D I N O S A U R S O F
T H E
F L A M I N G
M I C H A E L WITH
ANCHOR DOU
C L I F F S
N O V A C E K
I L L U S T R ...
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D I N O S A U R S O F
T H E
F L A M I N G
M I C H A E L WITH
ANCHOR DOU
C L I F F S
N O V A C E K
I L L U S T R A T I O N S
BY
ED
H E C K
BOOKS
BLEDAY
N E W YORK
LONDON
TORONTO
SYDNEY
AUCKLAND
A N
A N C H O R
PUBLISHED
BY
BOOK DOUBLEDAY
a division of Bantam D o u b l e d a y D e l l Publishing Group, Inc. 1 5 4 0 Broadway, N e w York, N e w York 1 0 0 3 6 A N C H O R B O O K S , D O U B L E D A Y , and the portrayal o f an anchor
are trademarks of Doubleday, a division of Bantam D o u b l e d a y D e l l Publishing Group, Inc. Book design by Maria Carella Photo insert design by Folio Graphics T h e author gratefully acknowledges permission to reprint the following: Page 131: From "The Tower." Reprinted with the permission of S i m o n 8c Schuster from The Poems ofW.B. Yeats: A New Edition, edited by Richard J. Finneran. Copyright 1928 by M a c m i l l a n Publishing Company, renewed 1 9 5 6 by G e o r g i e Yeats. Page 3 2 2 : Excerpt, "The E n d of the World," from Collected Poems, 1917-1982 by Archibald M a c L e i s h . Copyright © 1 9 8 5 by T h e Estate of Archibald M a c L e i s h . Reprinted by permission of H o u g h t o n Mifflin C o . A l l rights reserved. Page 2 4 3 : " H u m m i n g - B i r d " by D. H. Lawrence, from The Complete Poems ofD. H. Lawrence by D. H. Lawrence, edited by V. de Sola P i n t o and F. W. Roberts. Copyright © 1 9 6 4 , 1 9 7 1 by A n g e l o Ravagli, and C. M. Weekley, Executors of the Estate of Frieda Lawrence Ravagli. U s e d by permission of V i k i n g Penguin, a division of Penguin B o o k s U S A , Inc. Library of Congress C a t a l o g i n g - i n - P u b l i c a t i o n D a t a Novacek, M i c h a e l J. Dinosaurs of the flaming cliffs / by M i c h a e l Novacek. p.
cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. D i n o s a u r s — G o b i Desert ( M o n g o l i a and C h i n a ) Cretaceous.
3. Novacek, M i c h a e l J.
QE862.D5N684
2. P a l e o n t o l o g y —
I. Title.
1996
567.9T095173—dc20
95-54169 CIP
ISBN 0-385-47774-0 Copyright © 1 9 9 6 by M i c h a e l N o v a c e k All Rights Reserved Printed in the U n i t e d States of America 1 0
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FIRST A N C H O R BOOKS E D I T I O N : S e p t e m b e r 1 9 9 6
T o
V E R A ,
J U L I E ,
A N D
M Y
P A R E N T S
I
A C K N O W L E D G M E N T S
To write about our continuing exploration of the G o b i D e s e r t — a n adventure that is still unfolding—is rather odd, as if my reflection on the serendipity behind various events and discoveries h a d anything to do w i t h predicting the future of our efforts. Nonetheless, e n o u g h has been experienced to justify my recollection. I also felt the sheer panic of loosing vivid feelings and images before I could flesh t h e m out in any form beyond r a n d o m notes in my field journals. As a result, I had the sheer pleasure of r e visiting these experiences in a small room of an old eastern Atlantic V i c torian house, about as far away from the land of camels, sand dunes, and dinosaur graveyards as one can imagine. T h e s e thoughts embrace people as well as exotic places. M a r k Norell and Malcolm M c K e n n a were my fellow travelers from the start, sharing with me the years of the G o b i expedition from that first dreamlike r o a m ing of the desert in the s u m m e r of 1990. T h i s extraordinary o p p o r t u n i t y was offered by the M o n g o l i a n A c a d e m y of Sciences, notably our colleagues Demberelyin Dashzeveg, Altangerel Perle, and R i n c h e n Barsbold. In a d dition, the M o n g o l i a n A c a d e m y - A m e r i c a n M u s e u m expeditions of the past six years have enlisted a large international team. M a n y of these p e o ple appear in the book as part of the story, b u t all of t h e m contributed passionately and indispensably to the effort. J i m Clark, Lowell D i n g u s , Priscilla M c K e n n a , A m y Davidson, and Louis C h i a p p e were key t e a m
VIII
•
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
m e m b e r s w h o participated in the expeditions over several seasons. O t h e r s w h o joined us were Bayersaichan Dashzeveg, Kevin Alexander, Batsuk, Temur, Tumur, Sota, G u n b o l d , J o h n L a n n s , D a n Bryant, Ganhuij ("Mad M a x " ) , M a n g a l Jal, G e o r g e L a n g d o n , Boyin T o k - T o k , Carl Swisher, C h r i s t a Sadler, A n d y Taylor, M i n t e g , Ines Horovitz, Argil, M a r k Carrasco, E u n g e u l , Vera Novacek, Julie Novacek, C h i m b a l d , Elizabeth C h a p m a n , N e d Saandar, and J i m Carpenter. Journalists J o h n Wilford and D o n o v a n Webster, photographers Fred C o n r a d , Louis Psihoyos, and J o h n Knoebber and f i l m m a k e r s J o h n Lynch, Jerry Pass, T i m W a t t s , Lisa Truitt, N i n a Parmee, R u b e n A r a n s o n , D i c k Kane, and Richard Confalone doubled, at times, as able field assistants. U n i t e d States ambassador to Mongolia, D o n a l d J o h n s o n and his wife, Nelda, were gracious and helpful, d e m o n strating b o t h a kinship for the expedition and a love for the strange and wild country where they are n o w in residence. A l t h o u g h they did not reach the field, several people contributed to the laboratory effort. A m o n g these were Evan S m i t h , J e a n n e Kelly, M a r i l y n Fox, J a n e Shumsky, Bryn Mader, Ed Pederson, Bill A m e r a l , Lorraine Meeker, and Chester Tarka. Several saved the project from hopeless bureaucratic, budgetary, sociological, and logistical snarls. T h e s e included Dumaajavyn Baatar, president of the M o n g o l i a n A c a d e m y of Sciences, and G e n e r a l Secretary Tsagaany Boldsuch, my extraordinary assistant, Barbara Werscheck, Joan Davidson, Krystyna Mielczarek, M y r a Biblowit, and E r d e n e Dashzeveg. My parents, as well as M a l c o l m M c K e n n a ' s parents and Mark's father, willingly converted their S o u t h e r n California h o m e s to supply depots during the frenetic shipping m o n t h s before each season. M u s e u m President Ellen F u t ter, and her predecessor, G e o r g e L a n g d o n , were warmly encouraging and extraordinarily tolerant of my schizophrenic life as administrator and explorer. A n u m b e r of generous people and organizations kept an expensive expedition financially healthy. T h e s e included the Frick Laboratory E n d o w m e n t of the A m e r i c a n M u s e u m of Natural History, the Phillip M c K e n n a Foundation, Richard Jaffe and the Jaffe Foundation, the N a tional G e o g r a p h i c Society, the Eppley Foundation, the International R e search and Exchange P r o g r a m ( I R E X ) , and the National Science F o u n d a tion ( N S F ) . If I h a d any success in b l e n d i n g exploration of wild terrain with ex-
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
•
IX
ploration of some central scientific questions, it is due n o t only to the flourishing literature in m o d e r n paleontology but to the input and inspiration of friends and colleagues. In addition to some team m e m b e r s , these individuals included J o h n W i b l e , Guillermo Rougier, Niles Eldredge, M e n g Jin, A n d y W y s s , Zofia Kielan-Jaworowska, J o r n H u r u m , G a o K e qin, D o n a l d Phillips, P h i l Currie, J o h n O s t r o m , Ian Tattersall, D o n Lessem, D i c k Tedford, H e n r y G e e , Sherri M c G e h e e , T i m Rowe, David Archibald, and the late Lev Nessov. Of course, such productive interchange began years ago w i t h my paleontological m e n t o r s , Peter Vaughn, Everett (Ole) O l s o n , Jason Lillegraven, D o n Savage, and Bill C l e m e n s . I must also extend special thanks to those w h o helped me directly in the development of this book. Ed H e c k is responsible for nearly all the artw o r k herein. H i s skills in depicting prehistoric beasts either as detailed renderings or with the economy of an ink sketch are admired and appreciated. T h e p h o t o g r a p h s include special contributions from Louis Psihoyos (the cover Oviraptor skeleton), Fred C o n r a d , M a r k Norell, D e n n i s F i n n i n , M i c k Ellison (who also contributed some excellent drawings), C h e s t e r Tarka, A m y Davidson, and the archival collections of the A m e r i c a n M u seum of Natural History. M a r k Norell did a m a r a t h o n reading of the text, highlighting errors and offering crucial corrections. A n y errors of fact and concept are, of course, my own doing. Roger Scholl, my editor at A n chor/Doubleday, took on the challenge of my original draft with dedication, focus, and friendly encouragement. I learned m u c h from h i m in the process. I am immensely grateful to my agent, Al Z u c k e r m a n n of Writer's H o u s e , for adopting an untested client w i t h the conviction that there was a story to be shaken out of the bones in the G o b i . Finally, I t h a n k my wife, Vera, and my daughter, Julie, for showing me t h a t love brings an e n c h a n t m e n t to life that no expedition to the ends of the earth can m a t c h .
C O N T E N T S
Prologue: A Paleontological Paradise
3
Chapter 1:
1 9 9 0 — J O U R N E Y TO E L D O R A D O
18
Chapter 2 :
DINOSAUR DREAM T l M E
49
Chapter 3 :
1991—THE GREAT GOBI CIRCUIT
94
Chapter 4:
T H E TERRAIN OF E O N S
1 31
Chapter 5:
1992—THE BlG EXPEDITION
1 60
Chapter 6 :
DINOSAUR LIVES—FROM E G G TO O L D A G E
1 84
Chapter 7:
1993—XANADU
224
Chapter 8 :
FLYING D I N O S A U R S A N D H O P E F U L M O N S T E R S
243
Chapter 9 :
1994—BACK TO THE B O N A N Z A
269
C h a p t e r 10:
DISASTERS, VICTIMS, A N D SURVIVORS
289
Chapter 11:
T H E SECRET HISTORY OF LIFE
323
Notes
332
Select Reading List
348
Index
351
I
Is it surprising that I was filled with regret as I looked for the last time at the Flaming Cliffs, gorgeous in the morning sunshine of that brilliant August day? I suppose I shall never see them again! Perhaps some day I may view the cliffs from the window of a trans Gobi train, but my caravan never again will fight its way across the long miles of desert to this treasure-house of Mongolian prehistory. Doubtless it will be the hunting-ground of other expeditions for years to come. We have but scratched the surface, and every season of blasting gales will expose more riches hidden in its rocks. W h o can tell what will come from a place that has already given so much?
ROY CHAPMAN ANDREWS.
1932.
The New
Conquest of Central Asia.
90
95
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