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Big Bone Lick: The Cradle of American Paleontology |
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You Are Here: Home > History Books > Kentucky History > Item 104
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Big Bone Lick: The Cradle of American Paleontology
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by Stanley Hedeen and John Mack Faragher
Sales Rank: 449081
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List Price: $24.95
$18.21
At Amazon
on 6-19-2008.
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Features
Cover Type: Hard Cover with 200 pages
Published by: University Press of Kentucky February 22, 2008
Written in: English
ISBN 10 Number: 0813124859
ISBN 13 Number: 978-0813124858
Book Dimensions:
8.6 x 5.8 x 0.9 inches
Weighs: 1.2 pounds
From Publishers Weekly
History and science come together in this fascinating story of a woodland salt lick and how the fossil bones found there influenced the beginnings of paleontology in America. The saline springs of northern Kentucky's Big Bone Lick have nurtured humans and animals for centuries, and the bones of extinct mastodons, bison and other creatures are there to prove it. Biology professor emeritus Hedeen illuminates a time when the concept of extinction was considered outrageous, if not downright blasphemous, since it contradicted the biblical doctrine of a perfect, unchanging creation. Early 18th-century naturalists believed the bones were remnants of some rare type of elephant, possibly even Asian elephants that had somehow wandered into American forests. Naturalists such as Georges-Louis Leclerc de Buffon and Georges Cuvier (who coined the term mastodon) appear alongside Benjamin Franklin, George Washington and extinction skeptic Thomas Jefferson, who sent Lewis and Clark west with a laundry list of goals that included finding knowledge of 'living Mammoth, & of the Megatherium also.'Â Hedeen depicts a vibrant and exciting era, when the 1755 map notation Elephants Bones found here drew the attention of the whole world. (Feb.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Product Review
"This great work by Stanley Hedeen is the most comprehensive account of Big Bone Lick that has yet been produced. The author has touched and expounded upon many facts that have sometimes been overlooked by others. I highly endorse it for those who cherish our heritage and this unique site."-Bruce Ferguson, former Boone County Judge/Executive and former president, Big Bone Lick Park Association (Bruce Ferguson 11/28/2007)
"Big Bone Lick: The Cradle of American Paleontology focuses on the century-long search for the true identity of the bones of various prehistoric animals found at this salt lick in northern Kentucky. In this ambitious chronicle, Hedeen incorporates a multitude of personalities and ideas that helped to shape the odyssey of the bones' discovery-from Indian myths and religious beliefs to the first theories developed in the embryonic scientific fields of geology and paleontology."-Paul Semonin, author of American Monster: How the Nation''s First Prehistoric Creature Became a Symbol of National Identity (Paul Semonin 11/28/2007)
"This outstanding book provides new details and new perspective on one of the most extraordinary discoveries on the American frontier--the seemingly inexhaustible collection of huge animal fossils at Big Bone Lick. Hedeen explains why the bones, tusks, and teeth captured the attention of scientists and the public and shows how Thomas Jefferson used the Mammoth bones to refute the European idea that the New World environment was inferior and unable to grow large animals. The book gives us greater understanding of why frontier travelers turned aside to visit the site. Gradually unfolding the intriguing story of how anatomists identified the fossils, Hedeen demonstrates that Big Bone Lick was the birthplace of American paleontology."-James A. Ramage, author of Gray Ghost: The Life of Col. John Singleton Mosby (James A. Ramage )
"History and science come together in this fascinating story of a woodland salt lick and how the fossil bones found there influenced the beginnings of paleontology in America."-- Publishersweekly.com (Publishersweekly.com )
"Sure to be in demand, this is recommended for most collections." (Library Journal )
"In his examination of Big Bone Lick, Hedeen is remarkably thorough: He provides maps of the area, as well as drawings and pictures of the various animals that eventually were discovered. More important, Hedeen is able to re-create the thought processes among top scientists in the world at the time. Following their collective confluences and deviations, Hedeen crafts a story of outlandish theories of existence, first vehemently denied, then gradually accepted, slowly chiseling away at the mountain of accepted science." (Chris Collins Lexington Herald Leader )
Reader Reviews
Stanley Hedeen does a nice job pulling together a wide variety of reference materials into a very readable account of the history of paleontological investigations at Big Bone Lick, Kentucky. I knew something about Thomas Jefferson's interest in the site, both before and after Lewis and Clarke's expedition to the American west, and how his paleontological interests partially motivated his desire for western exploration, but I was unfamiliar with the many others who visited the site and came away with magnificent fossils. The book highlights how this site helped raise the consciousness of people about distant times and the concept of species extinctions in general.
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Big Bone Lick: The Cradle of American Paleontology
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Price: $18.21
Updated on 6-19-2008.
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