Chapter 02: The Mastodon's Molar

                       

As we continue on our topic of extinction, this chapter starts off by talking about the vague understanding of extinction most children may get through dinosaurs. It goes on to explain humanity’s first interest in the past which would be 1739, when it was officially decided to study the bones of a mastodon, or more commonly called the mammoth. George Curvier’s interpretation of extinction, the belief in “a world previous to ours” would then spark an even bigger interest in the mammoth bones throughout the Atlantic. This would inspire Charles William Peale to “spend months” fitting together the bones of the mastodon, compensating for what he couldn’t acquire with “wood and paper mâché” (p. 36), making an image of the mammoth. This covers the theme of science constantly changes the way we understand the world, because before the interest in bones during the 1739, people’s only concern for extinction in the “Systema Naturae” (p. 24) was that the only animals there were, were the ones that exist. It has been shown through history, even after this incident, that once humans all take an interest in a certain event, we are willing to pour a lot of time and effort analyzing it. Events similar to this would be things such as the World Wars, Arms Races, and other things that can carry a sense of nationalism and accomplishment [R].