Short History of Vertebrate Palaeontology

Throughout history man has been discovering fossil bones. Our interpretations of these discoveries through the centuries provides an insight into the development of scientific knowledge. This book traces the history of vertebrate palaeontolgoy from the discoveries and interpretations of fossil bones by the Greeks and Romans and their role as evidence for the biblical flood through to the formulation of the synthetic theory of evolution after the First World War. The author shows how the pioneering work of Cuvier in the 19th century and the inspiration of Darwin and others led to modern theories of evolution. He goes on to look at the great palaeontological finds which resulted from the opening-up of the American West, the industrial exploitation of minerals in Europe and colonial expansion in Asia and Africa.