Dinosaurs with Special Reference to the American Museum Collections

Nonfiction, Religion & Spirituality, New Age, History, Fiction & Literature
Cover of the book Dinosaurs with Special Reference to the American Museum Collections by William Diller Matthew, Library of Alexandria
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: William Diller Matthew ISBN: 9781465605108
Publisher: Library of Alexandria Publication: March 8, 2015
Imprint: Language: English
Author: William Diller Matthew
ISBN: 9781465605108
Publisher: Library of Alexandria
Publication: March 8, 2015
Imprint:
Language: English
Palæontology deals with the History of Life. Its time is measured in geologic epochs and periods, in millions of years instead of centuries. Man, by this measure, is but a creature of yesterday—his "forty centuries of civilization but a passing episode. It is by no means easy for us to adjust our perspective to the immensely long spaces of time involved in geological evolution. We are apt to think of all these extinct animals merely as prehistoric—to imagine them all living at the same time and contending with our cave-dwelling ancestors for the mastery of the earth. In order to understand the place of the Dinosaurs in world-history, we must first get some idea of the length of geologic periods and the immense space of time separating one extinct fauna from another. The Age of Man. Prehistoric time, as it is commonly understood, is the time when barbaric and savage tribes of men inhabited the world but before civilization began, and earlier than the written records on which history is based. This corresponds roughly to the Pleistocene epoch of geology; it is included along with the much shorter time during which civilization has existed, in the latest and shortest of the geological periods, the Quaternary. It was the age of the mammoth and the mastodon, the megatherium and Irish deer and of other quadrupeds large and small which are now extinct; but most of its animals were the same species as now exist. It was marked by the great episode of the Ice Age, when considerable parts of the earth's surface were buried under immense accumulations of ice, remnants of which are still with us in the icy covering of Greenland and Antarctica. The Age of Mammals. Before this period was a very much longer one—at least thirty times as long—during which modern quadrupeds were slowly evolving from small and primitive ancestors into their present variety of form and size. This is the Tertiary Period or Age of Mammals. Through this long period we can trace step by step the successive stages through which the ancestors of horses, camels, elephants, rhinoceroses, etc., were gradually converted into their present form in adaptation to their various habits and environment. And with them were slowly evolved various kinds of quadrupeds whose descendants do not now exist, the Titanotheres, Elotheres, Oreodonts, etc., extinct races which have not survived to our time. Man, as such, had not yet come into existence, nor are we able to trace any direct and complete line of ancestry among the fossil species known to us; but his collateral ancestors were represented by the fossil species of monkeys and lemurs of the Tertiary period.
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Palæontology deals with the History of Life. Its time is measured in geologic epochs and periods, in millions of years instead of centuries. Man, by this measure, is but a creature of yesterday—his "forty centuries of civilization but a passing episode. It is by no means easy for us to adjust our perspective to the immensely long spaces of time involved in geological evolution. We are apt to think of all these extinct animals merely as prehistoric—to imagine them all living at the same time and contending with our cave-dwelling ancestors for the mastery of the earth. In order to understand the place of the Dinosaurs in world-history, we must first get some idea of the length of geologic periods and the immense space of time separating one extinct fauna from another. The Age of Man. Prehistoric time, as it is commonly understood, is the time when barbaric and savage tribes of men inhabited the world but before civilization began, and earlier than the written records on which history is based. This corresponds roughly to the Pleistocene epoch of geology; it is included along with the much shorter time during which civilization has existed, in the latest and shortest of the geological periods, the Quaternary. It was the age of the mammoth and the mastodon, the megatherium and Irish deer and of other quadrupeds large and small which are now extinct; but most of its animals were the same species as now exist. It was marked by the great episode of the Ice Age, when considerable parts of the earth's surface were buried under immense accumulations of ice, remnants of which are still with us in the icy covering of Greenland and Antarctica. The Age of Mammals. Before this period was a very much longer one—at least thirty times as long—during which modern quadrupeds were slowly evolving from small and primitive ancestors into their present variety of form and size. This is the Tertiary Period or Age of Mammals. Through this long period we can trace step by step the successive stages through which the ancestors of horses, camels, elephants, rhinoceroses, etc., were gradually converted into their present form in adaptation to their various habits and environment. And with them were slowly evolved various kinds of quadrupeds whose descendants do not now exist, the Titanotheres, Elotheres, Oreodonts, etc., extinct races which have not survived to our time. Man, as such, had not yet come into existence, nor are we able to trace any direct and complete line of ancestry among the fossil species known to us; but his collateral ancestors were represented by the fossil species of monkeys and lemurs of the Tertiary period.

More books from Library of Alexandria

Cover of the book Ruth of Boston: A Story of the Massachusetts Bay Colony by William Diller Matthew
Cover of the book Archaeological Essays by William Diller Matthew
Cover of the book The Life of Col. James Gardiner by William Diller Matthew
Cover of the book Sea and Shore: A Sequel to "Miriam's Memoirs" by William Diller Matthew
Cover of the book The Legends of Saint Patrick by William Diller Matthew
Cover of the book Mater dolorosa by William Diller Matthew
Cover of the book Micah Clarke: His Statement as Made to his Three Grandchildren Joseph, Gervas and Reuben During the Hard Winter of 1734 by William Diller Matthew
Cover of the book The Life of Duty: A Year's Plain Sermons on The Gospels or Epistles by William Diller Matthew
Cover of the book If Sinners Entice Thee by William Diller Matthew
Cover of the book Agulha Em Palheiro: Quinta Edição by William Diller Matthew
Cover of the book Tessa, Our Little Italian Cousin by William Diller Matthew
Cover of the book Opúsculos Por Alexandre Herculano (Complete) by William Diller Matthew
Cover of the book Britain in the Middle Ages: A History for Beginners by William Diller Matthew
Cover of the book Joanna Godden by William Diller Matthew
Cover of the book On the Significance of Science and Art by William Diller Matthew
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy