Nowadays, in an age where museums are everywhere, most everyone has seen a fossil and read a display tag explaining what it once was. This illustration-rich course turns back the clock some three centuries to look at the attempts of the first fossil hunters to figure out why digging up the earth revealed so many weird relics in so many unexpected places. In the process, we learn about the role of wonder, amazement, and even uncertainty in the history of science. Instructor Kevin L. Cope is a retired faculty member from Louisiana State University now living in Maine. During his career as a researcher and teacher, he published numerous books and studies on Enlightenment culture, investigating both mainstream topics such as early modern philosophers and such delightful diversions as joke books, images of George Washington, hermits, and colossal statues. Kevin is currently preparing a comprehensive study on the subterranean world during the eighteenth century. He frequently appears on radio and television as a commentator on higher education in America.