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Natural History (ISSN 0028-07 1 2). incorporating 
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NATURAL 
HISTORY 
Vol. 90. No. 4, April 1981 
American Museum of Natural History 
Robert G. Goelet, President 
Thomas D. Nicholson, Director 
4 Authors 
8 The Human Strategy Paul D. Starr and Nura S. Alamuddin 
Marriage — Lebanese Style 
14 This View of Life Stephen Jay Gould 
A Most Chilling Statement 
22 Bios Robert E. Cook 
Disturbing Plants 
30 The African Elephant’s Drinking Problem James Allaway 
When development schemes are proposed, who speaks up for the elephant ? 
36 Bees for the Birds photographs by Javier Echevarri and Mila Olano 
Bee eaters have to do some food preparation after they snatch 
their prey in the air. 
40 Street Urchins of Colombia Kirk Eels man, 
photographs by Anthony Boccaccio 
The city streets are both theater and battleground for these waifs. 
52 From Eternity to Here 
In celebration of the American Museum’s newest hall, a Natural 
History Special Supplement on the origin, the discovery, and the 
significance of meteorites. 
Long-playing Records, by John A. Wood 
A Lode of Meteorites, by Brian Mason 
Telltale Inclusions, by Lawrence Grossman 
Cosmic Dust, by Donald E. Brownlee 
At the American Museum 
86 Celestial Events Thomas D. Nicholson 
88 Additional Reading 
90 Books in Review Matt Cartmill 
Lucy in the Sand with Footnotes 
96 A Matter of Taste Raymond Sokolov 
Chili con Blarney 
Cover: Artist-scientist William K. Hartmann created this hypothetical collision 
between an asteroid and the earth. Such a monumental impact might 
have led to the extinction of dinosaurs 65 million years ago. Meteorites, 
which are asteroid fragments, usually fall to earth without causing serious 
damage. A special supplement on meteorites begins on page 52. 
