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What will our ‘technofossils’ look like?

Imagine for a moment that it’s a million years in the future. You’re walking along a rocky sh...

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17.04 26 Feb 2025


What will our ‘technofossils’ look like?


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17.04 26 Feb 2025


Imagine for a moment that it’s a million years in the future.

You’re walking along a rocky shoreline, when suddenly you notice something jutting out of the cliff face.

It’s a plastic rectangle with 104 buttons on its face. Each button has a symbol on it that is completely unfamiliar to you.

Today, we recognise this object as a computer keyboard, but what will the archaeologists of the far future make of it and what could it tell them about us?

Sarah Gabbott is Professor of Palaeontology at the University of Leicester and co-author of ‘Discarded: How Technofossils Will be Our Ultimate Legacy’. She joins Seán to discuss.


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