did-you-know? rent-now

Amazon no longer offers textbook rentals. We do!

did-you-know? rent-now

Amazon no longer offers textbook rentals. We do!

We're the #1 textbook rental company. Let us show you why.

9780226514697

The Star-Crossed Stone

by
  • ISBN13:

    9780226514697

  • ISBN10:

    0226514692

  • Format: Hardcover
  • Copyright: 2010-11-15
  • Publisher: Univ of Chicago Pr

Note: Supplemental materials are not guaranteed with Rental or Used book purchases.

Purchase Benefits

  • Free Shipping Icon Free Shipping On Orders Over $35!
    Your order must be $35 or more to qualify for free economy shipping. Bulk sales, PO's, Marketplace items, eBooks and apparel do not qualify for this offer.
  • eCampus.com Logo Get Rewarded for Ordering Your Textbooks! Enroll Now
List Price: $27.50 Save up to $9.21
  • Rent Book $18.29
    Add to Cart Free Shipping Icon Free Shipping

    TERM
    PRICE
    DUE
    USUALLY SHIPS IN 3-5 BUSINESS DAYS
    *This item is part of an exclusive publisher rental program and requires an additional convenience fee. This fee will be reflected in the shopping cart.

Supplemental Materials

What is included with this book?

Summary

Throughout the four hundred thousand years that humanity has been collecting fossils, sea urchin fossils, or echinoids, have continually been among the most prized, from the Paleolithic era, when they decorated flint axes, to today, when paleobiologists study them for clues to the earth's history. InThe Star-Crossed Stone, Kenneth J. McNamara, an expert on fossil echinoids, takes readers on an incredible fossil hunt, with stops in history, paleontology, folklore, mythology, art, religion, and much more. Beginning with prehistoric times, when urchin fossils were used as jewelry, McNamara reveals how the fossil crept into the religious and cultural lives of societies around the worldthe roots of the familiar five-pointed star, for example, can be traced to the pattern found on urchins. But McNamara's vision is even broader than that: using our knowledge of early habits of fossil collecting, he explores the evolution of the human mind itself, drawing striking conclusions about humanity's earliest appreciation of beauty and the first stirrings of artistic expression. Along the way, the fossil becomes a nexus through which we meet brilliant eccentrics and visionary archaeologists and develop new insights into topics as seemingly disparate as hieroglyphics,Beowulf, and even church organs. An idiosyncratic celebration of science, nature, and human ingenuity,The Star-Crossed Stoneis as charming and unforgettable as the fossil at its heart.

Table of Contents

Prologuep. 1
Introductionp. 5
Awakeningsp. 17
First Collectorsp. 29
Urchinsp. 43
Skeletonsp. 63
Fossilized Memoriesp. 79
Maudp. 93
Augustus Henry Lane Fox Pitt-Riversp. 109
Shepherds' Crowns and Fairy Loavesp. 121
Thunderstonesp. 135
Holy Urchinsp. 155
The Morning Starp. 169
Snakes' Eggsp. 185
Star of Destinyp. 201
Five-Star Attractionp. 211
Epiloguep. 227
Acknowledgmentsp. 233
Notesp. 237
Referencesp. 251
Indexp. 263
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

Supplemental Materials

What is included with this book?

The New copy of this book will include any supplemental materials advertised. Please check the title of the book to determine if it should include any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.

The Used, Rental and eBook copies of this book are not guaranteed to include any supplemental materials. Typically, only the book itself is included. This is true even if the title states it includes any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.

Rewards Program