ARCH 112 Lecture Notes - Lecture 22: Jacques Boucher De Crèvecœur De Perthes, Paleontology, Catastrophism
27 Jun 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Earliest Historic Accounts of Excavations
May early explanations of ancient artifacts were unscientific
-
Antiquarian is someone who is interested in the past and digs up antiquities
unscientifically--eventually some individuals recognized the value of scientific
analysis of artifacts and archaeological sites
Christian Jürgenson Thomsen ( 1788-1865)
Developed the three age systems--(relative dating/stratigraphy)
Iron Age (more recent objects)
1)
Bronze Age
2)
Stone Age (older objects)
3)
-
Jens Worsaae tested system
-
Thomas Jefferson
Completed one of the earliest archaeological excavations in North America
-
Dug up a mound in his backyard
-
Historical Development of the Discipline of Archaeology (important developments
include):
Establishing the antiquity of the earth
Universe 15 billion years old
○
Earth 4.5 billion years old
○
Cosmic calendar-devised by astronomer Carl Sagan demonstrates the
relatively recent appearance of humankind
○
We understand the great age of the Earth, but this was not always the
case
○
Archbishop James Ussher (1581-1656)
Analyzed Bible determined the earth was created in 4004 B.C,
-
○
James Hutton (1726-1797)
Estimated Earth a few hundred thousand years old
-
Advanced notions of uniformitarianism
Uniformitarianism* is the theory stating that Earths features
are the result of long term processes that continue to
operate in the present as they did in the past
○
-
○
Charles Lyell (1797-1875)
Founder of modern geology
-
Built on ideas of uniformitarianism*
-
Wrote important works
-
Identified strata and epochs
-
○
-
Establishing the antiquity of humankind
Irrefutable evidence for the existence f human remains with extinct
animals built up in the 1800s
○
In 1857, a Neanderthal skull provided evidence of a premodern human
○
In 1797, John Frere discovered hand axes below layers containing the
bones of extinct animals
○
-
Jacques Boucher de Perthes (1788-1868)
Discovered ancient stone tools with the bones of extinct animals
-
○
Development of a theory of (biological) evolution
Great Chain of Being
Hierarchical system with all species linked in a chain
-
Each held a permanent place with no concept of extinction or
evolution
-
○
Fixity of the Species: The notion that species once created can never
change--it is an idea that is opposite to theories of biological evolution
○
Georges Cuvier (1769-1832)
French paleontologist
-
Introduced concept of extinction
-
Proposed theory of catastrophism
Catastrophism: A quick series of catastrophic events
accounted for changes in the earth and the fossil record
○
-
○
Jean Baptiste Lamarck (1744-1829)
Proposed the Theory of inheritance of acquired characteristics
Inheritance of Acquired Characteristics: suggested that if the
external environment changed, an animal’s activity patterns
would change to accommodate the new circumstances. This
would result in the eventual modification of body parts.
○
-
○
Charles Darwin (1809-1882)
Developed the theory of evolution by natural selection
-
○
Alfred Russel Wallace (1823-1913)
Independently arrived at the theory of evolution by natural
selection
-
○
Natural Selection refers to genetic change or changes in the frequencies
of certain traits in populations due to differential reproductive success
between individuals.
Examples of natural selection include peppered moths (soot--
industrialized England, black/grey moths), Galapagos finches
(harder/soft seeds), bacteria (drug resistant bacteria)
-
○
Main Principles of Natural Selection
Variation1)
Heredity2)
Differential reproductive success3)
○
-
Earliest Historic Accounts of Excavations
May early explanations of ancient artifacts were unscientific
Antiquarian is someone who is interested in the past and digs up antiquities
unscientifically--eventually some individuals recognized the value of scientific
analysis of artifacts and archaeological sites
Christian Jürgenson Thomsen ( 1788-1865)
Developed the three age systems--(relative dating/stratigraphy)
Iron Age (more recent objects)
Bronze Age
Stone Age (older objects)
Jens Worsaae tested system
Thomas Jefferson
Completed one of the earliest archaeological excavations in North America
Dug up a mound in his backyard
We understand the great age of the Earth, but this was not always the case
Archbishop James Ussher (1581-1656)
Analyzed Bible determined the earth was created in 4004 B.C,
James Hutton (1726-1797)
Estimated Earth a few hundred thousand years old
Advanced notions of uniformitarianism
Uniformitarianism* is the theory stating that Earths features are the result of long
term processes that continue to operate in the present as they did in the past
Charles Lyell (1797-1875)
Founder of modern geology
Built on ideas of uniformitarianism*
Wrote important works
Identified strata and epochs
Jacques Boucher de Perthes (1788-1868)
Discovered ancient stone tools with the bones of extinct animals
Origins of Archaeology: Development of
Evolutionary Theory (pg. 11-22)
Friday, September 8, 2017
11:25 AM
Document Summary
Historical development of the discipline of archaeology (important developments include): Cosmic calendar-devised by astronomer carl sagan demonstrates the relatively recent appearance of humankind. Irrefutable evidence for the existence f human remains with extinct animals built up in the 1800s. In 1857, a neanderthal skull provided evidence of a premodern human. In 1797, john frere discovered hand axes below layers containing the bones of extinct animals. Discovered ancient stone tools with the bones of extinct animals. Hierarchical system with all species linked in a chain. Each held a permanent place with no concept of extinction or evolution. Fixity of the species: the notion that species once created can never change--it is an idea that is opposite to theories of biological evolution. Catastrophism: a quick series of catastrophic events accounted for changes in the earth and the fossil record. Proposed the theory of inheritance of acquired characteristics.
