Big Bone Lick

The book, “The Legacy of the Mastodon: The Golden Age of Fossils in America” by Dr. Keith Stewart Thompson, gets its start in Big Bone Lick.  Quoting the official book description:

“The uncovering in the mid-1700s of fossilized mastodon bones and teeth at Big Bone Lick, Kentucky, signaled the beginning of a great American adventure.  The West was opening up and unexplored lands beckoned.  Unimagined paleontological treasures awaited discovery: strange horned mammals, birds with teeth, flying reptiles, gigantic fish, diminutive ancestors of horses and camels, and more than a hundred different kinds of dinosaurs.

“This exciting book tells the story of the grandest period of fossil discovery in American history, the years from 1750 to 1890.  The volume begins with Thomas Jefferson, whose keen interest in the American mastodon led him to champion the study of fossil vertebrates.  The book continues with vivid descriptions of the actual work of prospecting for fossils–a pick in one hand, a rifle in the other–and enthralling portraits of Joseph Leidy, Ferdinand Hayden, Edward Cope, and Othniel Marsh among other major figures in the development of the science of paleontology.

“Shedding new light on these scientists’ feuds and rivalries, on the connections between fossil studies in Europe and America, and on paleontology’s contributions to America’s developing national identity, THE LEGACY OF THE MASTODON is itself a fabulous discovery for every reader to treasure.”

From the book, Big Bone Lick: The Cradle of American Paleontology, by Stanley Hedeen:

In 1828, while zoologist William Cooper was collecting specimens at Big Bone Lick, Cincinnati physician Daniel Drake proudly wrote of the location’s widespread reputation: “This spot has acquired a notoriety that is not even limited to the United States.  Its name explains the nature of this distinction.  No place in America, perhaps none in the world, has afforded an equal number of large fossil bones.”

“The Story of Big Bone Lick” is a book written by Kentucky author Nancy Jordan Blackmore.  It’s an educational story told by a talking horse named Tokey that travels back in time to make friends with the ice age animals at the world famous site in Boone County, Kentucky, where many mega-beasts were first discovered in the 1700’s.

Readers journey with Tokey and her friends Willie the Woolly Mammoth, Helen the Ice Age Horse, and Bison Bob to learn all the latest information about the last great Ice Age.

In all, readers are exposed to 13 extinct Ice Age Giants to include the Short face Bear, Giant Beaver, Stag Moose, Flat headed Peccary, Columbian Mammoth, Mastodon, Ground Sloth, and the Saber Tooth Cat.

(more…)

Following is the press information about a new book by Stanley Hedeen, Big Bone Lick: The Cradle of American Paleontology.

On March 7, 1808, President Thomas Jefferson received a long-awaited shipment of approximately 300 fossils from William Clark, who had just completed his westward expedition with Meriwether Lewis. The fossils were unearthed at Big Bone Lick in northern Kentucky, and over the years they had gained the interest of such prominent figures as Daniel Boone, George Washington, and Benjamin Franklin. Jefferson’s receipt of the fossils was the realization of more than twenty years of the philosopher-statesman’s interest in the site and its natural treasures.

Big Bone Lick: The Cradle of American Paleontology recounts the rich history of the fossil site that gave the world the first evidence of the extinction of several mammalian species, including the American mastodon. Big Bone Lick has played many roles: nutrient source, hallowed ground, salt mine, health spa, and a trove of archaeological riches and paleontological wonders. Natural historian Stanley Hedeen presents a comprehensive and accessible narrative of Big Bone Lick from its geological formation forward, explaining why the site attracted first animals, then Native peoples of the region, European explorers and scientists, and eventually American pioneers and presidents.

Big Bone Lick is a history of both a place and a scientific discipline: it explores the infancy and adolescence of paleontology from its humble and sometimes humorous beginnings. Hedeen combines elements of history, geology, politics, and biology to make Big Bone Lick an entertaining story as well as a valuable historical resource.