Overview

In the early nineteenth century, our civilization underwent a 'Great Reset' that affected all areas of life, the sciences being no exception. One of the 'new sciences' that became the focus of particular public interest was vertebrate palaeontology. A scientific mythology was created around a few heroic figures such as the Frenchman Georges Cuvier and the Englishwoman Mary Anning, which persists to this day in textbooks, academic teaching and public perception, but has little or nothing to do with the real story. This book attempts to demystify these larger-than-life creatures, and to set the record straight about how the official history of palaeontology has become skewed. Who described the Megatherium? Did dinosaur research really start in the nineteenth century? Who found the first ichthyosaur? When was the method of comparative palaeontological anatomy developed? Who solved the mystery of the 'fossil man' of Öhningen? Was there no palaeontological research outside Europe and North America before the nineteenth century? Who first discovered that there were extinct species? These and many other questions are explored here, with some surprising answers. Important finds, indeed entire collections, manuscripts, records and even scientific publications from the time before Cuvier have been lost or completely ignored to this day. Some of these are brought to light here and their true significance for the history of science, and the emergence of our modern world, is re-evaluated. An expedition into the 'deep time' of a science that is far older than the official interpretation would have us believe.

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