spacecraft probes and other extreme locations. The deposits of 3000 BCE had no definite date and time to be opened; in 1876 CE came the idea of target-dated deposits. Also discussed are how "real" time capsules work, notional and archaeological time capsules, the height of the time capsule's popularity from 1935 to 1982, the preservation of writings in time capsules, keeping time in a perpetual futurescape, and turn of the century hype surrounding millennium time capsules.

Contents:

Introduction: the time capsule experience

Time capsule milestones in world chronology

How time capsules work

Notional and archaeological time capsules

The time capsule's ancient origins and modern transformations

The golden age of the grand time capsules: 1935-1982

Writing down the ages : ancient writings from yesterday, today and tomorrow as time capsule experiences

Keeping time in a perpetual futurescape.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 265-312) and index.

ISBN:

0786412615

OCLC:

50270129