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Turtle Fossil

While ancient Egypt π“†Žπ“…“π“π“Š– is my first love, geology is my second! β€œGeology” in a very broad term that means the study of the Earth’s structure, makeup and history! Geology isn’t just the study of rocks π“‡‹π“ˆ–π“‚‹π“ˆ™π“¦ (that is petrology) but paleontology (the study of past life on Earth) falls into that category!Β I love when I am able to combine my love of geology with ancient Egypt! Read below

Turtle Fossil
William and I with the Turtle Fossil on display at the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH)

William and I are standing with an extinct land tortoise called a β€œMegalochelys atlas” (it used to be referred to as the β€œGeochelone atlas”) and I always lovingly refer to this fossil as the β€œSmiling Turtle” because it looks like it is very happy! This big guy lived during the late Pliocene Epoch which was about two million years ago and is the largest land tortoise to ever exist!

In ancient Egypt π“†Žπ“…“π“π“Š–, turtles π“ˆ™π“π“„Ώπ“†‰π“¦ were seen as an ambiguous force because they were creatures of both land 𓇾 and water π“ˆ—. Turtles π“ˆ™π“π“„Ώπ“†‰π“¦ were also seen as the enemy of Ra 𓇳𓏺𓁛, and in chapter 162 of the Book of the Dead, it is stated that β€œMay Ra live, and may the turtle die.” The turtles π“ˆ™π“π“„Ώπ“†‰π“¦ that lived in the Nile π“‡‹π“π“‚‹π“…±π“ˆ—π“ˆ˜π“ˆ‡π“Ί were mostly nocturnal (and definitely not as large as this one), which is probably why they were considered to be Ra’s 𓇳𓏺𓁛 enemy.Β 

Turtle Fossil
The very large Turtle Fossil on display at the American Museum of Natural History

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