Synopses & Reviews
Although fossils have provided some of the most important evidence for evolution, the discipline of paleontology has not always had a central place in evolutionary biology. Beginning in Darwins day, and for much of the twentieth century, paleontologists were often regarded as mere fossil collectors by many evolutionary biologists, their attempts to contribute to evolutionary theory ignored or regarded with scorn. In the 1950s, however, paleontologists began mounting a counter-movement that insisted on the valid, important, and original contribution of paleontology to evolutionary theory. This movement, called “paleobiology” by its proponents, advocated for an approach to the fossil record that was theoretical, quantitative, and oriented towards explaining the broad patterns of evolution and extinction in the history of life.
Rereading the Fossil Record provides, as never before, a historical account of the origin, rise, and importance of paleobiology, from the mid-nineteenth century to the late 1980s. Drawing on a wealth of archival material, David Sepkoski shows how the movement was conceived and promoted by a small but influential group of paleontologists—including Stephen Jay Gould and Niles Eldredge, among others—and examines the intellectual, disciplinary, and political dynamics involved in the ascendency of paleobiology. By emphasizing the close relationship between paleobiology and other evolutionary disciplines, this book writes a new chapter in the history of evolutionary biology, while also offering insights into the dynamics of disciplinary change in modern science.
Review
andldquo;David Sepkoskiandrsquo;s book is the first to examine the rise of paleobiology and the emergence of macroevolution as a discipline in the 1970s. These advances shook the fields of biology, geology, and paleontology and established a cadre of major questions that have been pursued ever since. The subject is one of the three main advances in evolution in the twentieth century, the others being the rise of the andlsquo;modern synthesisandrsquo; and the advent of andlsquo;evo-devo.andrsquo;and#160;It is rare to be able to give such high marks for the treatment of both the science and the history, but this book deserves such praise. An essential for every evolutionistandrsquo;s bookshelf.andrdquo;
Review
andldquo;One measure of the greatness of a work is that the characters who play roles in the narrative feel its essential truth. As someone who is proud to have been there during much of the action David Sepkoski describes, I give his description and analysis of the history of paleobiology a five-star rating; to my mind, this actually was the way it was.andrdquo;
Review
and#8220;David Sepkoskiand#8217;s narrative shows us how the science of paleontology was transformed in the later twentieth century by the energetic activities of a quite small group of talented individuals.and#160;Their journal, Paleobiology, gave their movement a name and an institutional identity, but also an outlet for their radical research program. Foreseeing at an early stage the huge potential of computers, they turned the analysis of the fossil record into a component of evolutionary theorizing that could no longer be ignored or marginalized by the dominant and#8216;modern synthesis.and#8217;and#160;This is a book from which both evolutionary biologists and historians of twentieth-century science will have much to learn, and it is so readable that they should all enjoy the experience.and#8221;
Review
andldquo;In the 1970s, a new kid on the block was shaking up palaeontology, geology and biology. Historian David Sepkoski charts the rise of palaeobiology from 1945 to 1985, driven by a small but illustrious band of palaeontologists including Stephen Jay Gould and David Raup, who grappled with how the geological record could produce evidence for evolution. The solution, as Sepkoski engagingly relates, lay in quantitative analysis of evolutionary patterns in fossils.andrdquo;
Review
andldquo;[A] superb book. . . . For what it tells us about paleobiology in particular and about twentieth-century discipline building in general, Rereading the Fossil Record: The Growth of Paleobiology as an Evolutionary Discipline could hardly be bettered. It is lucid in explaining sometimes technical research, sympathetic in explaining why individuals did what they did, and deft in weaving together the intellectual and the personal strands of its story.andrdquo;
Review
andldquo;This splendid book tells a fascinating tale; here we find the gentlemanly Norman Newell, the young tigers Niles Eldredge and Stephen Jay Gould, the brilliant, prickly Tom Schopf, the innovative David Raup, the late Jack Sepkoski (father of the author), Steven Stanley, James Valentine and many other extraordinary personalities. We read of their insights, interactions, disagreements, quarrels, personal lives and contributions.andrdquo;
Review
andldquo;An exceptional book, Rereading the Fossil Record draws wisely and appreciatively on the work of fellow historians of science (to mention just a few: Ronald Rainger, Joe Cain, V. Betty Smocovitis, Michael Ruse, and Sharon Kingsland). But it stands on its own as a major contribution that will interest biologists, historians more generally (itandrsquo;s not only good history, itandrsquo;s about history), and philosophers alike.andquot;
Review
andldquo;This book is a deliciously detailed account of the rise of paleobiology, built on archival records, correspondence, and interviews. . . . A valuable acquisition for all libraries with science and history of science collections. Highly recommended.andrdquo;
Review
“[F]ascinating.” M. A. Wilson, College of Wooster - Choice
Review
andldquo;David Sepkoskiandrsquo;s book is the one book that anyone interested in evolution should buy this year. And next year. And probably the year after. The reason is that, for the first time, the emergence of the modern science of macroevolution receives its due. . . . Waste no time, not merely adding this to your bookshelf, but in reading it and marveling how so few people revolutionized our view of the past in such a very few years.andrdquo;
Review
andldquo;[F]ascinating.andrdquo;
Review
and#8220;For those potential readers interested in the history of the diversification of life on Earth and/or those biologists interested in the impact of such paleontologically derived concepts such as punctuated equilibrium, mass extinctions, or species selection, this book is extremely important.and#8221;
Review
and#8220;A significant archival achievement. . . . By giving us the institutional, intellectual, and disciplinary developments that resulted in the emergence of palaeobiology as a new research agenda for palaeontology, Sepkoski has provided all scholars interested in the course of evolutionary theory with an invaluable history. . . . One can hardly help reading Sepkoskiand#8217;s book and not have the desire to continue writing the story of evolution in the post-synthesis era. He has carved out an impressive story in the details of this group of palaeontologists, and made a significant contribution to histories of science concerned with the role of disciplinary formation in the shaping of theory and research agendas in the natural sciences.and#8221;
Review
and#8220;Rereading the Fossil Record is a good story, superbly well told. It should be of great interest to historians, philosophers, and scientists concerned with the biological and geological sciences. . . . This first book-length treatment of the paleobiology revolution provides a superb basis upon which to launch historical dissertations and should help redirect philosophers of science more strongly toward macroevolutionary and paleobiological dimensions of evolutionary biology.and#8221;
Review
and#8220;This exercise in recent historiography is enormously valuable and welcome.and#8221;
Review
and#8220;Insightful and excellent. . . . A historian of science, Sepkoski has melded a historianand#8217;s detailed documentation with a clear description of the science itself and perceptive insights into the personalities of the key players. In addition to oral interviews, Sepkoski has taken full advantage of preserved personal correspondence, as well as the ar-chives of the Paleontological Society and its journals. These reveal the frank and not uncommonly acrimonious discussions among the major players. . . . This book should be on the shelf of every professional paleontologist. It should also be required reading for every student entering the field. They will gain insights not only into the science of paleobiology, but a far better understanding of how science as a discipline works.and#8221;
Review
“This exercise in recent historiography is enormously valuable and welcome.” James Griesemer, University of California, Davis - HOPOS
Review
and#8220;[Rereading the Fossil Record] will be read with interest and profit both by historians of twentieth-century science and evolutionary scientists.and#8221;
Review
andquot;Meltzerandrsquo;s book is the first detailed and comprehensive historical examination of the scientific debate over whether humans were present in the Americas during the Pleistocene, and the only history that fully recognizes and adequately treats the extent to which this debate played out not only among archaeologists, but involved complex interactions between archeologists, glacial geologists, Pleistocene paleontologists, and anthropologists. This is an important and much-needed contribution that fills a notable gap in the history of anthropology and archeology.andquot;
Review
andquot;Meltzer has given us the most detailed historical interpretation of the tumultuous, half-century search for Paleolithic man in America that we are ever likely to receive. Through patient archival digging and first-hand field knowledge, archaeologist and historian Meltzer weighs and balances the evidence--archaeological, paleontological, geological, and most importantly psychological--to reveal finally his critical conclusion: status matters. Controversy in science is settled chiefly when those most competent to judge, and in position to do so, decide it is time to settle it. A superb achievement, with implications far beyond the arcanae of archaeology.andquot;
Review
andquot;Readers clinging to the notion that science is a peaceful pursuit of the truth will be shocked by the story told in David J. Meltzerandrsquo;s The Great Paleolithic War, which depicts science and#39;red in tooth and claw.and#39; Denouncing one another as fakers, frauds, and charlatans, American archaeologists, anthropologists, glacial geologists, and vertebrate paleontologists fought to ascertain when humans first appeared in North America. Focusing on the controversies between the 1870s, when the debate erupted, and the late 1920s, when discoveries in New Mexico resolved it in favor of a Pleistocene antiquity of humans in the New World, the distinguished archaeologist Meltzer provides a riveting account of this momentous episode in the history of American science.andquot;
Synopsis
Rereading the Fossil Record presents the first-ever historical account of the origin, rise, and importance of paleobiology, from the mid-nineteenth century to the late 1980s.and#160;Drawing on a wealth of archival material, David Sepkoski shows how the movement was conceived and promoted by a small but influential group of paleontologists and examines the intellectual, disciplinary, and political dynamics involved in the ascendency of paleobiology. By tracing the role of computer technology, large databases, and quantitative analytical methods in the emergence of paleobiology, this book also offers insight into the growing prominence and centrality of data-driven approaches in recent science.
Synopsis
Only a few years after the discovery in Europe in the late 1850s that humanity had roots predating history and the Biblical chronicles, and reaching deep into the Pleistocene, came the suggestion that North American prehistory might be just as old. And why not? There seemed to be an and#147;exact synchronism [of geological strata] between Europe and America,and#8221; and so by extension there ought to be a and#147;parallelism as to the antiquity of man.and#8221; That triggered an eager search for traces of the people who may have occupied North America in the recesses of the Ice Age.
The Great Paleolithic War is the history of the longstanding and bitter dispute in North America over whether people had arrived here in Ice Age times.
Synopsis
Following the discovery in Europe in the late 1850s that humanity had roots predating known history and reaching deep into the Pleistocene era, scientists wondered whether North American prehistory might be just as ancient. And why not? The geological strata seemed exactly analogous between America and Europe, which would lead one to believe that North American humanity ought to be as old as the European variety. This idea set off an eager race for evidence of the people who might have occupied North America during the Ice Ageandmdash;a long, and, as it turned out, bitter and controversial search.
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;
In The Great Paleolithic War, David J. Meltzer tells the story of a scientific quest that set off one of the longest-running feuds in the history of American anthropology, one so vicious at times that anthropologists were deliberately frightened away from investigating potential sites. Through his book, we come to understand how and why this controversy developed and stubbornly persisted for as long as it did; and how, in the process, it revolutionized American archaeology.
About the Author
David Sepkoski is a senior research scholar at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science. He is coeditor, with Michael Ruse, of The Paleobiological Revolution: Essays on the Growth of Modern Paleontology, also published by the University of Chicago Press.
Table of Contents
Introduction: Rereading the Fossil Record
Chapter 1.and#160;Darwinand#8217;s Dilemma: Paleontology, the Fossil Record, and Evolutionary Theory
Chapter 2.and#160;The Growth of Theoretical Paleontology
Chapter 3.and#160;The Rise of Quantitative Paleobiology
Chapter 4.and#160;From Paleoecology to Paleobiology
Chapter 5.and#160;Punctuated Equilibria and the Rise of the New Paleobiology
Chapter 6.and#160;The Founding of a Research Journal
Chapter 7.and#160;and#8220;Towards a Nomothetic Paleontologyand#8221;: The MBL Model and Stochastic Paleontology
Chapter 8.and#160;A and#8220;Natural History of Dataand#8221;: The Rise of Taxic Paleobiology
Chapter 9.and#160;The Dynamics of Mass Extinctions
Chapter 10.and#160;Toward a New Macroevolutionary Synthesis
Conclusion: Paleontology at the High Table?
Acknowledgments
Abbreviations
Works Cited
Index