Book Review - Uncovering Dinosaur Behavior: What They Did and How We Know - Princeton University Press

      David Hone may be familiar to many as the author of several books on ancient life, and by way of his You Tube videos, which enliven and resurrect dinosaurs. His compelling style and straightforward delivery ensures that a wide audience is able to understand and benefit from his knowledge, and this book is no exception.

     His text is supported by an exquisite array of original art by Gabriel Ugueto, stunning in its scope, breathtaking in its execution. We are transported back in time.

     There are obviously limitations on what can be known about creatures that roamed the Earth before humans, and Hone is meticulously parsimonious in drawing conclusions. However, modern technology, including carbon dating, tomography, algorithms, mathematical reconstruction and so on enable a paleontologist to answer many questions with a good measure of certainty. Moreover, there is a level of cooperation between different scientific disciplines, including ethologists, unique in the often fiercely competitive environment of academia, and this too aids in putting together a complete picture.

     Fossilized melanosomes permit identification of colours, so we can be sure that Ugueto's art accurately reflects creatures as we might have seen them. He is a maestro at setting the scene for us.

     I was reminded of Hone's reluctance to establish facts without certainty, by the tragic consequences of the recent horrific weather events in the southeastern United States. Landslides and catastrophic flooding destroyed homes and swept away people and pets. They came to rest in one location, but a paleontologist of the future would be wrong to make inferences about group interactions of any kind based on the outcome of one cataclysm. 

     Black-and-white illustrations, often photographs taken by the author, serve to further illustrate the text; sadly, these are often very dark and it is difficult to see detail. There are exceptions, however!

      It is overall a very fine work, gripping in its conclusions, backed by rigorous science, compelling in its examination of the ways in which dinosaurs behaved, and the interactions of one species with another. 

      A must read!

Irritations

     Unfortunately, the book suffers from less than rigorous proof reading. 

Page 17 - "In ordert too study..." should be "in order to study..."

Page 69 - "Of these fossil localities he most important...." should be "Of these fossil localities the most important."

Page 155 - "... techniques and technologies that can applied..." should be "... techniques and technologies that can be applied..." 

Uncovering Dinosaur Behaviour: What They Did and How We Know - Princeton University Press

David Hone

Hardcover - $29.95 USD - ISBN: 9780691215914

248 pages - 6.125 x 9.25 inches (15.31 x 23.125 cm)

12 colour and 70 black-and-white illustrations

Publication date: 05 November, 2024