Overview

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.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.

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9780226272948

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David Sepkoski'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. 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 'modern synthesis.' 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. --Martin J. S. Rudwick, author of Worlds Before Adam and Bursting the Limits of Ti

""An exceptional book, Rereading the Fossil Record draws wisely and appreciatively on the work of fellow historians of science. But it stands on its own as a major contribution that will interest biologists, historians more generally (it's not only good history, it's about history), and philosophers alike."" (Science)

An exceptional book, Rereading the Fossil Record draws wisely and appreciatively on the work of fellow historians of science. But it stands on its own as a major contribution that will interest biologists, historians more generally (it's not only good history, it's about history), and philosophers alike. (Science)

Author Information

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.

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