Fossil legends of the first Americans / Adrienne Mayor.
This 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 stori...
Main Author: | |
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Language: | English |
Published: |
Princeton, New Jersey ; Oxford :
Princeton University Press,
[2023]
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Subjects: | |
Genre: | |
Physical Description: | xxxix, 446 pages : illustrations (black and white), maps (black and white) photographs (black and white) ; 21 cm |
Format: | Book |
Summary: |
This 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. |
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Call Number: | E58 .M36 2023 |
Bibliography Note: | Includes bibliographical references and index. |
ISBN: | 0691245614 9780691245614 |