Chapters in this book

1. Frontmatter i
2. Contents vii
3. Acknowledgments xi
4. Introduction xiii
5. Protogaea
6. I. Preamble 2
7. II. The first formation of the earth through fire 2
8. III. Different opinions concerning the creation of the globe 4
9. IV. Sea salt, fires, and cycles of precipitation 8
10. V. The many changes in our globe after its initial creation 10
11. VI. What was the source of the water that covered the earth? And where did it go? 14
12. VII. Bructerus and the origin of springs 18
13. VIII. Deposits of metal in the earth and a description of veins 20
14. IX. The generation of minerals explained through chemistry 26
15. X. Products common to laboratories and mines 30
16. XI. The generation of precious stones, natural and artificial 32
17. XII. Natural sublimations and the preparation of sal ammoniac 34
18. XIII. It is through fire that metals appear in their proper forms 36
19. XIV. Some bodies owe their form to the movement of waters 36
20. XV. Some bodies coalesce in the waters 38
21. XVI. Kinds of tuff stone formed by dripping water 38
22. XVII. Some things arise from the combined action of heat and water 40
23. XVIII. Where do the shapes of various fish imprinted on slates come from? 42
24. XIX. Earthquakes, volcanoes, and other things show that there is fire inside our globe 48
25. XX. The forms of fish imprinted on slate come from real fish, and are not games of nature 50
26. XXI. The different layers of the earth, their locations, and the origin of salts and salt waters 54
27. XXII. The origin of mountains and hills explained through waters, winds, and earthquakes 56
28. XXIII. Marine shells are found throughout our region and elsewhere 58
29. XXIV. The various kinds of shells were not created inside the stone, as is evident from their forms and positions 60
30. XXV. The excavated shells and bones of marine animals can be identified as the parts of real animals 64
31. XXVI. In ancient times, nearby seas contained animals and shellfish that are no longer found there 64
32. XXVII. Glossopetrae, asterias, trochites, etc., are the remains of marine animals, and not games of nature 68
33. XXVIII. But it is wrong to include the polygonal shapes that can be found in crystals among these 70
34. XXIX. In which a certain lazy ingenuity, which invents things alien to truth, is rejected 72
35. XXX. Where can the Lüneburg glossopetrae be found? 76
36. XXXI. Glossopetrae are sharks’ teeth 78
37. XXXII. The medical use of glossopetrae 84
38. XXXIII. Belemnites, osteocolla, shell-filled stones, and fossil ivory 86
39. XXXIV. Bones, jaws, skulls, and teeth found in our region 96
40. XXXV. The unicorn’s horn, and an enormous animal unearthed in Quedlinburg 100
41. XXXVI. Sharzfeld Cave and the bones that have been found in it 104
42. XXXVII. The Baumann Cave and its contents 108
43. XXXVIII. On the nature of amber, especially the kind found in our region 114
44. XXXIX. Changes wrought by rivers and the vestiges of upheavals in our region 116
45. XL. The struggle between sea and land 118
46. XLI. Sea and marsh once covered Venice and Este 120
47. XLII. The marvelous fountains of Modena 122
48. XLIII. How Modena’s fountains are produced 126
49. XLIV. The layers of earth in Rosdorf, near Göttingen 128
50. XLV. On buried trees and petrified wood 130
51. XLVI. Peat and its origin 134
52. XLVII. On trees buried underground 138
53. XLVIII. The layers of earth observed while digging a well in Amsterdam 138
54. Appendix: Text from Friedrich Lachmund’s Oryktographia Hildesheimensis (1669) 143
55. Glossary 151
56. Bibliography 155
57. Index 165