The meaning of fossils
Subtitle: episodes in the history of palaeontology
By: Martin J.S. Rudwick.
Edition: University of Chicago Press ed.
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Published: 1985
Place of publication: Chicago
Language: eng
Number of pages: 287
Subjects: Paleontology -- History.
Description: "An absorbing history of changing views of what fossils are and how they contribute to an understanding of the history of the earth. Rudwick makes ample use of primary sources ranging in time from the first book with illustrations of fossils (1565) to O.C. Marsh's study of horse evolution in the 1870s. He documents the first attempts to collect groups of fossils, determine whether they were the remains of organisms, relate the fossils to their surrounding rock strata, and integrate fossil evidence into the concept of evolution"--Back cover.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Reprint. Originally published: New York : Science History Publications. 2nd. ed. 1976.