nPostednMay 21, 2015
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nMarynAnning has been described as “the greatest fossilist the world evernknew.”
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nAndnyet I’ve never heard of her! And maybe the same could be said fornyou?
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Thenreason for this odd circumstance, of course, is that Mary Anning wasna woman, and in the early 1800s, women’s contributions were oftennignored or anonymous or otherwise dismissed.
Thenreason for this odd circumstance, of course, is that Mary Anning wasna woman, and in the early 1800s, women’s contributions were oftennignored or anonymous or otherwise dismissed.n
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nAnningnwas born on this date in 1799 in Great Britain. She was lucky enoughnto live in a place with cliffs that had many fossils from the seasnduring the Jurassic period. Her father was a cabinetmaker, but henliked to collect fossils as well. When Anning was just 11 years old,nher dad died, leaving the family in debt.
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nAnning’snmom continued to lead her children to collect fossils, for laternresale, to try to eke out a living; eventually, Mary Anning took overnthe fossil collecting part while her mother kept to the business end.
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nMarynAnning helped to discover one of the first ichthyosaur fossils whennshe was still a pre-teen. She discovered the first plesiosaur, a findnthat helped to make the Anning family respected in the eyes of thenscientific community. Soon the fossils they discovered and preparednwere sought after by museums, scientists, and nobles who keptn“cabinets of curiosities.”
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nAnningnalso found the first pterosaur skeleton outside of Germany and many,nmany other fossils.
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nUnfortunately,nsome people were skeptical about how an “uneducated” andn“deprived” woman could make important discoveries andnprepare fossils so well. Also, many museums and collectors neglectednto give Anning the proper credit on their exhibits, and she and hernfamily ended up being forgotten by most.
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nOfncourse, I would argue that she wasn’t uneducated, just relativelynunschooled. All the fossil hunting and collecting and preparation hadntaught her a ton about her field!
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nTheynaren’t dinosaurs!
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nI’mnsure you know that the reptiles of the sea – like the ichthyosaursnand plesiosaurs that Anning discovered – and of the air – likenthe pterosaurs she helped discover – were not dinosaurs, althoughnthey lived at the same time as many of the dinosaurs.
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nIchthyosaur, above
n nPlesiosaur, below
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| There were many sorts of pterosaurs. |
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nDinosaurndoesn’t mean anything ancient and reptilian, but instead is a termnfor a specific group of animals that had shared characteristics. Herenis an article about 10 dinosaur myths.
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nAlsonon this date:
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nStrawberriesnand Cream Day
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nOne Day Without Shoes
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nPhysicistnGespard-Gustave de Coriolis’s birthday
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nSheepnFestival in Cameroon
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nIndependencenDay in Montenegro
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nPlannahead:
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Checknout my Pinterest boards for:
Checknout my Pinterest boards for:
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nMayn holidays
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nMayn birthdays
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nHistoricaln anniversaries in May
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nAndnhere are my Pinterest boards for:
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nJunen holidays
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nJunen birthdays
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nHistoricaln anniversaries in June
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