Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
CHAPTER
ONE
Patagonia
A Faraway Land Full of Fossils
We were by no means the first paleontologists to find fossils in
Argentina. In fact, we were simply the latest in a long line of explor-
ers and scientists who had traveled to Patagonia in search of gold and
scientific treasures.
Discovered by the Europeans in the early 1500s, Patagonia was
soon dubbed an "Island of Giants," even though the region is not sep-
arated by water from the rest of the South American continent. This
nickname is directly related to the origin of Patagonia's name. Some
historians have argued that the word
Patagonia
comes from the cur-
rent meaning of the Spanish term
patagon,
which means "big foot."
As the story goes, explorers commissioned by the crown of Spain
described the aboriginal inhabitants they encountered as having big
feet, thus their land was called Patagonia. But it seems far more likely
that the real origin of the name comes from the great explorer Ferdi-
nand Magellan—who died while leading the first expedition to sail
completely around the world. When Magellan first encountered the
Tehuelche Indians of southern South America during his voyage in
1520, he called them Patagoni (the Latinized plural of
Patagon).
It
appears that Magellan drew this name from a famous tale of chivalry
that was popular at the time. In
Primaleon,
a courageous knight
decides to fight the giant "Patagon," who lives on a remote island.
Obviously,
Primaleon
was based on an even older story that had origi-
nated in ancient Greece:
The Odyssey,
in which mighty Odysseus
fights the giant, one-eyed Cyclops on a legendary island.
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