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Artifacts & Documents: Artifacts

Fossil found by Pliny Moody

zoomable artifact image here

Pliny Moody found this slab of fossil footprints when plowing his father's field in 1801 or 1802, in South Hadley, Massachusetts. According to legend, people called them the footprints of Noah's Raven, referring to the biblical story of the flood sent by God to punish humankind, as told in the book of Genesis. The slab was sold to Dr. Elihu Dwight in 1810 when Pliny left home for college. 

Date:
None
Dimensions:
19" X 31"
Materials:
sandstone
Courtesy of:
Beneski Museum of Natural History at Amherst College, photograph by Penny Leveritt