Strata
Strata

Author: Oxford University Museum of Natural History

Publisher:

Published: 2020

Total Pages: 256

ISBN-13: 9780226754888

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"The story starts with William Smith's early years, from apprentice to surveyor for hire, and from publication of his groundbreaking 1815 geological strata map to imprisonment for debt. Smith's 1799 geological map of Bath and table of strata, his first strata map of England and Wales, published in 1801, and photographs of some of Smith's collection of 2,000 fossils illustrate the tale. The remainder of the book is organized into four parts, each beginning with four sheets from Smith's hand-colored, 1815 strata map, accompanied by related geological cross sections and county maps (1819-24), and followed by sections of Sowerby's fossil illustrations (1816-19), organized by strata. Interleaved between the sections are essays by scholars that focus on the people and industries that benefited from the knowledge imparted by Smith's work. Concluding the volume are reflections on Smith's later years as an itinerant geologist and surveyor, plagiarism by a rival, receipt of the first Wollaston Medal in recognition of his achievements, and the influence of his geological mapping and biostratigraphical theories on the sciences, which culminated in the establishment of the modern geological timescale"--

Seriation, Stratigraphy, and Index Fossils
Seriation, Stratigraphy, and Index Fossils

Author: Michael J. O'Brien

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2007-05-08

Total Pages: 262

ISBN-13: 030647168X

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It is difficult for today's students of archaeology to imagine an era when chronometric dating methods were unavailable. However, even a casual perusal of the large body of literature that arose during the first half of the twentieth century reveals a battery of clever methods used to determine the relative ages of archaeological phenomena, often with considerable precision. Stratigraphic excavation is perhaps the best known of the various relative-dating methods used by prehistorians. Although there are several techniques of using artifacts from superposed strata to measure time, these are rarely if ever differentiated. Rather, common practice is to categorize them under the heading `stratigraphic excavation'. This text distinguishes among the several techniques and argues that stratigraphic excavation tends to result in discontinuous measures of time - a point little appreciated by modern archaeologists. Although not as well known as stratigraphic excavation, two other methods of relative dating have figured important in Americanist archaeology: seriation and the use of index fossils. The latter (like stratigraphic excavation) measures time discontinuously, while the former - in various guises - measures time continuously. Perhaps no other method used in archaeology is as misunderstood as seriation, and the authors provide detailed descriptions and examples of each of its three different techniques. Each method and technique of relative dating is placed in historical perspective, with particular focus on developments in North America, an approach that allows a more complete understanding of the methods described, both in terms of analytical technique and disciplinary history. This text will appeal to all archaeologists, from graduate students to seasoned professionals, who want to learn more about the backbone of archaeological dating.

William Smith's Fossils Reunited
William Smith's Fossils Reunited

Author: PETER. WIGLEY

Publisher:

Published: 2019-03-07

Total Pages: 160

ISBN-13: 9780857043375

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William Smith is considered by many to be the Father of English Geology and is best rememberedfor his remarkable geological map of England and Wales, made in 1815.From an early date, Smith recognized that many of the strata which he showed on hismap were characterized by the fossils they contained. In 1816 he started a book called StrataIdentified by Organized Fossils which, although unfinished, was a fundamental work inestablishing the science of stratigraphy. In this book Smith figured fossils from each stratum.The fossil plates were exquisitely engraved by the renowned illustrator, naturalist and mineralogist,James Sowerby, from fossils provided by Smith.Although a brilliant geologist, Smith was an unlucky business man and because of hisprecarious financial position he was forced to sell his extensive fossil collection to the BritishMuseum. In William Smith's Fossils Reunited, the authors have included new photographs offossils from Smith's Collection, now housed at the Natural History Museum. These photographshave been arranged next to the original engravings, and in some cases, Smith's sketches.Smith's original texts for both Strata Identified and a later work Stratigraphical System ofOrganized Fossils, which catalogued the fossils, have been reprinted within the book. AsSmith roamed the English countryside collecting fossils he was careful to note the exactgeographical location of each fossil and also the rock layer from which it came. In this bookthese locations are shown on copies of Smith's own geological maps.With a Foreword by Sir David Attenborough, William Smith's Fossils Reunited is intendedboth for the William Smith enthusiast and also for those with a more general interest in thework of this remarkable pioneering geologist. The fossil illustrations and maps in this exquisitevolume are aesthetically pleasing in their own right and demonstrate the extraordinary skill ofearly nineteenth-century engravers and map makers.

Stratigraphic Paleobiology
Stratigraphic Paleobiology

Author: Mark E. Patzkowsky

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Published: 2012-04-16

Total Pages: 274

ISBN-13: 0226649377

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This work weaves important strands of the paleontological literature into a coherent worldview that emphasizes the importance of understanding the geological record.