AFRICAN DINOSAURS UNEARTHED: The Tendaguru Expeditions

Maier reviews one of the major digs in dinosaur paleontology. In 1907, German scientists began excavating for dinosaur bones at a site in their East African territories. Tendaguru (in present-day Tanzania) offered up some major discoveries early, including one of the first mammal fossils found anywhere in Africa, and the scientists soon found themselves struggling to extract, pack and ship out as many bones as possible before the annual rainy season. Germany gave up its colonial lands after WWI, and the British Museum took over the dig until 1931. Maier, a veteran paleontological technician, pays obsessive attention to detail, often describing the discoveries bone by bone. He can't quite make the debates between German, English and American scientists over geological dating exciting, but he does have plenty of other stories to work with, such as the submerged tensions between members of the English expedition and a step-by-step description of the Berlin Museum of Natural History's construction of a Brachiosaurus skeleton in 1937. Among the many men who worked at Tendaguru was Louis Leakey; although he only spent 10 months there, his experience set in motion three generations of his family's interest in African prehistory. The final chapters deal with the fate of the bones that were sent to Europe as well as the intermittent visits paid to the site over the past few decades. Maier brings a life's enthusiasm to a highly technical subject, and those who share his passion for dinosaur bones will revel in his precise account of one of the most significant digs of the 20th century. 50 b&w photos, 7 maps not seen by PW. (July)