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The Resource The rhinoceros and the megatherium : an essay in natural history, Juan Pimentel ; translated by Peter Mason

The rhinoceros and the megatherium : an essay in natural history, Juan Pimentel ; translated by Peter Mason

Creator
Author
Translator
Contributor
Summary
One animal left India in 1515, caged in the hold of a Portuguese ship, and sailed around Africa to Lisbon--the first of its species to see Europe for more than a thousand years. The other crossed the Atlantic from South America to Madrid in 1789, its huge fossilized bones packed in crates, its species unknown. How did Europeans three centuries apart respond to these two mysterious beasts--a rhinoceros, known only from ancient texts, and a nameless monster? As Juan Pimentel explains, the reactions reflect deep intellectual changes but also the enduring power of image and imagination to shape our understanding of the natural world. We know the rhinoceros today as "Dürer's Rhinoceros," after the German artist's iconic woodcut. His portrait was inaccurate--Dürer never saw the beast and relied on conjecture, aided by a sketch from Lisbon. But the influence of his extraordinary work reflected a steady move away from ancient authority to the dissemination in print of new ideas and images. By the time the megatherium arrived in Spain, that movement had transformed science. When published drawings found their way to Paris, the great zoologist Georges Cuvier correctly deduced that the massive bones must have belonged to an extinct giant sloth. It was a pivotal moment in the discovery of the prehistoric world. The Rhinoceros and the Megatherium offers a penetrating account of two remarkable episodes in the cultural history of science and is itself a vivid example of the scientific imagination at work.--
Language
  • eng
  • spa
  • eng
Work
Publication
Extent
356 pages
Note
"First published as El Rinoceronte y el Megaterio: un ensayo de morfologia historica by Abada Editores, S.L., copyright (c) 2010"--Title page verso
Contents
  • Prologue: Analogy and essay
  • Part one. The armored pachyderm: Itinerary
  • Words
  • Print
  • Part two. A strange cadaver: Chimera
  • Bones
  • Fossil
  • Epilogue: Circular lives
Isbn
9780674737129
Instance
Label
The rhinoceros and the megatherium : an essay in natural history
Title
The rhinoceros and the megatherium
Title remainder
an essay in natural history
Statement of responsibility
Juan Pimentel ; translated by Peter Mason
Creator
Contributor
Author
Translator
Subject
Genre
Language
  • eng
  • spa
  • eng
Summary
One animal left India in 1515, caged in the hold of a Portuguese ship, and sailed around Africa to Lisbon--the first of its species to see Europe for more than a thousand years. The other crossed the Atlantic from South America to Madrid in 1789, its huge fossilized bones packed in crates, its species unknown. How did Europeans three centuries apart respond to these two mysterious beasts--a rhinoceros, known only from ancient texts, and a nameless monster? As Juan Pimentel explains, the reactions reflect deep intellectual changes but also the enduring power of image and imagination to shape our understanding of the natural world. We know the rhinoceros today as "Dürer's Rhinoceros," after the German artist's iconic woodcut. His portrait was inaccurate--Dürer never saw the beast and relied on conjecture, aided by a sketch from Lisbon. But the influence of his extraordinary work reflected a steady move away from ancient authority to the dissemination in print of new ideas and images. By the time the megatherium arrived in Spain, that movement had transformed science. When published drawings found their way to Paris, the great zoologist Georges Cuvier correctly deduced that the massive bones must have belonged to an extinct giant sloth. It was a pivotal moment in the discovery of the prehistoric world. The Rhinoceros and the Megatherium offers a penetrating account of two remarkable episodes in the cultural history of science and is itself a vivid example of the scientific imagination at work.--
Member of
Is translation of
Assigning source
Provided by publisher
Cataloging source
MH/DLC
http://library.link/vocab/creatorName
Pimentel, Juan
Dewey number
599.66/8
Illustrations
illustrations
Index
index present
LC call number
QL737.U63
LC item number
P5313 2017
Literary form
non fiction
Nature of contents
bibliography
http://library.link/vocab/relatedWorkOrContributorName
Mason, Peter
http://library.link/vocab/subjectName
  • Rhinoceroses
  • Megatherium
  • Rhinoceroses in art
  • Megatherium
  • Animals and history
  • Zoology
  • Animals and history
  • Megatherium
  • Rhinoceroses in art
  • Zoology
  • Europe
Label
The rhinoceros and the megatherium : an essay in natural history, Juan Pimentel ; translated by Peter Mason
Instantiates
Publication
Note
"First published as El Rinoceronte y el Megaterio: un ensayo de morfologia historica by Abada Editores, S.L., copyright (c) 2010"--Title page verso
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references and index
Carrier category
volume
Carrier category code
  • nc
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier
Content category
text
Content type code
  • txt
Content type MARC source
rdacontent
Contents
Prologue: Analogy and essay -- Part one. The armored pachyderm: Itinerary -- Words -- Print -- Part two. A strange cadaver: Chimera -- Bones -- Fossil -- Epilogue: Circular lives
Dimensions
22 cm
Extent
356 pages
Isbn
9780674737129
Lccn
2016019990
Media category
unmediated
Media MARC source
rdamedia
Media type code
  • n
Other physical details
illustrations
System control number
  • (OCoLC)946907365
  • 1850115
  • (OCoLC)ocn946907365
Label
The rhinoceros and the megatherium : an essay in natural history, Juan Pimentel ; translated by Peter Mason
Publication
Note
"First published as El Rinoceronte y el Megaterio: un ensayo de morfologia historica by Abada Editores, S.L., copyright (c) 2010"--Title page verso
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references and index
Carrier category
volume
Carrier category code
  • nc
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier
Content category
text
Content type code
  • txt
Content type MARC source
rdacontent
Contents
Prologue: Analogy and essay -- Part one. The armored pachyderm: Itinerary -- Words -- Print -- Part two. A strange cadaver: Chimera -- Bones -- Fossil -- Epilogue: Circular lives
Dimensions
22 cm
Extent
356 pages
Isbn
9780674737129
Lccn
2016019990
Media category
unmediated
Media MARC source
rdamedia
Media type code
  • n
Other physical details
illustrations
System control number
  • (OCoLC)946907365
  • 1850115
  • (OCoLC)ocn946907365

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