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A fossil expedition becomes a thrilling search for a mythical beast deep in the Indonesian forest – and a fascinating look at how fossils, folklore, and biodiversity converge.
The need to understand and conserve biodiversity has never been more pressing. This is particularly urgent for vulnerable ecosystems such as islands, which have suffered human-caused extinctions throughout history and recent prehistory.
A tale of exciting scientific discovery, The Tomb of the Mili Mongga is based on the story of expeditions to the island of Sumba in eastern Indonesia. While there, Professor Samuel Turvey discovers an entire recently extinct mammal fauna from the island's fossil record, revealing how islands support some of the world's most remarkable biodiversity, and why many endemics are threatened with extinction.
But as the story unfolds, a new narrative emerges – Sumba's indigenous communities tell of a mysterious wildman called the mili mongga, a giant yeti-like beast that supposedly lives in the island's remote forests. What is behind the stories of the mili mongga? Is there a link between this enigmatic entity and the fossils Sam's looking for? And what did he discover when he finally found the grave of a mili mongga?
The Tomb of the Mili Mongga combines evolution, conservation, anthropology, travel writing and cryptozoology to explore the traditional culture and unique biodiversity of a tropical island that's largely unknown to the outside world. It also considers wider questions about the relationship between biodiversity and cultural diversity, what reality means from different cultural perspectives, and how folklore, fossils and biodiversity conservation can be linked together in surprising ways.
Prologue: Anselm and Gaunilo
Chapter One. Splendid Isolation
Chapter Two. Sumba, East of Java
Chapter Three. Glutton-Granny
Chapter Four. Storytelling
Chapter Five. Rodents of Unusual Size
Chapter Six. Tulang Junkie
Chapter Seven. The Wall of the Mili Mongga
Chapter Eight. An Interlude with Giant Rats
Chapter Nine. The Island of the Day Before
Chapter Ten. They Might Be Giants
Chapter Eleven. The Perfect Island – A Fairy Tale for Biologists
Acknowledgements
Notes
Index
Samuel Turvey is Professor of Conservation Biology at the Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London. His work focuses on understanding how science can inform and guide practical conservation efforts for some of the world's rarest species. This research also involves using the fossil record and Indigenous knowledge to gain conservation insights, and he has conducted extensive fieldwork in China, southeast Asia and the Caribbean. He has published over 200 scientific papers and book chapters, including in Nature and Science, and has previously written about the tragic extinction of the Yangtze River Dolphin. Samuel was awarded the Linnean Medal in 2019 for his contributions to zoology.
"A thoughtful and approachable scientific travelogue stuffed with mystery, humor, and [...] monsters? You'll never think about fossils in the same way again! A must read."
– Beth Shapiro
"Turvey's gripping adventures are a quest to understand human consciousness and explore the differences between cultural truths and scientific facts."
– Richard Fortey
"Part travelogue and part science, Samuel Turvey's The Tomb of the Mili Mongga seeks out those elusive links between the present and the past, between fossils and folklore, and brings the reader along on an unexpected journey of discovery."
– Steve Brusatte
"Like a marvellous combination of H Rider Haggard and Gerald Durrell [...] Turvey brings fascinatingly diverse scholarship to bear, from theories of species extinction to joyous readings in folklore and anthropology."
– The Telegraph
