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Summary
Summary
From it's beginnings as an accumulation of molten space debris over 4.6 billion years ago, the Earth has undergone astounding transformations, both geological and biological, to arrive at its familiar look today. The Discovery Channel'sAtlas of the Prehistoric Worldis a dynamic portrait of the Earth and the interplay among the various forces that shaped both the planet and the life upon it. Atlas of the Prehistoric Worldis divided into three major sections, each of which offers a distinctive look at our planet's pre-history. In "The Changing Globe" computer -generated global maps track the Earth's shift in topography during eighteen different geological periods.... From the rise of mountain ranges to the creation of new oceans, the world takes on its different faces through the course of eons. "Life on Earth" chronicles the evolution of plant and animal life, from the first single-celled microbes to land-dwelling mammals. Each of the Earth's major geological eras is profiled in its own chapter, which depicts the life forms that developed as continents drifted, volcanoes erupted, and meteorites crashed to the surface. Specially commissioned panoramic illustrations take "snapshots" of life at a particular time and place....These...reflect the latest scientific thinking about how creatures from each period would have appeared, bringing to life animals and plantlife we can otherwise see only as fossils. "Earth Fact File," an indispensable gazetteer, explains important Earth science concepts and provides a useful tool for understanding prehistory. Accompanied by over 250 full-color photographs and illustrations and 68 maps, the Discovery Channel'sAtlas of the Prehistoric Worldis a unique must-have resource for any family member.
Author Notes
Douglas Palmer is a science writer, academic, and author of many books on paleontology. In addition to writing numerous articles for leading journals such as Science and New Scientist, he teaches Natural and Earth Sciences at Cambridge University, England.
Reviews (2)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 5 Up-This exemplary book is one of the few that provides detailed maps of the changes in the Earth's landmasses as well as chronicling the evolution of its life-forms. The opening section includes 36 pages of full-color, chronologically arranged maps. Outlines of current continents overlay those of the prehistoric landmasses, allowing readers to see how they have moved and changed over time. Commentary on individual maps and information on how to read them is included. The second section examines each geological era and time period, and includes many color photographs, reproductions, and drawings depicting their life-forms and habitats. Detailed captions and sidebars provide additional information. The final section, illustrated with black-and-white photos, reproductions, and maps, covers "Earth History," "Earth Processes" (including volcanoes), and "Fossils." Paragraph-length biographies of noted paleontologists and geologists, and a list of museums and Web sites to visit are appended. For its price, this is the best atlas of Laurentia and Gondwana around.- Cathryn A. Camper, formerly at Minneapolis Public Library (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
This beautiful book is organized into three sections. "The Changing Globe" features Earth maps of periods from Vendian (approximately 620 million years ago) to Quaternary (from 1.8 million years ago to the present) times. For each era, representations of the globe show the shifting of land mass and climactic changes, such as when Antarctica froze over. These changes are noted by brief descriptions of numbered areas on each globe. The second section, "Ancient Worlds," narrates the geological and biological history of the last four and a half billion years, period by period. The illustrations in this section are stimulating--what student won't be further driven to search for fossils by viewing actual fragments of a carboniferous fern frond or the rugose horn coral? On each succeeding page depicting complex animal life, excitement builds--even before the dinosaurs appear. Adding interest are descriptions of how scientists have been unraveling Earth's mysteries over the last 200 years. "Earth Fact File," the third section, explores the history of Earth sciences and looks at rock formation, plate tectonics, and fossil classification. It also offers brief biographies of women and men who have made important discoveries. Two pages devote attention to places all over the world where one can visit to see fossils of prehistoric creatures or can virtually visit through Web pages. (However, three of these sites couldn't be accessed through the given URLs.) Teachers might want to include in the same classroom library The Historical Atlas of the Earth: A Visual Exploration of the Earth's Physical Past, edited by Roger Osborne and Donald Tarling (Holt, 1996). It is interesting to compare and contrast information that each source covers to demonstrate how our knowledge is constantly evolving. Earth's history is constantly being reexamined with each scientific discovery, and an attractive resource like Atlas of the Prehistoric World will help young people see that there is a place for them in this adventure. It is recommended for school and public libraries.
Table of Contents
| Introduction | p. 8 |
| The Changing Globe | |
| The Changing Face of the Earth | p. 12 |
| Vendian Times | p. 14 |
| Early Cambrian Times | p. 16 |
| Late Cambrian Times | p. 18 |
| Ordovician Times | p. 20 |
| Silurian Times | p. 22 |
| Devonian Times | p. 24 |
| Carboniferous Times | p. 26 |
| Permian Times | p. 28 |
| Triassic Times | p. 30 |
| Jurassic Times | p. 32 |
| Early Cretaceous Times | p. 34 |
| Later Cretaceous Times | p. 36 |
| K-T Times | p. 38 |
| Early Tertiary Times | p. 40 |
| Mid-Tertiary Times | p. 42 |
| Late Tertiary Times | p. 44 |
| Quaternary Times | p. 46 |
| Ancient Worlds | |
| The Origin of Life | p. 50 |
| Aquatic Microbes: Life Begins | p. 52 |
| The Vendian Period | p. 54 |
| Complex Organisms Emerge | p. 56 |
| Cambrian Explosion | p. 58 |
| Early Cambrian Marine Life | p. 60 |
| Late Cambrian Period | p. 62 |
| The Burgess Seaworld | p. 64 |
| Pikaia--Our Ancestor? | p. 66 |
| The Ordovician Period | p. 68 |
| Life in the Ordovician Seas | p. 70 |
| The Silurian Period | p. 72 |
| Life on Land and in the Sea | p. 74 |
| The Devonian Period | p. 76 |
| Equipping Life for Land | p. 78 |
| Carboniferous Age | p. 80 |
| The First Tetrapods | p. 82 |
| Coal and Reptiles | p. 84 |
| The Permian Age | p. 86 |
| Ancient Mammal Relatives | p. 88 |
| Mass Extinctions | p. 90 |
| The Triassic Period | p. 92 |
| Dawn of the Dinosaurs | p. 94 |
| Reptilian Domination | p. 96 |
| The Jurassic Period | p. 98 |
| Reptiles of the Jurassic Seas | p. 100 |
| Discovering Extinction and Deep Time | p. 102 |
| Life Takes to the Air | p. 104 |
| Early Mammals | p. 106 |
| Early Cretaceous Period | p. 108 |
| The World of the Iguanodon Dinosaur | p. 110 |
| Inventing and Picturing the Dinosaurs | p. 112 |
| Later Cretaceous Period | p. 114 |
| The Mammals and Dinosaurs of Mongolia | p. 116 |
| Hadrosaurs and Carnosaurs | p. 118 |
| The Beast of Maastricht | p. 120 |
| The K-T Boundary | p. 122 |
| The Last of the Dinosaurs | p. 124 |
| Impact from Outer Space | p. 126 |
| Victims and Survivors | p. 128 |
| Early Tertiary Age | p. 130 |
| Plants and Animals of Messel | p. 132 |
| Opening the North Atlantic | p. 134 |
| The Evolution of Plants and Flowers | p. 136 |
| Mid-Tertiary Period | p. 138 |
| Riversleigh Marsupials | p. 140 |
| The Himalayas and the Tibetan Plateau | p. 142 |
| Late Tertiary Period | p. 144 |
| Hominids and Other Mammals | p. 146 |
| Mammals of the Americas | p. 148 |
| Divergence of Apes and Hominids | p. 150 |
| The Quaternary Age | p. 152 |
| The Russian Mammoth Steppe | p. 154 |
| The Human Journey | p. 156 |
| Beyond the Ice Age | p. 158 |
| Earth Fact File | |
| Earth History | p. 162 |
| The Geological Timescale | p. 164 |
| Methods of Dating: Innovations and Discoveries | p. 166 |
| Geological Controversies | p. 168 |
| Rock 170 | |
| Metamorphic and Sedimentary Rock | p. 172 |
| Earth Processes: Plate Tectonics | p. 174 |
| Earthquakes and Tsunamis | p. 176 |
| Volcanoes | p. 178 |
| Sedimentation | p. 180 |
| The Present as a Key to the Past | p. 182 |
| What Next? | p. 184 |
| Fossils: Classification | p. 186 |
| Fossil Formation | p. 188 |
| Fossil Discoveries: Reconstructing the Past | p. 190 |
| Evolution and the Fossil Record | p. 192 |
| Living Fossils and the Molecular Clock | p. 194 |
| "Progress" and Catastrophe | p. 196 |
| Biographies | p. 198 |
| Places and Websites to Visit | p. 202 |
| Glossary | p. 204 |
| Further Reading and Bibliography | p. 216 |
| Index | p. 218 |
| Acknowledgments | p. 224 |
