What is catastrophism theory

Uniformitarianism
Theory of catastrophism was proposed by
Theory of catastrophism evolution

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Catastrophism

For the idea that Earth-like planets have been affected in the past by short-lived, violent galaxy-wide events, see Neocatastrophism.

Geological theory of abrupt, severe change

In geology, catastrophism is the theory that the Earth has largely been shaped by sudden, short-lived, violent events, possibly worldwide in scope.^[1] This contrasts with uniformitarianism (sometimes called gradualism), according to which slow incremental changes, such as erosion, brought about all the Earth's geological features. The proponents of uniformitarianism held that the present was "the key to the past", and that all geological processes (such as erosion) throughout the past resembled those that can be observed today. Since the 19th-century disputes between catastrophists and uniformitarians, a more inclusive and integrated view of geologic events has developed, in which the scientific consensus accepts that some catastrophic events occurred in the geologic past, but regards these as explicable as extreme examples of natural processes which can occur.

Proponents

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File:Georges Cuvier.png

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Historia paleontologii

Historia paleontologii – dzieje nauki o historii życia na Ziemi i organizmach kopalnych, obejmującej kilka wyodrębnionych dziedzin, tj. paleozoologia, paleobotanika, paleoantropologia i ściśle związanej z innymi naukami przyrodniczymi (np. geologia). Jej nazwa – paleontologia – pochodzi od greckich słów palaios (stary), on (dopełniaczontos) – byt oraz logos – nauka^[1].

Paleontologia jako samodzielna nauka zaczęła się rozwijać w XIX wieku, jednakże skamieniałości budziły zainteresowanie już w czasach prehistorycznych i w starożytności. W miejscach pochówku ludzi pierwotnych znaleziono liczne artefakty wykonane ze skamieniałych muszli oraz członów łodyg liliowców. Od XVIII w. rozwijająca się geologia dostarczała coraz to nowych dowodów następstwa okresów geologicznych i towarzyszącego mu następstwa zwierząt i roślin. Samego terminu paleontologia pierwszy użył Blainville w 1822 r.^[1]^[2] Jako twórcę paleontologii i paleozoologii jako odrębnej nauki wymienia się zazwyczaj Georges’a Cuviera lub Williama Smitha, a w przypadku paleobotaniki –