First published 2007
Long before European explorers arrived in the Americas, indigenous peoples across the continent encountered massive fossilized remains embedded in stone. From the badlands of Montana where Sioux, Crow, and Blackfeet tribes found dinosaur skeletons, to eastern regions where Ice Age creature bones lay exposed, Native Americans developed sophisticated explanations for these mysterious remnants. They interpreted mammoth fossils as Monster Bears, dinosaur remains as Giant Lizards, pterosaur bones as Thunder Birds, and marine fossils as Water Monsters. These interpretations became woven into creation stories and oral traditions passed down through generations. Adrienne Mayor traces how different tribes used fossils in medicine, hunting rituals, and spiritual practices. She examines accounts from Aztec and Inca civilizations to stories from Iroquois, Navajo, Apache, Cheyenne, and Pawnee peoples. Through historical records, archaeological evidence, traditional narratives, and personal interviews, Mayor reveals how Native Americans understood these petrified creatures and their transformation to stone, developing insights that sometimes paralleled modern scientific thinking about extinction and fossilization.
Genres: history, archaeology, anthropology, academic
Vibes: educational, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: cultural-studies, non-fiction
Setting: Americas, Montana, Aztec, Inca, Iroquois, Navajo, Apache, Cheyenne, Pawnee
Period: Pre-European Exploration
489 pages · Paperback · Princeton University Press