On The Trail Of Ancient Man

by Roy Chapman Andrews

Featured within; More than 60 digitized photographs, charts, and illustrations from the original manuscript. Additionally featured is a fully linked Table of Contents, a fully linked List of Illustrations, and a digitized version of the original 1926 dust jacket/book cover.

Since 1922 Roy Chapman Andrews was back in Mongolia with the latest incarnation of the Central Asiatic Expeditions. At the behest of the American Museum of Natural History, Andrews returned to the uncharted and little known wastelands of Mongolia and Northern China to uncover more evidence to support Henry Fairfield Osborn's theory of 'Out of Asia'. That is the idea that Asia, not Africa, was the birthplace of mammalian life on Earth.
Because of the successes of his previous Central Asiatic Expeditions, Andrews was able to transform this Expedition into an exploration team rarely seen before. He formed a multidisciplinary outfit with scientists from zoology, archaeology, geography, geology, topography, paleobotany, herpetology, and paleontology. The team was usually around 35-40 men, 150 camels, and 8 trucks. Up until 1922, Andrews' Central Asiatic Expeditions was the largest private expedition to ever depart American shores.
Despite previous successes and strong financial backing, critics still warned Andrews that his venture would result in little to nothing for his efforts. Mainly because so very few fossils had ever been found in this area of the world. However, Andrews went on to prove them all wrong. He found so much new and startling discoveries in Central Asia that he was unable to adequately inform the general public between 1922-1925 due to the workload in Central Asia. With the writing of 'On The Trail Of Ancient Man' Andrews sought to inform a rapt world on his astonishing discoveries over the last 3 years.
In the book Andrews wrote about finding the incredibly rich fossil site of the Flaming Cliffs. He also wrote about the first dinosaur eggs every found. But that discovery became even more astonishing as they were able to locate fossilized embryonic dinosaurs from those eggs. The team went on to find the ancient remains of a group they called the Dune Dwellers who lived around the Flaming Cliffs tens of thousands of years ago. Amazingly they used pieces of the local dinosaur eggs as jewelry. The team found several one-of-a-kind skulls of one of the first mammals. Rare and never before seen discoveries mounted and added up as the book progressed.
As in all Roy Chapman Andrews books, it's not all science. There are plenty of hunting stories and battles with the untamed environment. The land was a lawless place and Andrews had more than his share of violent confrontations with bandits, drawn guns and showdowns with corrupt Chinese soldiers and border guards. It was a wild country filled with the unknown, adventure, and danger and Roy Chapman Andrews was not going to let anything or anyone impede his search for scientific truth. And his book clearly reflects that.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

343 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1926

About the author

Roy Chapman Andrews was an American explorer, adventurer and naturalist who became the director of the American Museum of Natural History. He is primarily known for leading a series of expeditions in China in the early 20th century into the Gobi Desert and Mongolia. The expeditions made important discoveries and brought the first-known fossil dinosaur eggs to the museum. His popular writings about his adventures made him famous.

Reviews

[Miokey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Би бээр хумхын тоос лугаа адил ажээ. Өөр хэлэх үг даанч алга даа

[Bayarchimeg · Rating 5 out of 5]

so amazing book

[Х. Халиунаа · Rating 5 out of 5]

ьл

[Myagaa]

Hi