The tomb of the mili mongga Fossils, folklore, and adventures at the edge of reality
Book - 2024
"A tale of exciting scientific discovery, The Tomb of the Mili Mongga tells the story of Samuel Turvey's expeditions to the island of Sumba in eastern Indonesia. While there, he discovers an entire recently extinct mammal fauna from the island's fossil record, revealing how islands support some of the world's most remarkable biodiversity, and why many of these unique endemic species are threatened with extinction or have already been lost. But as the story unfolds, an unexpected narrative emerges - Sumba's Indigenous communities tell of a mysterious wildman called the 'mili mongga', a giant yeti-like beast that supposedly lives in the island's remote forests. What is behind the stories of the mili mon...gga? Is there a link between this enigmatic entity and the fossils that Sam is looking for? And what did he discover when he finally found the tomb of a mili mongga? Combining evolution, anthropology, travel writing and cryptozoology, The Tomb of the Mili Mongga explores the relationship between biodiversity and cultural, what reality means from different cultural perspectives, and how folklore, fossils and conservation can be linked together in surprising ways."--Amazon.com.
- Subjects
- Genres
- autobiographies (literary works)
Informational works
Autobiographies
Travel writing
Illustrated works - Published
-
London :
Bloomsbury Sigma
2024.
- Language
- English
- Main Author
- Other Authors
- Physical Description
- 304 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm
- Bibliography
- Includes bibliographical references and index.
- ISBN
- 9781399409773
- Prologue: Anselm and Gaunilo
- Chapter 1. Splendid Isolation
- Chapter 2. Sumba, East of Java
- Chapter 3. Glutton-Granny
- Chapter 4. Storytelling
- Chapter 5. Rodents of Unusual Size
- Chapter 6. Tulang Junkie
- Chapter 7. The Wall of the Mili Mongga
- Chapter 8. An Interlude with Giant Rats
- Chapter 9. The Island of the Day Before
- Chapter 10. They Might Be Giants
- Chapter 11. The Perfect Island - A Fairy Tale for Biologists
- Acknowledgements
- Notes
- Index
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review