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

Author: PETER. WIGLEY

Publisher:

Published: 2019-03-07

Total Pages: 160

ISBN-13: 9780857043375

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

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

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

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

How Zoologists Organize Things
How Zoologists Organize Things

Author: David Bainbridge

Publisher: White Lion Publishing

Published: 2020-06-02

Total Pages: 259

ISBN-13: 0711252262

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Humankind’s fascination with the animal kingdom began as a matter of survival – differentiating the edible from the toxic, the ferocious from the tractable. Since then, our compulsion to catalogue wildlife has played a key role in growing our understanding of the planet and ourselves, inspiring religious beliefs and evolving scientific theories. The book unveils wild truths and even wilder myths about animals, as perpetuated by zoologists – revealing how much more there is to learn, and unlearn. Animals were among the first subjects ever drawn by humans. Long before Darwin or Watson and Crick, our ancestors studied the visual similarities and differences between the creatures which inhabit the Earth alongside us. Early savants could sense there was an order, a scheme, which unified all life. The schemes they formulated often tell us as much about ourselves as they do about the animals depicted, highlighting obsessions, fears, revelations and hopes. The human quest to classify living beings has left us with a rich artistic legacy in four great stages—the folklore and religiosity of the ancient and Medieval world; the naturalistic cataloging of the Enlightenment; the evolutionary trees and maps of the nineteenth century; and the modern, computer-hued classificatory labyrinth. The aim of this book is to tell the story of our systematization of the beasts. These charts of the zoological world parallel prevailing artistic trends and scientific discoveries, woven together with philosophical threads that run throughout: animal life as parable, a tree, a maze, a terra incognita, a mirror upon ourselves.

Great Turning Point
Great Turning Point

Author: Dr. Terry Mortenson

Publisher: New Leaf Publishing Group

Published: 2004-08-01

Total Pages: 273

ISBN-13: 1614582262

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Many people in the Church today have the idea that “young-earth” creationism is a fairly recent invention, popularized by fundamentalist Christians in the mid-20th century. Is this view correct? In fact, scholar Terry Mortenson has done fascinating original research on this subject in England, and documents that several leading, pre-Darwin scholars and scientists, known as “scriptural geologists” did not believe in long ages for the earth. Mortenson sheds light on the following: Before Darwin, what did the Church believe about the age of the earth? Why did it believe this way? What was the controversy that rocked the Church in 19th-century England? Who were the “scriptural geologists”? What influences did the Church contend with even before Darwin’s book? What is the stance of the Church today? This book is a thoroughly researched work of reference for every library - certainly every creationist library. Terry Mortenson spent much time and work on this project in both the United States and Great Britain. The history of the Church and evolution is fascinating, and it is interesting to see not only the tremendous influence that evolution has had on the Church, but on society as well.