Over the past 25 years, a stream of fossil and artifact discoveries in the Afar Depression of Ethiopia has produced the longest single record of human ancestors in the world. Many of the fossils found in this region are the missing links leading to modern humans. This book chronicles the exploration of this unique desert area, focusing especially on the 1970s when the valley was mapped and many fossils and archeological sites were discovered. The author gives his personal account of the 25 years he spent researching the region.
As co-founder of the team that discovered Lucy, Jon Kalb has first-hand knowledge of the research that was involved in the findings of this region and of the intense rivalry that has accompanied those findings. He discusses the political drama of Ethiopia and the effects this chaos had on the Afar. This book covers the scientific discoveries of the area, the author's own explorations and findings, and the political struggles involved with these discoveries.

In "My Beloved Brontosaurus," the dinosaur fanatic Brian Switek enriches the child-like sense of
wonder that dinosaurs, with their awe-inspiring size, terrifying claws and teeth, and otherworldly
abilities, instill in us. Investigating the latest discoveries in paleontology, he breathes new
life into old bones.

Switek visits desolate excavation sites and hallowed museum vaults, exploring everything from "T.
rex"'s feather-laden body and the sex life of "Apatosaurus" to just why dinosaurs vanished. He
celebrates the book's titular hero, ""Brontosaurus""--who suffered a second extinction when we
learned the titan never existed at all--as a symbol of scientific progress, and questions other
long-held truths about these amazing beasts. Weaving in memories from his own obsession with
dinosaurs, which started when he was just knee-high to a "Stegosaurus," Switek creates an
endearing and essential narrative about our own evolution and place on Earth. A book that dinosaur
fans will cherish for years to come, "My Beloved Brontosaurus" is a classic work of science
storytelling.

A pictorial guide to common fossils that are found in Florida at a variety of locations around the state.

The Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument is the location of one of the best-known terrestrial records for the late Cretaceous. Prior fieldwork confirmed the richness of the area, but a major effort begun in the new century has documented over 2,000 new vertebrate fossil sites, provided new radiometric dates, and identified five new genera of ceratopsids, two new species of hadrosaur, a probable new genus of hypsilophodontid, new pachycephalosaurs and ankylosaurs, several kinds of theropods (including a new genus of oviraptor and a new tyrannosaur), plus the most complete specimen of a Late Cretaceous therizinosaur ever collected from North America, and much more. The research documented in this book is rewriting our understanding of Late Cretaceous paleobiogeography and dinosaur phyletics. At the Top of the Grand Staircase: The Late Cretaceous of Southern Utah is a major stepping stone toward a total synthesis of the ecology and evolution of the Late Cretaceous ecosystems of western North America.

An enthralling scientific and cultural exploration of the Ice Age-from the author of How the Canyon Became Grand From a remarkable father-daughter team comes a dramatic synthesis of science and environmental history-an exploration of the geologic time scale and evolution twinned with the story of how, eventually, we have come to understand our own past. The Pleistocene is the epoch of geologic time closest to our own. The Last Lost World is an inquiry into the conditions that made it, the themes that define it, and the creature that emerged dominant from it. At the same time, it tells the story of how we came to discover and understand this crucial period in the Earth's history and what meanings it has for today.

In the follow up to Darwin's Lost World, Martin Brasier introduces the quest for the missing history of life and the cell. Through a series of journeys it emerges that the modern plant cell is one of the most deeply puzzling and unlikely steps in the whole history of life. Decoding this puzzle is a great adventure that has mainly taken place over the last half century. Brasier puts the big questions into context through lively descriptions of his explorations around the world, from the Caribbean Sea and the Egyptian pyramids, to the shores of the great lakes in Canada, and to the reefs and deserts of Australia. Covering the period from 1 to 2 billion years ago - a period he once dubbed 'the boring billion' - he demonstrates how it in fact involved great evolutionary potential with the formation of the complex (eukaryotic) cell. Without this cell there would be nothing on Earth today except bacteria, and the formation of this cell was a fundamental turning point in the history of life on Earth. Weaving together several threads, Brasier emphasizes the importance of single-celled forms to marine ecosystems; symbiosis and coral reefs; and the architecture and beauty of single-celled Foraminifera and what they tell us about evolution. From a master storyteller comes a vivid description of the earliest biological forms and a set of fascinating tales of travels and research.

This is the official guide to Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins' sculptures at Crystal Palace, Sydenham, including dinosaurs and other monsters. Owen's guide offers technical descriptions of their biology and geology.

This book describes the major events in the history of dinosaurs and surrounding events in the Age of Reptiles. It is written about the world that dinosaurs lived in: environments, climate, bird evolution, origin of mammals, migrating continents, mass extinctions, asteroids and massive volcanic flows. For example, all three major episodes of volcanism are tied directly to major changes in dinosaur origin and evolution. Climates varied from intense heat in a single supercontinent at the beginning to equable climates and densely clothed forests as continents drifted apart. The book is well-illustrated. It includes 65 images taken from fossil specimens located mostly in the major museums of natural history

The belief that some dinosaurs were so gigantic that they couldn't exist with today's gravity is a topic frequently discussed on internet websites. The opinion posted the most is that the Earth's mass must have changed significantly resulting in an alteration of surface gravity or that the Earth somehow expanded. Neither of these opinions have scientific support. The theory explained in this book, the GTME, does have that support.
Readers familiar with basic rotational physics understand that when there is a redistribution of mass within a rotating symmetrical object, like the Earth, there are two laws of physics that must be obeyed: the conservation of (1) rotational kinetic energy and (2) angular momentum. When the Earth's continents coalesced to form Pangea, their center of mass shifted south of the equator, an action which would have reduced (1) and (2). Something had to offset the above continental movement in order to conserve the two quantities described. That something was either the shifting of the Earth's core elements (inner/outer cores and densest lower mantle) away from Pangea or the increase in rotational velocity of the Earth (i.e., shortening of the day). The latter has not been detected during Pangea's existence.
Considerable circumstantial evidence supports the GTME. The most obvious is the existence of the largest dinosaurs, the sauropods. As Pangea broke apart and surface gravity increased the extinction of all non-avian dinosaurs, sea-going reptiles, ammonites, pterosaurs, etc., occurred. Core element movement is supported by the massive flood basalt volcanism of the Mesozoic and the two superchrons, the periods when magnetic pole reversal didn't occur.
The most powerful support for the GTME comes from the science of paleomagnetism. Paleomagnetists are split between support of the Pangea A vs. Pangea B models. Relying on the magnetic Geocentric Axial Dipole (GAD) model to reconstruct continental positions of Pangea they encountered a roadblock; the continents appeared to overlap. The GTME solves this problem because the shifting of the core elements from the Earth's geocenter mandates a non-GAD model. A recent study hypothesizes that geomagnetic pole reversals are directly linked to continental plate distribution; a concept already posited by the GTME As explained in this book, many if not most of the mass extinctions were the result of changes in the Earth's surface gravity due to core element movement resulting from continental tectonic plate movement.

Our understanding of vertebrate origins and the backbone of human history evolves with each new fossil find and DNA map. Many species have now had their genomes sequenced, and molecular techniques allow genetic inspection of even nonmodel organisms. But as longtime Nature editor Henry Gee argues in Across the Bridge, despite these giant strides and our deepening understanding of how vertebrates fit into the tree of life, the morphological chasm between vertebrates and invertebrates remains vast and enigmatic. As Gee shows, even as scientific advances have falsified a variety of theories linking these groups, the extant relatives of vertebrates are too few for effective genetic analysis. Moreover, the more we learn about the species that do remain--from seasquirts to starfish--the clearer it becomes that they are too far evolved along their own courses to be of much use in reconstructing what the latest invertebrate ancestors of vertebrates looked like. Fossils present yet further problems of interpretation. Tracing both the fast-changing science that has helped illuminate the intricacies of vertebrate evolution as well as the limits of that science, Across the Bridge helps us to see how far the field has come in crossing the invertebrate-to-vertebrate divide--and how far we still have to go.

In 1878, the first complete dinosaur skeleton was discovered in a coal mine in Bernissart, Belgium. Iguanodon, first described by Gideon Mantell on the basis of fragments discovered in England in 1824, was initially reconstructed as an iguana-like reptile or a heavily built, horned quadruped. However, the Bernissart skeleton changed all that. The animal was displayed in an upright posture similar to a kangaroo, and later with its tail off the ground like the dinosaur we know of today. Focusing on the Bernissant discoveries, this book presents the latest research on Iguanodon and other denizens of the Cretaceous ecosystems of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Pascal Godefroit and contributors consider the Bernissart locality itself and the new research programs that are underway there. The book also presents a systematic revision of Iguanodon; new material from Spain, Romania, China, and Kazakhstan; studies of other Early Cretaceous terrestrial ecosystems; and examinations of Cretaceous vertebrate faunas. -- Indiana University Press

For more than a century, scientists have raced to unravel the human family tree and have grappled with its complications. Now, with an astonishing new discovery, everything we thought we knew about primate origins could change. Lying inside a high-security vault, deep within the heart of one of the world's leading natural history museums, is the scientific find of a lifetime - a perfectly fossilized early primate, older than the previously most famous primate fossil, Lucy, by forty-four million years. A secret until now, the fossil - Ida to theresearchers who have painstakingly verified her provenance - is the most complete primate fossil ever found. Forty-seven million years old, Ida rewrites what we've assumed about the earliest primate origins. Her completeness is unparalleled - so much of what we understand about evolution comes from partial fossils and even single bones, but Ida's fossilization offers much more than that, from a haunting skin shadow to her stomach contents. And, remarkably, knowledge of her discovery and existence almost never saw the light of day. With exclusive access to the first scientiststo study her, the award-winning science writer Colin Tudge tells the history of Ida and her place in the world. A magnificent, cutting-edge scientific detective story followed her discovery, and The Link offers a wide-ranging investigation into Ida and our earliest origins. At the same time, it opens a stunningly evocative window into our past and changes what we know about primate evolution and, ultimately, our own.

This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book.

Palaeontology, the scientific study of fossils, has developed from a descriptive science to an analytical science used to interpret relationships between earth and life history. This book provides a comprehensive and thematic treatment of applied palaeontology, covering the use of fossils in the ordering of rocks in time and in space, in biostratigraphy, palaeobiology and sequence stratigraphy. Robert Wynn Jones presents a practical workflow for applied palaeontology, including sample acquisition, preparation and analysis, and interpretation and integration. He then presents numerous case studies that demonstrate the applicability and value of the subject to areas such as petroleum, mineral and coal exploration and exploitation, engineering geology and environmental science. Specialist applications outside of the geosciences (including archaeology, forensic science, medical palynology, entomopalynology and melissopalynology) are also addressed. Abundantly illustrated and referenced, Applications of Palaeontology provides a user-friendly reference for academic researchers and professionals across a range of disciplines and industry settings.

Described as 'a writer in the tradition of Henry David Thoreau, John Muir, and other self-educated seers' by the "San Francisco Chronicle", David Rains Wallace turns his attention in this new book to another distinctive corner of California - its desert, the driest and hottest environment in North America. Drawing from his frequent forays to Death Valley, Red Rock Canyon, Kelso Dunes, and other locales, Wallace illuminates the desert's intriguing flora and fauna as he explores a controversial, unresolved scientific debate about the origin and evolution of its unusual ecosystems. Eminent scientists and scholars appear throughout these pages, including maverick paleobiologist Daniel Axelrod, botanist Ledyard Stebbins, and naturalists Edmund Jaeger and Joseph Wood Krutch. Weaving together ecology, geology, natural history, and mythology in his characteristically eloquent voice, Wallace reveals that there is more to this starkly beautiful landscape than meets the eye.

Shawnee legend tells of a herd of huge bison rampaging through the Ohio Valley, laying waste to all in their path. To protect the tribe, a deity slew these great beasts with lightning bolts, finally chasing the last giant buffalo into exile across the Wabash River, never to trouble the Shawnee again. The source of this legend was a peculiar salt lick in present-day northern Kentucky, where giant fossilized skeletons had for centuries lain undisturbed by the Shawnee and other natives of the region. In 1739, the first Europeans encountered this fossil site, which eventually came to be known as Big Bone Lick. The site drew the attention of all who heard of it, including George Washington, Daniel Boone, Benjamin Franklin, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, and especially Thomas Jefferson. The giant bones immediately cast many scientific and philosophical assumptions of the day into doubt, and they eventually gave rise to the study of fossils for biological and historical purposes. Big Bone Lick: The Cradle of American Paleontology recounts the rich history of the fossil site that gave the world the first evidence of the extinction of several mammalian species, including the American mastodon. Big Bone Lick has played many roles: nutrient source, hallowed ground, salt mine, health spa, and a rich trove of archaeological and paleontological wonders. Natural historian Stanley Hedeen presents a comprehensive narrative of Big Bone Lick from its geological formation forward, explaining why the site attracted animals, regional tribespeople, European explorers and scientists, and eventually American pioneers and presidents. Big Bone Lick is the history of both a place and a scientific discipline: it explores the infancy and adolescence of paleontology from its humble and sometimes humorous beginnings. Hedeen combines elements of history, geology, politics, and biology to make Big Bone Lick a valuable historical resource as well as the compelling tale of how a collection of fossilized bones captivated a young nation.

This collection of papers is dedicated to Dr Ina Plug to celebrate her tremendous contributions to archaeozoology (or zooarchaeology) in a career that has so far spanned more than three decades. Contents: Preface; Ina Plug: A Tribute (Shaw Badenhorst); Zooarchaeology in Southern Africa: A View from the North (Terry O'Connor); Archaeozoology at the Transvaal Museum and Its Future in South Africa (Karin Scott); Models for Zooarchaeologists from Modern Bushmeat Studies (Jonathan C. Driver); The Contribution of Sibudu Fauna to an Understanding of KwaZulu-Natal Environments at 60 ka, 50 ka and 37 ka (Lyn Wadley, Ina Plug, and Jamie L. Clark); Variability and Change in Middle Stone Age Hunting Behaviour: Aspects from the Lithic and Faunal Records (Marlize Lombard and Jamie L. Clark); Archaeobiodiversity of Ichthyofaunas from the Holocene Sahel (Nadja Pollath, Joris Peters, and Helene Jousse); Shrews from Ein el Gazzareen, Dakhleh Oasis, Western Desert, Egypt (C.S. Churcher); Human and Animal Interaction on the Shire Highlands, Malawi: The Evidence from Malowa Rockshelter (Yusuf M. Juwayeyi); Early Herders in Southern Africa: A Synthesis (Andrew B. Smith); The Canine Connection: Dogs and Southern African Hunter-gatherers (Peter Mitchell); Fishing in the Senegal River during the Iron Age: The Evidence from the Habitation Mounds of Cubalel and Sioure (Wim Van Neer); Early Iron Age Regional Settlement and Demographic Patterns along the Eastern Seaboard of South Africa: A View from the Lower Thukela River Valley (Haskel J. Greenfield and Leonard O. van Schalkwyk); A Consideration of Livestock Exploitation during the Early Iron Age in the Thukela Valley, KwaZulu-Natal (Elizabeth R. Arnold); Social Memory and the Antiquity of Snake and Crocodile Symbolism in Southern Africa (Kent D. Fowler); Symbolic Animal Burials from the Venda Region in the Limpopo Province, South Africa (Louisa Hutten); Zhizo and Leopard's Kopje: Test Excavations at Simamwe and Mtanye, Zimbabwe (T.N. Huffman); Subsistence Change among Farming Communities in Southern Africa during the Last Two Millennia: A Search for Potential Causes (Shaw Badenhorst).

THIS 28 PAGE ARTICLE WAS EXTRACTED FROM THE BOOK: Science and Hebrew Tradition Essays, by Thomas H. Huxley. To purchase the entire book, please order ISBN 0766137848.

"Speak to the Earth and It Will Teach You" is a book that tells the story of Earl Douglass, a paleontologist who made a remarkable discovery of Jurassic dinosaur bones one hundred years ago. Written by his only son, Gawin, the book includes many, never-before published, excerpts from the diaries which Earl kept for forty-seven years of his life, beginning in 1884. It tells of the pleasures and sorrows, financial problems and successes of one man's life, dedicated to science and a search for truth. On a field expedition for the Carnegie Museum during the summer of 1909 Douglass made his famous discovery near Jensen, Utah, an area which was later set aside as Dinosaur National Monument. This discovery late in August, kept him working in Utah, living in tents with his wife and 18-month old son throughout one of the coldest winters on record for that area. The book also contains many photographs taken by Douglass during this period showing excavation and shipment of the bones.

Lilian Brown shares her early adventures with husband Barnum Brown (curator, American Museum of Natural History) on his paleontological expeditions to India and Burma. The focus here is not on Barnum's scientific discoveries, but on the curious cultures and people they encountered as they camped and traveled. From pets to parties, her descriptions of life on a long expedition (often waiting for Barnum to return from his lone wolf forays for fossil beds) shows a very different side than you'll find in an academic journal.

Maniraptora includes the first known bird, Archaeopteryx, the small, four-winged, feathered glider, Microraptor, and the terrestrial runner Bambiraptor. All are considered important links in the origin of flight and a subsequent transition to terrestriality. In cladistic classifications, dromaeosaurid "dinosaurs" were only considered terrestrial cursors. The discovery of a gliding stage within the dromaeosaurs confounds the currently suggested evolutionary framework and lacks predictability for origin of flight scenarios. Paleoclimate was a significant factor for evolution of dinosaur-like birds and birdlike dinosaurs during the Mesozoic. This time is characterized by faunal and floral changes reflecting the cooling trend at end of the Cretaceous. The environment opened up making it difficult for poor fliers and gliders as forested areas became less dense. Secondarily flightless terrestrial forms and birds with full flight capabilities survived best in these new environments. Eventually, birds of modern aspect probably replaced the primitive maniraptorans since they were more efficient fliers and had evolved higher metabolic rates suitable for the cooler climate.

This is an easy to read guide for beginners on how to find real treasure. Learn how to find fossils, rocks, artifacts around the U.S. Great fun for kids, teens and the whole family. This book also includes metal detecting information, a treasure log sheet and links for complete state by state listings of fossil and rock sites.

When dinosaurs were first unearthed in the 19th century, they were reconstructed as lethargic beasts, a stigma associated with ectothermy. This perception prevailed for 150 years. Then John Ostrom rocked the foundations of dinosaur paleontology in the late 1960s. He uncovered evidence that dinosaurs lived dynamic lives, a trait associated with "endothermy" (i.e., warm-bloodedness). Significant scientific advancements were made by ensuing generations of paleontologists following in Ostrom's footsteps. But now there is reason to suspect that dinosaurs were incredible frauds. Dinosaurs Incognito proposes that dinosaurs were ectotherms and exposes how these clever beasts managed to pull off their endothermic charade by presenting them in intriguing ways that both challenges conventional doctrine and encourages alternate thought. The reader is also introduced to a special axiom regarding morphology, provocative new ideas concerning the nitty-gritty of dinosaur life, and some entertaining anecdotes for good measure which are sure to make Dinosaurs Incognito a memorable experience for the general reader and scientist alike.

It's hard to imagine the study of human origins without the Leakey family. Three generations of Leakeys have scratched in the baked, unfriendly soil of East Africa to unearth fossil evidence of the earliest humans and their ancient ancestors. In the process they have practically defined the field of paleoanthropology, while eliciting admiration as well as controversies and criticism. In this engrossing biography, prolific writer and educator Mary Bowman-Kruhm tells the story of three generations of Leakeys. Beginning with patriarch Louis Leakey, a native of Kenya, she describes how he turned his boyhood love of exploring the Kenyan countryside into a scientific profession that eventually garnered international recognition. As the author shows, Leakey struggled in the early years, often barely able to make a living. The end of World War II, a trip to Rusinga Island in Lake Victoria, and an injection of money from a benefactor led to the discovery of Proconsul africanus, an 18-million-year-old skull that was a precursor to both later evolving apes and humans. Then Leakey and his wife, Mary, discovered fragments of what came to be known as Paranthropus boisei, which lived about 1.75 million years ago. These findings brought the Leakeys great attention and important funding from the National Geographic Society.
Bowman-Kruhm intersperses her discussion of the Leakeys' important scientific contributions with interesting asides about their personal life: from the trying 1950s when the Mau Mau revolt in Kenya threatened all of their lives; through Louis's interest in young proteges, including Jane Goodall and Diane Fossey; to the rocky relationship between the Leakeys and Donald Johanson, the discoverer of "Lucy."
By the time of Louis's death in 1972, Mary and their son Richard were making dramatic finds on their own. When Richard discovered a rich cache of fossils in northern Kenya, he soon attained a level of acclaim to rival his father and mother's. Eventually, he turned his attention to fighting for the cause of wildlife conservation, a passion that he continues to the present. Today, the paleontology work of the Leakey family continues, carried on mainly by Meave, Richard's wife, and their daughter, Louise, at Koobi Fora in northern Kenya. They regularly report the results of their research at the Koobi Fora Research Project Web site (www.kfrp.com).