The British Society for the History of Science is delighted to announce Pratik Chakrabarti (Houston) as winner of the Pickstone Prize 2022. The prize is awarded every two years to the best scholarly book in the history of science (broadly construed) in English. The Prize aims to recognize pioneering works that advance the scholarly understanding and interpretation of the scientific past. In focusing on academic books, it complements the Society’s Hughes Prize, which rewards engagement with broader audiences.

Pratik Chakrabarti

Inscriptions of Nature

Geology and the Naturalization of Antiquity

Pratik Chakrabarti’s remarkable Inscriptions of Nature considers the nineteenth-century reappropriation of deep earth and deep time in colonial India. Looking at the interplay between geology, mythology and archaeology, the richly researched chapters explore different types of engagement with narratives of landscapes, human origins and indigenous populations. The book’s sophisticated theoretical framework, outlined in its engaged and engaging introduction, make this a key work for the discipline at large.

With its lucid analysis and vivid interpretations it will also be an excellent choice for core reading in general history of science teaching, as well as in courses on imperial science, field sciences and the uses of history. Chakrabarti’s call for reconsidering the origins and very meaning of the Anthropocene renders this a significant contribution of the history of science for our time.

Find here the other excellent books of the Pickstone Prize Shortlist 2022.