The Diaries of a Bonedigger
The Diaries of a Bonedigger

Author: Harold Rogers Wanless

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2023-03-31

Total Pages: 199

ISBN-13: 3031251180

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Through the original writings and photography of renowned geologist Harold Rollin Wanless, this book paints a thorough and engaging picture of the White River Badlands’ landscape, geology, biology, pioneer settlers, and how life was lived 100 years ago in a harsh, challenging, remote setting. In the summer of 1920, Harold Rollin Wanless, fresh from an undergraduate geology degree at Princeton, spent the first of three summers in the Badlands of South Dakota camping, hiking, and collecting fossil vertebrate skulls. Harold produced a fascinating and thorough diary and report, illustrated with over 100 image plates, in which he explains the geology, biology, and climate of this famous area. Wanless became deeply involved with and vividly records the life, hopes, trials and character of the new homesteading pioneers of the area, and the people and livelihoods he encountered are reflected in the diary as well. This is an engaging look at the history, environment, people and geological character of a unique portion of the American West. Combining a first-hand look at the White River Badlands and its people a century ago with the fossil history contained in its Cenozoic sediments gives a well-rounded historical presentation. This diary was found, compiled, and edited by Drs. Harold Rogers Wanless (the diarist’s son and an accomplished geologist himself) and Emmett Evanoff. In the introductory and concluding chapters of this book, they provide a broader perspective of Harold Rollin Wanless’s life and his significant achievements beyond the Badlands venture described here. In addition, this narrative - written “only” a century ago - provides a stark contrast with how we travel, communicate, conduct research and survive today, yet shows that human curiosity and kindnesses have not changed.

Dragon Bone Hill
Dragon Bone Hill

Author: Noel T. Boaz

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2004-02-16

Total Pages: 264

ISBN-13: 0190288329

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"Peking Man," a cave man once thought a great hunter who had first tamed fire, actually was a composite of the gnawed remains of some fifty women, children, and men unfortunate enough to have been the prey of the giant cave hyena. Researching the famous fossil site of Dragon Bone Hill in China, scientists Noel T. Boaz and Russell L. Ciochon retell the story of the cave's unique species of early human, Homo erectus. Boaz and Ciochon take readers on a gripping scientific odyssey. New evidence shows that Homo erectus was an opportunist who rode a tide of environmental change out Africa and into Eurasia, puddle-jumping from one gene pool to the next. Armed with a shaky hold on fire and some sharp rocks, Homo erectus incredibly survived for over 1.5 million years, much longer than our own species Homo sapiens has been on Earth. Tell-tale marks on fossil bones show that the lives of these early humans were brutal, ruled by hunger and who could strike the hardest blow, yet there are fleeting glimpses of human compassion as well. The small brain of Homo erectus and its strangely unchanging culture indicate that the species could not talk. Part of that primitive culture included ritualized aggression, to which the extremely thick skulls of Homo erectus bear mute witness. Both a vivid recreation of the unimagined way of life of a prehistoric species, so similar yet so unlike us, and a fascinating exposition of how modern multidisciplinary research can test hypotheses in human evolution, Dragon Bone Hill is science writing at its best.

Valley of Shining Stone
Valley of Shining Stone

Author: Lesley Poling-Kempes

Publisher: University of Arizona Press

Published: 1997-07

Total Pages: 340

ISBN-13: 9780816514465

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North by northwest from old Santa Fe is the winding road to Abiquiu (ah-be-cue'), Ghost Ranch, and el Valle de la Piedra Lumbre, the Valley of Shining Stone: mythical names in a near-mythical place, captured for the ages in the famous paintings of Georgia O'Keeffe. O'Keeffe saw the magic of sandstone cliffs and turquoise skies, but her life and death here are only part of the story. Reading almost like a novel, this book spills over with other legends buried deep in time, just as some of North America's oldest dinosaur bones lie hidden beneath the valley floor. Here are the stories of Pueblo Indians who have claimed this land for generations. Here, too, are Utes, Navajos, Jicarilla Apaches, Hispanos, and Anglos-many lives tangled together, yet also separate and distinct. Underlying these stories is the saga of Ghost Ranch itself, a last living vestige of the Old West ideal of horses, cowboys, and wide-open spaces. Readers will meet a virtual Who's Who of visitors from "dude ranch" days, ranging from such luminaries as Willa Cather, Ansel Adams, and Charles Lindbergh to World War II scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer and his colleagues, who were working on the top-secret atomic bomb in nearby Los Alamos. Moving on through the twentieth century, the book describes struggles to preserve the valley's wild beauty in the face of land development and increased tourism. Just as the Piedra Lumbre landscape has captivated countless wayfarers over hundreds of years, so its stories cast their own spell. Indispensable for travelers, pure pleasure for history buffs and general readers, these pages are a magic carpet to a magic land: Abiquiu, Ghost Ranch, the Valley of Shining Stone.

Bumper Book of Dinosaurs
Bumper Book of Dinosaurs

Author: Keiron Pim

Publisher: Random House

Published: 2013-11-21

Total Pages: 178

ISBN-13: 1446477193

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Dinosaurs are back. Say hello to the Giganotosaurus, the Velociraptor, and Tyrannosaurus rex. Ready yourself for the deadly horns of the Zuniceratops and the razor sharp tail of the Tuojiangosaurus. But above all, be sure to expect the unexpected. Armed with a host of stunning recent discoveries, Keiron Pim re-introduces us to these mind-boggling creatures in mesmerizing detail. As we live through a ‘golden age’ of discovery, the rise and fall of the dinosaur is once again staking its claim as Nature’s most spectacular phenomenon. For decades, these weird and wonderful creatures have roamed the imaginations of adults and children alike; now they are brought to life before our very eyes. If you think you know the world of Dinosaurs, then think again, for it grows stranger and more fascinating all the time. Filled with fun facts and gory details, with ancient history and modern discovery, and with stunning design and illustrated throughout, this book is sure to delight readers of all ages.

Hyperthematics
Hyperthematics

Author: Marc M. Anderson

Publisher: State University of New York Press

Published: 2019-06-14

Total Pages: 526

ISBN-13: 1438475357

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In this innovative work, Marc M. Anderson presents an account of value and value creation, which both defines value and introduces a method to manipulate value practically. Using this new methodology, Anderson first explores where value lies in experience, both human and otherwise, uncovering tendencies in human action and the natural world that create and destroy value. From that analysis, he generates practical principles to be applied in creating value in any region or discipline of human experience, at any scale, including corporate organization and product design, economics, the sciences, the arts, urban and architectural design, and sustainable development. He tests this methodology by focusing on the organization and production of commercial corporations in particular, suggesting ways to rethink and transform organization, product creation, and the contemporary currency system. He considers the implications for the many intersections of corporate production with human life, from urban planning, medicine, and food production to pornography, weaponry, and environmental engagement, with corresponding suggestions for transformation toward value. Throughout, Hyperthematics examines complexity, the nature of objects, the inevitable future intermingling of science and ethics, and assumptions driving the contemporary culture wars.

Cruisin' the Fossil Freeway
Cruisin' the Fossil Freeway

Author: Kirk Johnson

Publisher: Chicago Review Press

Published: 2024-06-25

Total Pages: 219

ISBN-13: 1641609176

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"A paleontological odyssey that manages to be informative, witty, educational—and enormous fun." —Simon Winchester, author of The Map That Changed the World, Krakatoa, and A Crack in the Edge of the World An epoch tale of a scientist and an artist on the ultimate 5,000-mile paleo road trip. Cruisin' the Fossil Freeway follows the most unusual travels of a paleontologist and an artist as they drive across the American West in search of fossils. Throughout their journey, they encounter "paleonerds" like themselves, people dedicated to finding everything from suburban T. rex to killer Eocene pigs to ancient fossilized forests. This updated editions brings the text up-to-date on new discoveries, new realizations, and new places, along with new art. A fascinating travelogue, Cruisin' the Fossil Freeway shows us that fossils are everywhere if you learn to look for them—even at 65 miles per hour.

The Case of Windy Lake: A Mighty Muskrats Mystery
The Case of Windy Lake: A Mighty Muskrats Mystery

Author: Michael Hutchinson

Publisher: Second Story Press

Published: 2019-03-18

Total Pages: 114

ISBN-13: 1772600865

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Sam, Otter, Atim, and Chickadee are four inseparable cousins growing up on the Windy Lake First Nation. Nicknamed the Mighty Muskrats for their habit of laughing, fighting, and exploring together, the cousins find that each new adventure adds to their reputation. When a visiting archeologist goes missing, the cousins decide to solve the mystery of his disappearance. In the midst of community conflict, family concerns, and environmental protests, the four get busy following every lead. From their base of operations in a fort made out of an old school bus, the Mighty Muskrats won’t let anything stop them from solving their case!

Dinosaurs - The Grand Tour, Second Edition: Everything Worth Knowing About Dinosaurs from Aardonyx to Zuniceratops (Second)
Dinosaurs - The Grand Tour, Second Edition: Everything Worth Knowing About Dinosaurs from Aardonyx to Zuniceratops (Second)

Author: Keiron Pim

Publisher: The Experiment, LLC

Published: 2019-12-10

Total Pages: 556

ISBN-13: 1615195254

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Bigger and Better, Updated and Expanded We live in a golden age of paleontological discovery—on average, we find one new dinosaur species per week. The most fascinating among them take their place in this updated edition of Dinosaurs—The Grand Tour; from Aardonyx, a lumbering beast that formed a link between two- and four-legged dinosaurs, to Zuniceratops, who boasted a deadly pair of horns. Here, you’ll find everything worth knowing about every dinosaur worth knowing—more than 300 in all, including: Amphibious Halszkaraptor looks like no other dinosaur we’ve found—with a head and body the size of a duck’s, sharp claws . . . and a swanlike neck. Longer than a blue whale and three times taller than a giraffe, Patagotitan is a newly discovered contender for “biggest dinosaur ever.” The speedy little feathered predator Stenonychosaurus was an anatomical marvel, with retractable claws, asymmetrical ears for advanced hearing, incredible night vision, and a huge brain. Oviraptor—whose name means “egg thief “—doesn’t deserve its bad rap. This specimen from 1923 is now proven to have been sitting by its own eggs—not stealing another’s. Sinornithosaurus prove that dinosaurs shed their skin the same way that humans do, rather than sloughing it off all at once like a snake. At-a-glance sidebars put each dinosaur’s diet, size, and location at your fingertips. Stories of harrowing expeditions conjure the thrills of history’s most famous dinosaur hunters. Highlights from recent research reveal what’s new in paleontology today, including scientists’ evolving idea of what dinosaurs actually looked like. (Hint: They were more colorful—and feathery!—than we ever thought before.) And illustrations on virtually every page bring these prehistoric creatures to life in all their glory.