Festinger subsequently began exploring prehistoric archaeological data, meeting with Stephen Jay Gould to discuss ideas and visiting archaeological sites to investigate primitive toolmaking firsthand. His efforts eventually culminated in the book, "The Human Legacy," which examined how humans evolved and developed complex societies. Although seemingly the product of a disillusioned, wholesale abandonment of the field of psychology, Festinger considered this research as a return to the fundamental concerns of psychology. He described the goal of his new research interests as “see what can be inferred from different vantage points, from different data realms, about the nature, the characteristics, of this species we call human,” and felt bemused when fellow psychologists asked him how his new research interests were related to psychology.