ANTH 1301 Chapter Notes - Chapter ch. 2: Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte De Buffon, Nicolaus Copernicus, Ptolemy

• School: University of Iowa
• Department: Anthropology
• Course: ANTH 1301
• Professor: Kitchen Andrew

Document Summary

First person to explain the basic mechanics of evolution. Removed the sun as the center of things. Recognized relationship between the external environment and living forms. Emphasized dynamic relationship between species and environment (if the external environment changed the activity of animal would also change to accommodate to the circumstances) body parts of animals would be modified according to usage. Theory explained that a trait acquired by an animal during its lifetime can be passed to its offspring. Catastrophism says that the earth"s geological features are the results of sudden, worldwide cataclysmic events which cause extinction of plants and animals. Observed that earth must be older than we think. In nature, there is a tendency for animal populations to increase in size, but the amount of resources remains relatively the same. Therefore, population size in held in check by resource availability .