Description
From 1907 to 1931 at Tendaguru, a remote site in present-day Tanzania, teams of German (and later British) paleontologists unearthed 220 tons of fossils, including the bones of a new dinosaur, one of the largest then known. For decadesthe mounted skeleton of this giant, Brachiosaurus, was the largest skeleton of aland animal on exhibit in the world. The dinosaur and other animal fossils found atTendaguru form one of the cornerstones of our understanding of life in the Mesozoicera. Visited sporadically during the ’30s and ’40s, Tendaguru again became the siteof scientific interest late in the 20th century. African Dinosaurs Unearthed tellsthe story of driven scientific adventurers working under difficult conditions andoften paying the price with their health — and sometimes with their lives. Setagainst the background of a troubled century, the book reveals how scientificendeavors were carried on through war and political turmoil, and continue into thepresent day. Preliminary Table of Contents: Preface 1. 1907: Fraas and Something Curious in the African Bush 2. 1908: Von Branca and a Matter of National Honour 3. 1909: Janensch, Hennig, and a Cemetery of Giants 4. 1909-1910: Geology in the Rain and Comets, Stegosaurs, and Iguanodonts 5. 1911: Along the Railway and Expansion, Exhaustion, and Completion? 6. 1911-1912: A Museum Overflows – The Recks find Iguanodonts, Pterosaurs, and a Fossilized Forest 7. 1913-1918: Fresh Discoveries and a Bitter War 8. 1919-1924: The British Museum in Tanganyika Territory 9. 1924-1925: Cutler, Leakey, and a Difficult Start 10. 1925: Berlin Builds Dinosaurs 11. 1925: A Death in Africa 12. 1925: Migeod – A New Recruit 13. 1925-1926: An Expedition Saved 14. 1926-1927: Berlin in Chaos and Parkinson Reviews Stratigraphy 15. 1927-1929: Kenyan Interlude, Geology at Tendaguru, and Desperate Finances 16. 1929: Migeod Returns 17. 1930: Migeod and Parrington, Tendaguru and Nyasaland 18. 1931-1939: Hennig Returns and Berlin’s Museum Triumphs 19. 1939-1976: Destruction and Renewal 20. 1971-2001: Russell to Africa, Brachiosaurus to Tokyo, Berlin to Tendaguru 21. A Significant Contribution Notes References Index
