History of paleontology information

The history of paleontology traces the history of the effort to understand the history of life on Earth by studying the fossil record left behind by living organisms. Since it is concerned with understanding living organisms of the past, paleontology can be considered to be a field of biology, but its historical development has been closely tied to geology and the effort to understand the history of Earth itself.

In ancient times, Xenophanes (570–480 BC), Herodotus (484–425 BC), Eratosthenes (276–194 BC), and Strabo (64 BC–24 AD) wrote about fossils of marine organisms, indicating that land was once under water. The ancient Chinese considered them to be dragon bones and documented them as such.^[1] During the Middle Ages, fossils were discussed by Persian naturalist Ibn Sina (known as Avicenna in Europe) in The Book of Healing (1027), which proposed a theory of petrifying fluids that Albert of Saxony would elaborate on in the 14th century. The Chinese naturalist Shen Kuo (1031–1095) would propose a theory of climate change based on evidence from petrified bamboo.

In early modern Europe, the systematic study of fossils emerged as an integral part of the changes in natural philosophy that occurred during the Age of Reason.^[2] The nature of fossils and their relationship to life in the past became better understood during the 17th and 18th centuries, and at the end of the 18th century, the work of Georges Cuvier had ended a long running debate about the reality of extinction, leading to the emergence of paleontology – in association with comparative anatomy – as a scientific discipline. The expanding knowledge of the fossil record also played an increasing role in the development of geology, and stratigraphy in particular.

In 1822, the word "paleontology" was used by the editor of a French scientific journal to refer to the study of ancient living organisms through fossils, and the first half of the 19th century saw geological and paleontological activity become increasingly well organized with the growth of geologic societies and museums and an increasing number of professional geologists and fossil specialists. This contributed to a rapid increase in knowledge about the history of life on Earth, and progress towards definition of the geologic time scale largely based on fossil evidence. As knowledge of life's history continued to improve, it became increasingly obvious that there had been some kind of successive order to the development of life. This would encourage early evolutionary theories on the transmutation of species.^[3] After Charles Darwin published On the Origin of Species in 1859, much of the focus of paleontology shifted to understanding evolutionary paths, including human evolution, and evolutionary theory.^[3]

The last half of the 19th century saw a tremendous expansion in paleontological activity, especially in North America.^[2] The trend continued in the 20th century with additional regions of the Earth being opened to systematic fossil collection, as demonstrated by a series of important discoveries in China near the end of the 20th century. Many transitional fossils have been discovered, and there is now considered to be abundant evidence of how all classes of vertebrates are related, much of it in the form of transitional fossils.^[4] The last few decades of the 20th century saw a renewed interest in mass extinctions and their role in the evolution of life on Earth.^[5] There was also a renewed interest in the Cambrian explosion that saw the development of the body plans of most animal phyla. The discovery of fossils of the Ediacaran biota and developments in paleobiology extended knowledge about the history of life back far before the Cambrian.

^ Dong 1992
^ ^a ^b Garwood, Russell J. (2012). "Life as a palaeontologist: Palaeontology for dummies, Part 2". Palaeontology Online. 4 (2): 1–1o. Retrieved July 29, 2015.
^ ^a ^b Buckland W, Gould SJ (1980). Geology and Mineralogy Considered With Reference to Natural Theology (History of Paleontology). Ayer Company Publishing. ISBN 978-0-405-12706-9.
^ Prothero, D (2008-02-27). "Evolution: What missing link?". New Scientist. No. 2645. pp. 35–40.
^ Bowler Evolution: The History of an Idea pp. 351–352

[dong1992-1] Dong 1992

[gar-2] Garwood, Russell J. (2012). "Life as a palaeontologist: Palaeontology for dummies, Part 2". Palaeontology Online. 4 (2): 1–1o. Retrieved July 29, 2015.

[BucklandGould-3] Buckland W, Gould SJ (1980). Geology and Mineralogy Considered With Reference to Natural Theology (History of Paleontology). Ayer Company Publishing. ISBN 978-0-405-12706-9.

[NS2645-4] Prothero, D (2008-02-27). "Evolution: What missing link?". New Scientist. No. 2645. pp. 35–40.

[5] Bowler Evolution: The History of an Idea pp. 351–352

History of paleontology information

and 29 Related for: History of paleontology information

History of paleontology

Paleontology

2018 in arthropod paleontology

2024 in archosaur paleontology

Timeline of paleontology

2024 in paleontology

Invertebrate paleontology

History of paleontology in the United States

Vertebrate paleontology

History of molecular evolution

Natural history museum

Pseudofossil

History of geology

Research history of Mammut

Coprolite

Amber

History of speciation

2023 in archosaur paleontology

Fossil

History of the forest in Central Europe

Mary Anning

Evolutionary biology

Outline of the history of the United States

Macrofossil

History of invertebrate paleozoology

Evolution of tetrapods

Journal of Paleontology

Paleontology in Kentucky

Transitional fossil

Paleontology
Part of a series on

Fossils Fossilization Trace fossil Microfossil Fossil preparation Index fossil List of fossils List of fossil sites Lagerstätte fossil beds List of transitional fossils List of human evolution fossils
Natural history Biogeography Extinction event Geochronology Geologic time scale Geologic record History of life Origin of life Paleoclimatology Timeline of evolution Transitional fossil
Organs and processes Avian flight Cells Multicells Eyes Flagella Hair Mammalian auditory ossicles Mosaic evolution Nervous systems Sex
Evolution of various taxa Birds Butterflies Cephalopods Cetaceans Dinosaurs Fishes Fungi Humans Insects Mammals Molluscs Plants Reptiles Sea cows Spiders Tetrapods
Evolution Introduction to evolution Common descent Phylogeny Cladistics Biological classification
History of paleontology History of paleontology Timeline of paleontology
Branches of paleontology Biostratigraphy Ichnology Invertebrate paleontology Micropaleontology Molecular paleontology Palaeoxylology Paleobiology Paleobotany Paleoecology Paleogenetics Paleolimnology Paleomycology Paleoneurobiology Paleopathology Paleopedology Paleotempestology Paleozoology Palynology Sclerochronology Taphonomy Vertebrate paleontology
Paleontology Portal Category
v t e