Animals of the Past

Written when 'dinosaur' was still a new word in most homes: the American Museum's own guide to sea-serpents of Kansas, birds with teeth, and why great creatures vanish — with Charles R. Knight's famous restorations.

Table of Contents

Introduction

2 pages

Fossils, and How They Are Formed

1 page

The Earliest Known Vertebrates

1 page

Impressions of the Past

2 pages

Rulers of the Ancient Seas

4 pages

Birds of Old

3 pages

Flying Reptiles

3 pages

The Dinosaurs

3 pages

Reading the Riddles of the Rocks

1 page

Feathered Giants

4 pages

The Ancestry of the Horse

3 pages

The Mammoth

1 page

The Mastodon

6 pages

Rights & ReuseThe complete text of Animals of the Past (1901) is in the public domain in the United States — like all works published before 1928 — and is free to read, download, quote, teach from, and reuse. This digital edition (its transcription, restored plates, and site design) is © 2026 PhotoOpAI, and any editorial commentary we add is clearly marked as ours; the underlying public-domain text carries no such restriction.