Twilight of the Mammoths

Twilight of the Mammoths PDF Author: Paul S. Martin
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520252438
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 276

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Book Description
"Paul S. Martin's innovative ideas on late quaternary extinctions and wildlife restoration have fueled one of science's most stimulating recent debates. He expounds them vividly here, and defends them eloquently. A must-read."—David Rains Wallace, author of Beasts of Eden "This is a marvelous read, by a giant in American prehistory, about one of the greatest mysteries in the earth sciences."—Tim Flannery, author of The Eternal Frontier "Whether or not you agree with Paul Martin, he has shaped how we think about our Pleistocene ancestors and their role in transforming this planet."—Ross D. E. MacPhee, Curator of Mammalogy, American Museum of Natural History

Twilight of the Mammoths

Twilight of the Mammoths PDF Author: Paul S. Martin
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520252438
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 276

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Book Description
"Paul S. Martin's innovative ideas on late quaternary extinctions and wildlife restoration have fueled one of science's most stimulating recent debates. He expounds them vividly here, and defends them eloquently. A must-read."—David Rains Wallace, author of Beasts of Eden "This is a marvelous read, by a giant in American prehistory, about one of the greatest mysteries in the earth sciences."—Tim Flannery, author of The Eternal Frontier "Whether or not you agree with Paul Martin, he has shaped how we think about our Pleistocene ancestors and their role in transforming this planet."—Ross D. E. MacPhee, Curator of Mammalogy, American Museum of Natural History

Twilight of the Mammoths

Twilight of the Mammoths PDF Author: Paul S. Martin
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 9780520941106
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 284

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Book Description
As recently as 11,000 years ago—"near time" to geologists—mammoths, mastodons, gomphotheres, ground sloths, giant armadillos, native camels and horses, the dire wolf, and many other large mammals roamed North America. In what has become one of science's greatest riddles, these large animals vanished in North and South America around the time humans arrived at the end of the last great ice age. Part paleontological adventure and part memoir, Twilight of the Mammoths presents in detail internationally renowned paleoecologist Paul Martin's widely discussed and debated "overkill" hypothesis to explain these mysterious megafauna extinctions. Taking us from Rampart Cave in the Grand Canyon, where he finds himself "chest deep in sloth dung," to other important fossil sites in Arizona and Chile, Martin's engaging book, written for a wide audience, uncovers our rich evolutionary legacy and shows why he has come to believe that the earliest Americans literally hunted these animals to death. As he discusses the discoveries that brought him to this hypothesis, Martin relates many colorful stories and gives a rich overview of the field of paleontology as well as his own fascinating career. He explores the ramifications of the overkill hypothesis for similar extinctions worldwide and examines other explanations for the extinctions, including climate change. Martin's visionary thinking about our missing megafauna offers inspiration and a challenge for today's conservation efforts as he speculates on what we might do to remedy this situation—both in our thinking about what is "natural" and in the natural world itself.

Twilight of the Mammoths

Twilight of the Mammoths PDF Author: Paul Schultz Martin
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 9780520231412
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 282

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Book Description
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End of the Megafauna: The Fate of the World's Hugest, Fiercest, and Strangest Animals

End of the Megafauna: The Fate of the World's Hugest, Fiercest, and Strangest Animals PDF Author: Ross D E MacPhee
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 0393249301
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 144

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Book Description
The fascinating lives and puzzling demise of some of the largest animals on earth. Until a few thousand years ago, creatures that could have been from a sci-fi thriller—including gorilla-sized lemurs, 500-pound birds, and crocodiles that weighed a ton or more—roamed the earth. These great beasts, or “megafauna,” lived on every habitable continent and on many islands. With a handful of exceptions, all are now gone. What caused the disappearance of these prehistoric behemoths? No one event can be pinpointed as a specific cause, but several factors may have played a role. Paleomammalogist Ross D. E. MacPhee explores them all, examining the leading extinction theories, weighing the evidence, and presenting his own conclusions. He shows how theories of human overhunting and catastrophic climate change fail to account for critical features of these extinctions, and how new thinking is needed to elucidate these mysterious losses. Along the way, we learn how time is determined in earth history; how DNA is used to explain the genomics and phylogenetic history of megafauna—and how synthetic biology and genetic engineering may be able to reintroduce these giants of the past. Until then, gorgeous four-color illustrations by Peter Schouten re-create these megabeasts here in vivid detail.

Once and Future Giants

Once and Future Giants PDF Author: Sharon Levy
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199831548
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 275

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Book Description
Until about 13,000 years ago, North America was home to a menagerie of massive mammals. Mammoths, camels, and lions walked the ground that has become Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles and foraged on the marsh land now buried beneath Chicago's streets. Then, just as the first humans reached the Americas, these Ice Age giants vanished forever. In Once and Future Giants, science writer Sharon Levy digs through the evidence surrounding Pleistocene large animal ("megafauna") extinction events worldwide, showing that understanding this history--and our part in it--is crucial for protecting the elephants, polar bears, and other great creatures at risk today. These surviving relatives of the Ice Age beasts now face the threat of another great die-off, as our species usurps the planet's last wild places while driving a warming trend more extreme than any in mammalian history. Deftly navigating competing theories and emerging evidence, Once and Future Giants examines the extent of human influence on megafauna extinctions past and present, and explores innovative conservation efforts around the globe. The key to modern-day conservation, Levy suggests, may lie fossilized right under our feet.

Mammoths

Mammoths PDF Author: Adrian Lister
Publisher: Chartwell Books
ISBN: 9780785833284
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
A dazzling visual record of one of Earth's most extraordinary species, this updated and revised edition of Mammoths: Giants of the Ice Age integrates exciting new research to piece together the story of mammoths, mastodons, and their relatives, icons of the Ice Age. Incorporating recent genetic work, new fossil finds, new extinction theories, and more, Mammoths is a captivating exploration of how these mighty creatures evolved, lived, and mysteriously disappeared. The book features a wealth of color illustrations that depict mammoths in their dramatic Ice Age habitats, scores of photographs of mammoth remains, and images of the art of prehistoric people who saw these animals in the flesh. Have you ever wondered what a Mammoth would look like in real life? Find out what a Mammoth would look like today and so much more in Mammoths. Full of intriguing facts, boxed features, and clear graphics, Mammoths examines the findings, including intact frozen carcasses from Siberia and fossilized remains from South Dakota, California, England, France, and elsewhere that have provided clues to the mammoths' geographic range, body structure, way of life, and interactions with early humans. It is an enthralling story of paleontological, archaeological, and geological exploration and of the fascinating investigations of biologists, anthropologists, and art historians worldwide.

Woolly

Woolly PDF Author: Ben Mezrich
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1501135570
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 304

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Book Description
The bestselling author of The Accidental Billionaires and The 37th Parallel tells the fascinating Jurassic Park­-like story of the genetic restoration of an extinct species—the woolly mammoth. “Paced like a thriller…Woolly reanimates history and breathes new life into the narrative of nature” (NPR). With his “unparalleled” (Booklist, starred review) writing, Ben Mezrich takes us on an exhilarating and true adventure story from the icy terrain of Siberia to the cutting-edge genetic labs of Harvard University. A group of scientists work to make fantasy reality by splicing DNA from frozen woolly mammoth into the DNA of a modern elephant. Will they be able to turn the hybrid cells into a functional embryo and potentially bring the extinct creatures to our modern world? Along with this team of brilliant scientists, a millionaire plans to build the world’s first Pleistocene Park and populate a huge tract of the Siberian tundra with ancient herbivores as a hedge against an environmental ticking time bomb that is hidden deep within the permafrost. More than a story of genetics, this is a thriller illuminating the real-life race against global warming, of the incredible power of modern technology, of the brave fossil hunters who battle polar bears and extreme weather conditions, and the ethical quandary of cloning extinct animals. This “rollercoaster quest for the past and future” (Christian Science Monitor) asks us if we can right the wrongs of our ancestors who hunted the woolly mammoth to extinction and at what cost?

Life Through the Ages

Life Through the Ages PDF Author: Charles Robert Knight
Publisher: Indiana University Press
ISBN: 0253339286
Category : Paleontology
Languages : en
Pages : 102

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Book Description
A new edition of a classic first book about the life of the past

Sunset of the Sabertooth

Sunset of the Sabertooth PDF Author: Mary Pope Osborne
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
ISBN: 0375894241
Category : Juvenile Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 80

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Book Description
The #1 bestselling chapter book series of all time celebrates 25 years with new covers and a new, easy-to-use numbering system! The Ice Age is very cool…for two kids in bathing suits! Jack and Annie nearly freeze when the Magic Tree House whisks them back to the time of cave people and woolly mammoths. But nothing can stop them from having another wild adventure—not even a saber-toothed tiger! Did you know that there’s a Magic Tree House book for every kid? Magic Tree House: Adventures with Jack and Annie, perfect for readers who are just beginning chapter books Merlin Missions: More challenging adventures for the experienced reader Super Edition: A longer and more dangerous adventure Fact Trackers: Nonfiction companions to your favorite Magic Tree House adventures

End of the Ice Age

End of the Ice Age PDF Author:
Publisher: Farcountry Press
ISBN: 9781591522201
Category : Comics & Graphic Novels
Languages : en
Pages : 96

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Book Description
Welcome to the Pleistocene. Better known as the ICE AGE. In Rextooth Studios' newest release, readers will discover a world ruled by massive Mammoths, Giant Bears, and Saber Cats. In this educational, action-packed and awesomely illustrated graphic novel, the battle for survival is constant and brutal. More than two million years ago the earth plunged into a deep freeze. Vast ice sheets formed in the north - sometimes two miles thick - and shaped life around the globe. But now, something is happening to the mountains of ice - the world is warming...and life is beginning to change. Join artist TED RECHLIN (Jurassic, Sharks) in an epic, exciting, and true-to-life journey through an ancient land. With stories unfolding in both Southern California and the frozen tundra that was the European continent, follow a family of Saber Cats as they hunt for their very survival. Experience the epic battles of Dire Wolves, ten-ton Mammoths, Woolly Rhinoceroses and giant sloths all struggling for survival in the epoch of THE ICE AGE.