Science: Resetting the Carbon Clock

Most archaeologists have looked upon the peoples of prehistoric Europe as no more than primitive barbarians. True, certain prehistoric monuments, like Britain's Stonehenge—whose great slabs are now thought to have formed a sophisticated solar observatory—did indicate a high order of culture. But such structures were usually ascribed to the influence, if not the actual workmanship, of skilled migrants from the much more civilized areas of the Near East. Now, in a surprising about-face, archaeologists are sharply questioning their old assumptions about the cultural inferiority of early Europeans. What has prompted this major...