Contemplating.

Contemplating.
Wayzata, Minnesota

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Sepia Saturday - 229 - Excuse Me, Are Those Bones?

Bones, fossils, attending college or not attend, that is my quest today.  Welcome to a discovery adventure.



How old?  New Fossil Bed Discovery. 
The complete story about this at the end of my post





Our theme this week is about girls sitting around their dorm room at a typical North American College in 1917.  Instead of my focusing on those that attended college, I'd like to take you on the least traveled road.  

Today marks the birthday of an accomplished and famous fossil hunter.
The studies and life of Mary can be read here.

Happy 215th Birthday
today to

 Mary Anning, born on 21 May 1799.

She was known as a British fossil collector, dealer, and palaeontologist.


The Greatest Fossil Hunter of All Time


I'll bet every trip to the seashore was another great discovery of some kind for Mary.

She was the inspiration for Terry Sullivan's tongue twister


She sells sea shells by the seashore.










"The possession of knowledge does not kill the sense of wonder and mystery.  There is always more mystery." - Anais Nin



Alan gifted us last week with a seashore adventure.





Excuse me, are those bones you're gathering up?  Ah yes, that is an excellent question indeed.    If her name was Mary Anning the answer would be, "But of course."  The photo above was taken in Ireland.



The next photo is one of Mary's incredible finds.



In 1811, Lyme Regis fossil hunter Mary Anning, at age 12 with her older brother, Joseph unearthed the 2m (6.5ft) long skull of an ichthyosaur.  Anning spent one year extracting the dinosaur fossil from 205 million-year old Blue Lias cliffs on the beach.

It's still one of the most famous geological discoveries on the Jurassic Coast, yet Anning was never credited as a scientist.  Imagine discovering something like that.


Proof is in her work, I'd say!  Bravo Mary.  We are all better for your love to journey into the unknown.







At the Fossil Marine Reptile 
meet their Mary.


Mary Anning will long be remembered as a carpenter's daughter that later became a famous fossil collector, gifting us with her knowledge and discoveries.    How large of cake would we need for 215 candles?


I wish I'd known about these tours about Mary Anning when I was in England.  Guess my next trip will have to do.








A famous sketch of Mary's house.







Could this be the only genuine photograph of Mary?





Mary and her brother, Joseph Anning's headstone.



In Mary's honor, the next time you're out and about, think about what she might do if she were there, and you just never know what you might uncover.



Here is the link about my first photo.  Enjoy.

20 comments:

Kathe W. said...

my goodness you did a lot of digging yourself to put this altogether- thanks for the education! Cheers!

Postcardy said...

I didn't know that a real person inspired the sea shell tongue twister.

Filip and Kristel said...

I am sure it is not easy to land there with a helicopter.

Greetings,
Filip

Author R. Mac Wheeler said...

Cool. That was very interesting! :)

Cloudia said...

Very VERY Cool!




ALOHA from Honolulu
ComfortSpiral
=^..^=

ScotSue said...

That first photograph is stunning! I had never heard of Mary Anning, so thank you for enlightening us.

Unknown said...

Those are incredible finds indeed, she was an amazing woman!

Barbara Rogers said...

It was great that Google's home page honored her yesterday...and I am sorry I had never heard of her until then. So thank you very much for giving me more of her story!

Bob Scotney said...

I have always been interested in fossils since studying geology as a general subject at university. I have researched Mary Anning several times and always seem to find new facts about her. Very interesting post, Karen.

21 Wits said...

Bob, thanks, she is/was one fascinating lady that's for sure. Imagine the conversations with her!

La Nightingail said...

Like so many, I had never heard of Mary Anning. I read her story (thanks for supplying a link). A very interesting lady & certainly a self-taught one! The higher learning experience is for some, but not always for all as evidenced by what she achieved on her own!

Kristin said...

That was interesting and amazing. Now I have to go see if I can find google's little thing from yesterday.

Mike Brubaker said...

I've been to both the Burgess Shale area in British Columbia and Lyme Regis too. The Canadian Rockies would be a formidable hike for even Mary Anning.

Jackie van Bergen said...

A remarkable lady, made more remarkable by the era - where girls were supposed to be girls and not get their hands dirty with this sort of thing

Jackie van Bergen said...

A remarkable lady, made more remarkable by the era - where girls were supposed to be girls and not get their hands dirty with this sort of thing

Boobook said...

I was delighted to see the Google Doodle, and now you've added to the delight with this post.

Jofeath said...

Very interesting. I was at the Natural History Museum in London very recently and enjoyed the display of Mary Anning's work there. The book Remarkable Creatures written by Tracy Chevalier and based on Mary's life is worth reading.

Hootin Anni said...

VERY interesting!! When we lived in AZ, Bud and I found several relics from some ruins...but of course we turned them in to the university for safe keeping.

I enjoyed reading and viewing what you shared of Mary's life.

Little Nell said...

It’s nice to be reminded of Mary Anning and the work she did. There’s something about fossils embedded in rocks. We have all sorts of those here often found in the volcanic lava fields.

Wendy said...

You crack me up -- only YOU would make the leap from "dorm bed" to "fossil bed." I wish I could think that creatively.