Big Bone Lick

Big Bone Lick
Author :
Publisher : University Press of Kentucky
Total Pages : 201
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9780813150079
ISBN-13 : 0813150078
Rating : 4/5 (078 Downloads)

Book Synopsis Big Bone Lick by : Stanley Hedeen

Download or read book Big Bone Lick written by Stanley Hedeen and published by University Press of Kentucky. This book was released on 2014-07-11 with total page 201 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Shawnee legend tells of a herd of huge bison rampaging through the Ohio Valley, laying waste to all in their path. To protect the tribe, a deity slew these great beasts with lightning bolts, finally chasing the last giant buffalo into exile across the Wabash River, never to trouble the Shawnee again. The source of this legend was a peculiar salt lick in present-day northern Kentucky, where giant fossilized skeletons had for centuries lain undisturbed by the Shawnee and other natives of the region. In 1739, the first Europeans encountered this fossil site, which eventually came to be known as Big Bone Lick. The site drew the attention of all who heard of it, including George Washington, Daniel Boone, Benjamin Franklin, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, and especially Thomas Jefferson. The giant bones immediately cast many scientific and philosophical assumptions of the day into doubt, and they eventually gave rise to the study of fossils for biological and historical purposes. Big Bone Lick: The Cradle of American Paleontology recounts the rich history of the fossil site that gave the world the first evidence of the extinction of several mammalian species, including the American mastodon. Big Bone Lick has played many roles: nutrient source, hallowed ground, salt mine, health spa, and a rich trove of archaeological and paleontological wonders. Natural historian Stanley Hedeen presents a comprehensive narrative of Big Bone Lick from its geological formation forward, explaining why the site attracted animals, regional tribespeople, European explorers and scientists, and eventually American pioneers and presidents. Big Bone Lick is the history of both a place and a scientific discipline: it explores the infancy and adolescence of paleontology from its humble and sometimes humorous beginnings. Hedeen combines elements of history, geology, politics, and biology to make Big Bone Lick a valuable historical resource as well as the compelling tale of how a collection of fossilized bones captivated a young nation.


Big Bone Lick Related Books

Big Bone Lick
Language: en
Pages: 201
Authors: Stanley Hedeen
Categories: History
Type: BOOK - Published: 2014-07-11 - Publisher: University Press of Kentucky

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Shawnee legend tells of a herd of huge bison rampaging through the Ohio Valley, laying waste to all in their path. To protect the tribe, a deity slew these grea
Fossil Legends of the First Americans
Language: en
Pages: 489
Authors: Adrienne Mayor
Categories: Social Science
Type: BOOK - Published: 2013-10-24 - Publisher: Princeton University Press

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The burnt-red badlands of Montana's Hell Creek are a vast graveyard of the Cretaceous dinosaurs that lived 68 million years ago. Those hills were, much later, a
The Encyclopedia of Northern Kentucky
Language: en
Pages: 1070
Authors: Paul A. Tenkotte
Categories: Reference
Type: BOOK - Published: 2014-10-17 - Publisher: University Press of Kentucky

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The Encyclopedia of Northern Kentucky is the authoritative reference on the people, places, history, and rich heritage of the Northern Kentucky region. The ency
American Monster
Language: en
Pages: 501
Authors: Paul Semonin
Categories: History
Type: BOOK - Published: 2000-09 - Publisher: NYU Press

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

It was huge, a ferocious carnivore capable of catching deer and elk with its long trunk and crushing them in its giant grinders. It lived right there in the Hud
Buddy Davis' Cool Critters of the Ice Age
Language: en
Pages: 60
Authors: Buddy Davis
Categories: Juvenile Nonfiction
Type: BOOK - Published: 2015-03-01 - Publisher: New Leaf Publishing Group

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

An exciting Ice Age animal exploration led by popular adventurer Buddy Davis! Discover elk with antlers over 12 feet long, rhino-like animals that ate plants, �