Fossil Legends of the First Americans

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.

About the author

Adrienne Mayor

Summary

Beginning in the East, with its Ice Age monsters, and ending in the West, where dinosaurs lived and died, this richly illustrated and elegantly written book examines the discoveries of enormous bones in North America and uses of fossils for medicine, hunting magic, and spells.

Product details

• Authors: Adrienne Mayor
• Publisher: Princeton University Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 01.04.2023
• EAN: 9780691245614
• ISBN: 978-0-691-24561-4
• No. of pages: 488
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Art > General, dictionaries; Natural sciences, medicine, IT, technology > Geosciences > Palaeontology; Non-fiction book > History > Miscellaneous