Download or read book Travels with the Fossil Hunters written by P. J. Whybrow and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2000-04-13 with total page 234 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Travels with the Fossil Hunters tells twelve stories of expeditions to remote parts of the world in search of diverse fossils such as dinosaurs and human ancestors. Palaeontologists relate the problems and curiosities they encounter whilst working in extreme conditions, from the deserts of the Sahara and Yemen to the frozen wastes of Antarctica, from the mountains of India to the forests of Latvia. They tell us what field expeditions are really like: dodging bullets in West Africa or rabid dogs in Pakistan, surviving yak-butter tea in Tibet or raw fish in China. Along the way they also describe the palaeontology and geology of the countries they visit and the scientific reasons for their expeditions. Copiously illustrated with spectacular colour photographs and with a foreword from David Attenborough and an introduction from Richard Fortey, this fascinating book will appeal to anyone interested in travelling and fossils, amateurs and professionals alike.
Download or read book The Fossil Hunter written by Shelley Emling and published by St. Martin's Press. This book was released on 2009-10-13 with total page 262 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: At a time when women were excluded from science, a young girl made a discovery that marked the birth of paleontology and continues to feed the debate about evolution to this day. Mary Anning was only twelve years old when, in 1811, she discovered the first dinosaur skeleton--of an ichthyosaur--while fossil hunting on the cliffs of Lyme Regis, England. Until Mary's incredible discovery, it was widely believed that animals did not become extinct. The child of a poor family, Mary became a fossil hunter, inspiring the tongue-twister, "She Sells Sea Shells by the Seashore." She attracted the attention of fossil collectors and eventually the scientific world. Once news of the fossils reached the halls of academia, it became impossible to ignore the truth. Mary's peculiar finds helped lay the groundwork for Charles Darwin's theory of evolution, laid out in his On the Origin of Species. Darwin drew on Mary's fossilized creatures as irrefutable evidence that life in the past was nothing like life in the present. A story worthy of Dickens, The Fossil Hunter chronicles the life of this young girl, with dirt under her fingernails and not a shilling to buy dinner, who became a world-renowned paleontologist. Dickens himself said of Mary: "The carpenter's daughter has won a name for herself, and deserved to win it." Here at last, Shelley Emling returns Mary Anning, of whom Stephen J. Gould remarked, is "probably the most important unsung (or inadequately sung) collecting force in the history of paleontology," to her deserved place in history.
Download or read book The First Fossil Hunters written by Adrienne Mayor and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2023-04-11 with total page 400 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The fascinating story of how the fossils of dinosaurs, mammoths, and other extinct animals influenced some of the most spectacular creatures of classical mythology Griffins, Centaurs, Cyclopes, and Giants—these fabulous creatures of classical mythology continue to live in the modern imagination through the vivid accounts that have come down to us from the ancient Greeks and Romans. But what if these beings were more than merely fictions? What if monstrous creatures once roamed the earth in the very places where their legends first arose? This is the arresting and original thesis that Adrienne Mayor explores in The First Fossil Hunters. Through careful research and meticulous documentation, she convincingly shows that many of the giants and monsters of myth did have a basis in fact—in the enormous bones of long-extinct species that were once abundant in the lands of the Greeks and Romans. As Mayor shows, the Greeks and Romans were well aware that a different breed of creatures once inhabited their lands. They frequently encountered the fossilized bones of these primeval beings, and they developed sophisticated concepts to explain the fossil evidence, concepts that were expressed in mythological stories. The legend of the gold-guarding griffin, for example, sprang from tales first told by Scythian gold-miners, who, passing through the Gobi Desert at the foot of the Altai Mountains, encountered the skeletons of Protoceratops and other dinosaurs that littered the ground. Like their modern counterparts, the ancient fossil hunters collected and measured impressive petrified remains and displayed them in temples and museums; they attempted to reconstruct the appearance of these prehistoric creatures and to explain their extinction. Long thought to be fantasy, the remarkably detailed and perceptive Greek and Roman accounts of giant bone finds were actually based on solid paleontological facts. By reading these neglected narratives for the first time in the light of modern scientific discoveries, Adrienne Mayor illuminates a lost world of ancient paleontology.
Download or read book The Life of a Fossil Hunter written by Charles Hazelius Sternberg and published by . This book was released on 1909 with total page 370 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Cruisin the Fossil Coastline written by Kirk R. Johnson and published by Chicago Review Press - Fulcrum. This book was released on 2018 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "In this long-awaited sequel Kirk Johnson and Ray Troll are back on a road trip - driving, flying, and boating their way from Baja, California to northern Alaska in search of the fossil secrets of North America's Pacific coast. They hunt for fossils, visit museums, meet scientists and paleonerds, and sleuth out untold stories of extinct worlds. As one of the oldest coasts on earth, the west coast is a rich ground for fossil discovery. Its wonders include extinct marine mammals, pygmy mammoths, oyster bears, immense ammonites, shark-bitten camels, polar dinosaurs, Alaskan palms, California walruses, and a lava-baked rhinoceros. Join in for a fossil journey through deep time and discover how the west coast became the place it is today."--Provided by publisher.
Download or read book Fossil Hunter written by Cheryl Blackford and published by HarperCollins. This book was released on 2022-01-25 with total page 128 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “This in-depth, beautifully illustrated biography of Mary Anning sings with the passion and perseverance of the woman herself, who from girlhood on scoured the shifting cliffs of her native Dorset to dig out prehistoric mysteries and make sense of them—altering forever our view of the past.” —Joyce Sidman, Newbery Honor winner and Sibert Medal winner A fascinating, highly visual biography of Mary Anning, the Victorian fossil hunter who changed scientific thinking about prehistoric life and would become one of the most celebrated paleontologists of all time. Perfect for children learning about woman scientists like Ada Lovelace, Jane Goodall, and Katherine Johnson. Mary Anning grew up on the south coast of England in a region rich in fossils. As teenagers, she and her brother Joseph discovered England’s first complete ichthyosaur. Poor and uneducated, Anning would become one of the most celebrated paleontologists ever, though in her time she supported herself selling by fossils and received little formal recognition. Her findings helped shape scientific thinking about extinction and prehistoric life long before Darwin published his famous work on evolution. With engaging text, photographs, and stunning paleoart, Fossil Hunter introduces this self-taught scientist, now recognized as one of the greatest fossilists the world has ever known.
Download or read book Shark Tooth Hunting on the Carolina Coast written by Ashley Oliphant and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2015-06-10 with total page 202 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is a basic guide on how to find and identify fossil shark teeth from the coast of the Carolinas. It offers the basic information novices need to get started hunting fossil shark teeth and features an easy-to-use reference section that will allow for speedy identification of species commonly found on the coasts of North and South Carolina.
Download or read book Dinosaur Lady written by Linda Skeers and published by Sourcebooks, Inc.. This book was released on 2020-07-07 with total page 43 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A beautifully illustrated picture book biography of Mary Anning that will enlighten children about the discovery of the dinosaurs and the importance of female scientists, perfect for fans of The Girl Who Thought in Pictures Mary Anning loved scouring the beach near her home in England for shells and fossils. She fearlessly climbed over crumbling cliffs and rocky peaks, searching for new specimens. One day, something caught Mary's eye. Bones. Dinosaur Bones. Mary's discoveries rocked the world of science and helped create a brand-new field of study: paleontology. But many people believed women couldn't be scientists, so Mary wasn't given the credit she deserved. Nevertheless, Mary kept looking and learning more, making discoveries that reshaped scientific beliefs about the natural world. Educational backmatter includes a timeline of Mary Anning's life and lots of fantastic fossil facts! The perfect choice for parents and teachers looking for: Dinosaur books for kids 5-7 and kids books about fossils Feminist picture books about historical women, and daring books for girls Kids STEM books
Download or read book Fossil Collecting in the Mid Atlantic States written by Jasper Burns and published by JHU Press. This book was released on 1991-04 with total page 220 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A lovely and loving piece of work, both an introduction to the hobby of fossil collecting and a beautifully illustrated field guide, with the author's drawings of some 450 fossil specimens and descriptions of 46 specific sites in Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia where they can be found. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR
Download or read book The Dinosaur Artist written by Paige Williams and published by Hachette Books. This book was released on 2018-09-11 with total page 476 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this 2018 New York Times Notable Book,Paige Williams "does for fossils what Susan Orlean did for orchids" (Book Riot) in her account of one Florida man's attempt to sell a dinosaur skeleton from Mongolia--a story "steeped in natural history, human nature, commerce, crime, science, and politics" (Rebecca Skloot). In 2012, a New York auction catalogue boasted an unusual offering: "a superb Tyrannosaurus skeleton." In fact, Lot 49135 consisted of a nearly complete T. bataar, a close cousin to the most famous animal that ever lived. The fossils now on display in a Manhattan event space had been unearthed in Mongolia, more than 6,000 miles away. At eight-feet high and 24 feet long, the specimen was spectacular, and when the gavel sounded the winning bid was over $1 million. Eric Prokopi, a thirty-eight-year-old Floridian, was the man who had brought this extraordinary skeleton to market. A onetime swimmer who spent his teenage years diving for shark teeth, Prokopi's singular obsession with fossils fueled a thriving business hunting, preparing, and selling specimens, to clients ranging from natural history museums to avid private collectors like actor Leonardo DiCaprio. But there was a problem. This time, facing financial strain, had Prokopi gone too far? As the T. bataar went to auction, a network of paleontologists alerted the government of Mongolia to the eye-catching lot. As an international custody battle ensued, Prokopi watched as his own world unraveled. In the tradition of The Orchid Thief, The Dinosaur Artist is a stunning work of narrative journalism about humans' relationship with natural history and a seemingly intractable conflict between science and commerce. A story that stretches from Florida's Land O' Lakes to the Gobi Desert, The Dinosaur Artist illuminates the history of fossil collecting--a murky, sometimes risky business, populated by eccentrics and obsessives, where the lines between poacher and hunter, collector and smuggler, enthusiast and opportunist, can easily blur. In her first book, Paige Williams has given readers an irresistible story that spans continents, cultures, and millennia as she examines the question of who, ultimately, owns the past.
Download or read book Time Traveler written by Michael Novacek and published by Macmillan + ORM. This book was released on 2003-03-15 with total page 490 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: True stories of fossil-hunting adventures around the globe from “a world-class field scientist [and] a highly entertaining writer” (The American Scholar). Michael Novacek, a world-renowned paleontologist who has discovered important fossils on virtually every continent, is an authority on patterns of evolution and on the relationships among extinct and extant organisms. Time Traveler is his captivating account of how his boyhood enthusiasm for dinosaurs became a lifelong commitment to vanguard science. He takes us with him as he discovers fossils in his own backyard in Los Angeles, then goes looking for them in the high Andes, the black volcanic mountains of Yemen, and the incredibly rich fossil badlands of the Gobi Desert. Wherever Novacek goes, he searches for still-undiscovered evidence of what life was like on Earth millions of years ago. Along the way he has almost drowned, been stung by deadly scorpions, been held at gunpoint by a renegade army, and nearly choked in raging dust storms. Fieldwork is very demanding in a host of unusual, dramatic, sometimes hilarious ways, and Novacek writes of its alluring perils with affection and discernment. But in addition to being an enthralling adventure story, Time Traveler makes sense of many complex themes—about dinosaur evolution, continental drift, mass extinctions, new methods for understanding ancient environments, and the evolutionary secrets of DNA in fossil organisms. Includes photos and illustrations “A superb introduction to paleontology.” —Edward O. Wilson “An engaging book [that] gives us an excellent sense of the way paleontologists have arrived at their world-shaking conclusions.” —The New York Times Book Review “Novacek offers a spellbinding natural history of our planet, as well as the equally fascinating story of how he fell into the profession.” —Publishers Weekly
Download or read book Fossil Legends of the First Americans written by Adrienne Mayor and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2013-10-24 with total page 489 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The burnt-red badlands of Montana's Hell Creek are a vast graveyard of the Cretaceous dinosaurs that lived 68 million years ago. Those hills were, much later, also home to the Sioux, the Crows, and the Blackfeet, the first people to encounter the dinosaur fossils exposed by the elements. What did Native Americans make of these stone skeletons, and how did they explain the teeth and claws of gargantuan animals no one had seen alive? Did they speculate about their deaths? Did they collect fossils? Beginning in the East, with its Ice Age monsters, and ending in the West, where dinosaurs lived and died, this richly illustrated and elegantly written book examines the discoveries of enormous bones and uses of fossils for medicine, hunting magic, and spells. Well before Columbus, Native Americans observed the mysterious petrified remains of extinct creatures and sought to understand their transformation to stone. In perceptive creation stories, they visualized the remains of extinct mammoths, dinosaurs, pterosaurs, and marine creatures as Monster Bears, Giant Lizards, Thunder Birds, and Water Monsters. Their insights, some so sophisticated that they anticipate modern scientific theories, were passed down in oral histories over many centuries. Drawing on historical sources, archaeology, traditional accounts, and extensive personal interviews, Adrienne Mayor takes us from Aztec and Inca fossil tales to the traditions of the Iroquois, Navajos, Apaches, Cheyennes, and Pawnees. Fossil Legends of the First Americans represents a major step forward in our understanding of how humans made sense of fossils before evolutionary theory developed.
Download or read book Hunting Dinosaurs written by Louie Psihoyos and published by Random House Incorporated. This book was released on 1995-10-01 with total page 267 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An anecdotal journey into the world of dinosaur paleontology chronicles the international odyssey of a renowned photojournalist who traveled the world in search of the great fossil hunters and their discoveries
Download or read book A Girl Called Mary written by G. D. Waters and published by . This book was released on 2019-06-28 with total page 31 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A fun and engaging story told in rhyme for younger readers, exploring the true tale of the greatest fossil hunter who ever lived! Mary Anning was an ordinary girl with an extraordinary talent for finding fossils. Join her as she searches the beaches and cliffs around her seaside home and discovers clues about animals from long ago! Formatted especially for the Amazon Kindle and packed with colourful illustrations, this book will delight parents and children alike.
Download or read book Assembling the Dinosaur written by Lukas Rieppel and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2019-06-24 with total page 337 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A lively account of how dinosaurs became a symbol of American power and prosperity and gripped the popular imagination during the Gilded Age, when their fossil remains were collected and displayed in museums financed by North America’s wealthiest business tycoons. Although dinosaur fossils were first found in England, a series of dramatic discoveries during the late 1800s turned North America into a world center for vertebrate paleontology. At the same time, the United States emerged as the world’s largest industrial economy, and creatures like Tyrannosaurus, Brontosaurus, and Triceratops became emblems of American capitalism. Large, fierce, and spectacular, American dinosaurs dominated the popular imagination, making front-page headlines and appearing in feature films. Assembling the Dinosaur follows dinosaur fossils from the field to the museum and into the commercial culture of North America’s Gilded Age. Business tycoons like Andrew Carnegie and J. P. Morgan made common cause with vertebrate paleontologists to capitalize on the widespread appeal of dinosaurs, using them to project American exceptionalism back into prehistory. Learning from the show-stopping techniques of P. T. Barnum, museums exhibited dinosaurs to attract, entertain, and educate the public. By assembling the skeletons of dinosaurs into eye-catching displays, wealthy industrialists sought to cement their own reputations as generous benefactors of science, showing that modern capitalism could produce public goods in addition to profits. Behind the scenes, museums adopted corporate management practices to control the movement of dinosaur bones, restricting their circulation to influence their meaning and value in popular culture. Tracing the entwined relationship of dinosaurs, capitalism, and culture during the Gilded Age, Lukas Rieppel reveals the outsized role these giant reptiles played during one of the most consequential periods in American history.
Download or read book 101 American Fossil Sites You ve Gotta See written by Albert B. Dickas and published by . This book was released on 2018 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A list of fossil locations to visit within the United States, arranged alphabetically by state.
Download or read book Fossil Hunter written by Robert J. Sawyer and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2005-03-01 with total page 301 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Fossil Hunter is hard SF in the tradition of Larry Niven about a world inhabited by the Quintaglios, a dinosaurian species that has evolved a human level of intelligence and culture. Toroca, a Quintaglio geologist, is under attack for his controversial new theory of evolution. But the origins of his people turn out to be more complex than even he imagined, for he soon discovers the wreckage of an ancient starship -- a relic of the aliens who transplanted Earth's dinosaurs to this solar system. Now, Toroca must convince Emperor Dybo that evolution is true; otherwise, the territorial violence the Quintaglios inherited from their tyrannosaur ancestors will destroy the last survivors of Earth's prehistoric past. At the publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management software (DRM) applied.
