A Short History of Nearly Everything-第14章

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ot　of　fossil　evidence。

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6SCIENCE　RED　IN　TOOTH　AND　CLAW

～　
in　1787；　someone　in　new　jersey—exactly　who　now　seems　to　be　forgotten—found　anenormous　thighbone　sticking　out　of　a　stream　bank　at　a　place　called　woodbury　creek。　thebone　clearly　didn’t　belong　to　any　species　of　creature　still　alive；　certainly　not　in　new　jersey。

from　what　little　is　known　now；　it　is　thought　to　have　belonged　to　a　hadrosaur；　a　large　duck…billed　dinosaur。　at　the　time；　dinosaurs　were　unknown。

the　bone　was　sent　to　dr。　caspar　wistar；　the　nation’s　leading　anatomist；　who　described　it　ata　meeting　of　the　american　philosophical　society　in　philadelphia　that　autumn。　unfortunately；wistar　failed　pletely　to　recognize　the　bone’s　significance　and　merely　made　a　few　cautiousand　uninspired　remarks　to　the　effect　that　it　was　indeed　a　whopper。　he　thus　missed　the　chance；half　a　century　ahead　of　anyone　else；　to　be　the　discoverer　of　dinosaurs。　indeed；　the　boneexcited　so　little　interest　that　it　was　put　in　a　storeroom　and　eventually　disappeared　altogether。

so　the　first　dinosaur　bone　ever　found　was　also　the　first　to　be　lost。

that　the　bone　didn’t　attract　greater　interest　is　more　than　a　little　puzzling；　for　its　appearancecame　at　a　time　when　america　was　in　a　froth　of　excitement　about　the　remains　of　large；　ancientanimals。　the　cause　of　this　froth　was　a　strange　assertion　by　the　great　french　naturalist　thete　de　buffon—he　of　the　heated　spheres　from　the　previous　chapter—that　living　things　inthe　new　world　were　inferior　in　nearly　every　way　to　those　of　the　old　world。　america；　buffonwrote　in　his　vast　and　much…esteemed　histoire　naturelle　；　was　a　land　where　the　water　wasstagnant；　the　soil　unproductive；　and　the　animals　without　size　or　vigor；　their　constitutionsweakened　by　the　“noxious　vapors”　that　rose　from　its　rotting　swamps　and　sunless　forests。　insuch　an　environment　even　the　native　indians　lacked　virility。　“they　have　no　beard　or　bodyhair；”　buffon　sagely　confided；　“and　no　ardor　for　the　female。”　their　reproductive　organs　were“small　and　feeble。”

buffon’s　observations　found　surprisingly　eager　support　among　other　writers；　especiallythose　whose　conclusions　were　not　plicated　by　actual　familiarity　with　the　country。　adutchman　named　eille　de　pauw　announced　in　a　popular　work　called　recherchesphilosophiques　sur　les　américains　that　native　american　males　were　not　only　reproductivelyunimposing；　but　“so　lacking　in　virility　that　they　had　milk　in　their　breasts。”　such　viewsenjoyed　an　improbable　durability　and　could　be　found　repeated　or　echoed　in　european　texts　tillnear　the　end　of　the　nineteenth　century。

not　surprisingly；　such　aspersions　were　indignantly　met　in　america。　thomas　jeffersonincorporated　a　furious　（and；　unless　the　context　is　understood；　quite　bewildering）　rebuttal　in　hisnotes　on　the　state　of　virginia　；　and　induced　his　new　hampshire　friend　general　john　sullivanto　send　twenty　soldiers　into　the　northern　woods　to　find　a　bull　moose　to　present　to　buffon　asproof　of　the　stature　and　majesty　of　american　quadrupeds。　it　took　the　men　two　weeks　to　trackdown　a　suitable　subject。　the　moose；　when　shot；　unfortunately　lacked　the　imposing　horns　thatjefferson　had　specified；　but　sullivan　thoughtfully　included　a　rack　of　antlers　from　an　elk　orstag　with　the　suggestion　that　these　be　attached　instead。　who　in　france；　after　all；　would　know？

meanwhile　in　philadelphia—wistar’s　city—naturalists　had　begun　to　assemble　the　bones　ofa　giant　elephant…like　creature　known　at　first　as　“the　great　american　incognitum”　but　lateridentified；　not　quite　correctly；　as　a　mammoth。　the　first　of　these　bones　had　been　discovered　ata　place　called　big　bone　lick　in　kentucky；　but　soon　others　were　turning　up　all　over。　america；it　appeared；　had　once　been　the　home　of　a　truly　substantial　creature—one　that　would　surelydisprove　buffon’s　foolish　gallic　contentions。

in　their　keenness　to　demonstrate　the　incognitum’s　bulk　and　ferocity；　the　americannaturalists　appear　to　have　bee　slightly　carried　away。　they　overestimated　its　size　by　afactor　of　six　and　gave　it　frightening　claws；　which　in　fact　came　from　a　megalonyx；　or　giantground　sloth；　found　nearby。　rather　remarkably；　they　persuaded　themselves　that　the　animalhad　enjoyed　“the　agility　and　ferocity　of　the　tiger；”　and　portrayed　it　in　illustrations　as　pouncingwith　feline　grace　onto　prey　from　boulders。　when　tusks　were　discovered；　they　were　forced　intothe　animal’s　head　in　any　number　of　inventive　ways。　one　restorer　screwed　the　tusks　in　upsidedown；　like　the　fangs　of　a　saber…toothed　cat；　which　gave　it　a　satisfyingly　aggressive　aspect。

another　arranged　the　tusks　so　that　they　curved　backwards　on　the　engaging　theory　that　thecreature　had　been　aquatic　and　had　used　them　to　anchor　itself　to　trees　while　dozing。　the　mostpertinent　consideration　about　the　incognitum；　however；　was　that　it　appeared　to　be　extinct—afact　that　buffon　cheerfully　seized　upon　as　proof　of　its　incontestably　degenerate　nature。

buffon　died　in　1788；　but　the　controversy　rolled　on。　in　1795　a　selection　of　bones　made　theirway　to　paris；　where　they　were　examined　by　the　rising　star　of　paleontology；　the　youthful　andaristocratic　georges　cuvier。　cuvier　was　already　dazzling　people　with　his　genius　for　takingheaps　of　disarticulated　bones　and　whipping　them　into　shapely　forms。　it　was　said　that　he　coulddescribe　the　look　and　nature　of　an　animal　from　a　single　tooth　or　scrap　of　jaw；　and　often　namethe　species　and　genus　into　the　bargain。　realizing　that　no　one　in　america　had　thought　to　writea　formal　description　of　the　lumbering　beast；　cuvier　did　so；　and　thus　became　its　officialdiscoverer。　he　called　it　a　mastodon　（which　means；　a　touch　unexpectedly；　“nipple…teeth”）。

inspired　by　the　controversy；　in　1796　cuvier　wrote　a　landmark　paper；　note　on　the　species　ofliving　and　fossil　elephants；　in　which　he　put　forward　for　the　first　time　a　formal　theory　ofextinctions。　his　belief　was　that　from　time　to　time　the　earth　experienced　global　catastrophes　inwhich　groups　of　creatures　were　wiped　out。　for　religious　people；　including　cuvier　himself；　theidea　raised　unfortable　implications　since　it　suggested　an　unaccountable　casualness　on　thepart　of　providence。　to　what　end　would　god　create　species　only　to　wipe　them　out　later？　thenotion　was　contrary　to　the　belief　in　the　great　chain　of　being；　which　held　that　the　world　wascarefully　ordered　and　that　every　living　thing　within　it　had　a　place　and　purpose；　and　always　hadand　always　would。　jefferson　for　one　couldn’t　abide　the　thought　that　whole　species　would　everbe　permitted　to　vanish　（or；　e　to　that；　to　evolve）。　so　when　it　was　put　to　him　that　theremight　be　scientific　and　political　value　in　sending　a　party　to　explore　the　interior　of　americabeyond　the　mississippi　he　leapt　at　the　idea；　hoping　the　intrepid　adventurers　would　find　herdsof　healthy　mastodons　and　other　outsized　creatures　grazing　on　the　bounteous　plains。

jefferson’s　personal　secretary　and　trusted　friend　meriwether　lewis　was　chosen　co…leader　andchief　naturalist　for　the　expedition。　the　person　selected　to　advise　him　on　what　to　look　out　forwith　regard　to　animals　living　and　deceased　was　none　other　than　caspar　wistar。

in　the　same　year—in　fact；　the　same　month—that　the　aristocratic　and　celebrated　cuvier　waspropounding　his　extinction　theories　in　paris；　on　the　other　side　of　the　english　channel　a　rathermore　obscure　englishman　was　having　an　insight　into　the　value　of　fossils　that　would　also　havelasting　ramifications。　william　smith　was　a　young　supervisor　of　construction　on　the　somersetcoal　canal。　on　the　evening　of　january　5；　1796；　he　was　sitting　in　a　coaching　inn　in　somersetwhen　he　jotted　down　the　notion　that　would　eventually　make　his　reputation。　to　interpret　rocks；there　needs　to　be　some　means　of　correlation；　a　basis　on　which　you　can　tell　that　thosecarboniferous　rocks　from　devon　are　younger　than　these　cambrian　rocks　from　wales。　smith’sinsight　was　to　realize　that　the　answer　lay　with　fossils。　at　every　change　in　rock　strata　certainspecies　of　fossils　disappeared　while　others　carried　on　into　subsequent　levels。　by　noting　whichspecies　appeared　in　which　strata；　you　could　work　out　the　relative　ages　of　rocks　wherever　theyappeared。　drawing　on　his　knowledge　as　a　surveyor；　smith　began　at　once　to　make　a　map　ofbritain’s　rock　strata；　which　would　be　published　after　many　trials　in　1815　and　would　bee　acornerstone　of　modern　geology。　（the　story　is　prehensively　covered　in　simonwinchester’s　popular　book　the　map　that　changed　the　world　。）unfortunately；　having　had　his　insight；　smith　was　curiously　uninterested　in　understandingwhy　rocks　were　laid　down　in　the　way　they　were。　“i　have　left　off　puzzling　about　the　origin　ofstrata　and　content　myself　with　knowing　that　it　is　so；”　he　recorded。　“the　whys　and　whereforescannot　e　within　the　province　of　a　mineral　surveyor。”

smith’s　　revelation　　regarding　　strata　　heightened　the　moral　awkwardness　concerningextinctions。　to　begin　with；　it　confirmed　that　god　had　wiped　out　creatures　not　occasionally　butrepeatedly。　this　made　him　seem　not　so　much　careless　as　peculiarly　hostile。　it　also　made　itinconveniently　necessary　to　explain　how　some　species　were　wiped　out　while　others　continuedunimpeded　into　succeeding　eons。　clearly　there　was　more　to　extinctions　than　could　beaccounted　for　by　a　single　noachian　deluge；　as　the　biblical　flood　was　known。　cuvier　resolvedthe　m