Calgary Public Library

On the backs of tortoises, darwin, the galapagos, and the fate of an evolutionary eden, Elizabeth Hennessy

eng

Includes bibliographical references and index

illustrationsmaps

index present

non fiction

On the backs of tortoises

Elizabeth Hennessy

darwin, the galapagos, and the fate of an evolutionary eden

In a world plagued by environmental crises, the Galapagos archipelago is often viewed as a last foothold of pristine nature. This book tells the story of how the islands' namesakes-the giant tortoises-became iconic as living remnants of prehistoric nature. Yet the tortoises are not prehistoric. Their stories show that human and nonhuman life are deeply entangled. This insightful exploration of the cultural and natural history of the tortoises uses these animals to demonstrate the archipelago's inseparability from the flows of global history. As microcosms of ongoing co-evolution shaped by human action, these species bring into sharp relief the paradoxical, and impossible, goal of conserving species by trying to restore a past state of prehistoric evolution. The book illustrates how attempts to restore the Galapagos as an evolutionary Eden are insufficient in a world where evolution is thoroughly shaped by human history

What we stand on -- In Darwin's footsteps -- What's in a name? -- The many worlds at world's end -- Making a natural laboratory -- Restoring evolution -- Laboratory life -- All the way down