The Evolution of Paleontological Art
CONTAINS OPEN ACCESS

Fossils have stirred the imagination globally for thousands of years, starting well before they were recognized as the remains of once-living organisms and proxies of former worlds. This volume samples the history of art about fossils and the visual conceptualization of their significance starting with biblical and mythological depictions, extending to renditions of ancient life as it flourished in long-vanished habitats, and on to a modern understanding that fossil art conveys lessons for the betterment of the human condition. The 29 papers and accompanying artwork illustrate how art about fossils has come to be a significant teaching tool not only about evolution of past life, but also about conservation of our planet for the benefit of future generations.
Eduard Suess on graptolites: His very first scientific paper and illustrations
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Published:February 24, 2022
ABSTRACT
The very first scientific paper by Eduard Suess (1831–1914) treats the graptolites of Bohemia in the present-day Czech Republic (in the Upper Proterozoic to Middle Devonian “Barrandian” extending between Prague and Plzeň). This paper is accompanied by superb drawings of his observations in which Suess took great care not to insert himself between Nature as he perceived it in the framework of the knowledge of his day and his readers. His only limitation was the one imposed by the size of his study objects. His technological means did not allow him to see what we today consider the “right”...
- art
- Barrandian
- Barrandian Basin
- Cambrian
- Central Europe
- Czech Republic
- Devonian
- Europe
- field studies
- fossils
- graphic methods
- Graptolithina
- Hemichordata
- historical documents
- history
- lower Paleozoic
- microscope methods
- Middle Cambrian
- Neoproterozoic
- paleontology
- Paleozoic
- Precambrian
- Proterozoic
- Pterobranchia
- Silurian
- upper Precambrian
- Suess, Eduard
- des Weglassens, Kunst