During the period of Nicolaus Steno people believed in magic, unicorns and crystals curing diseases, they had also believed that the tongue shape stones that were everywhere had fallen from the sky. Some also believed that the same tongue shape stones were serpent fangs from where Saint Paul changed serpents into stone. Could any of this be possible? Steno didn’t think so and after having the chance to dissect a shark he realized that their teeth were the same as the tongue shape stones people were finding. To get to the conclusion of what exactly fossils were, Steno did a lot of research and other findings to back his claim. At website
http://academic.emporia.edu/aberjame/histgeol/steno/steno.htm the author goes into detail all of the findings and works of Nicolaus Steno.
He claimed that fossils would be the key in figuring out when the world was created. It was also key in figuring out the kinds of organisms that may have relocated to different regions and the organisms that may be extinct. We are trying to prove that fossils are important and that they did not fall from the sky and that they do not grow in rocks. In a particular article, it states how religion gets involved with geology:
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Library/Giants/Steno/Fossils are important and will help us build our knowledge and understanding of how the world functions and who/what have wondered the world.
Works Cited
Remer, Lorraine R. "On the Shoulders of Giants." Nicolaus Steno. Earth Observatory. NASA.
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9 comments:
This is a very important topic considering how much information fossils give us. I am curious to find out how he discovered it was a shark's tooth considering the different things it could of been. I think this presentation will open up a lot questions but also give a lot of answers.
I am interested in this topic because in such a religious time period, people would have believed in more of a mythical idea as opposed to the reality. It makes me even wonder more about the human mind. For example, how did Steno realize that a previous time period could be researched and discovered? His thinking takes a new angle away from philosophy and the human body.
Were people finding actual shark teeth on the ground or the fossilized remains? Also, where were they finding them, On land or along the shore line?
This is interesting because it is so unrealistic in this time period to believe objects like fossils or shark teeth could fall from the sky. Was Steno the first scientist to believe that these shark teeth did not come from the sky?
This is interesting because during this time perioid, new ideas were being discovered and theorizied/proven, and things such as fossils definitly could change the way in which the human race understood the universe and its creatures as well as our own backgrounds
It seems as if these historical people were a lot more imaginative, what were the first reactions when Steno proposed this theory ?
I really am curious about learning what this group has to say. I think it is very interesting to see how things change so much over such a little amount of time. My question for this group would be what were people reacting to? Was it the findings or the religious aspect of it all?
Steno's research into fossils left a lasting impact on the human race. Fossils give us the ability to learn more about ancient earth and how it came to be what it is now. As society at the time was very influenced by religion, I'm sure the discovery and research into fossils probably rattled some cages in relation to the "Creation" story. I'm interested to see to what degree your presentation will touch on this issue.
What exactly are tongue-shaped stones? I get fossils and shark's teeth, but are tongue-shaped stones literally just stones shaped like tongues, or something else?
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