In the years 1970-1985, the discipline of paleontology underwent a major transformation. Despite its important role in the emergence of evolution theory in the 19th century, paleontology was marginalized by the evolutionary community during much of the 20th. Beginning in the 1970s, however, paleontologists began to make strong claims about the centrality of paleontology within evolutionary biology. Several theories were advanced that argued the fossil record-the traditional domain of paleontologists-had genuine significance for understanding the mechanisms of evolution. The new field defined by this work was called 'paleobiology,' and its proponents- Stephen Jay Gould, David Raup, Thomas J.M. Schopf, and Steven Stanley-became important figures in evolutionary theory.
Intellectual Merits This project will document the 'renaissance' in paleontology by collecting and examining archival documents, analyzing published scientific literature, and conducting interviews with paleontologists and biologists who participated in these events. The goal is a book documenting and analyzing the 'paleobiological renaissance' of the 1970's. This will be the first major historical study of recent paleobiology. The core of the book is an institutional and intellectual account of the key figures who actively (and self-consciously) promoted disciplinary transformation, and the conceptual, pedagogical, and strategic/political steps these scientists took to establish their work in evolutionary theory. This project argues that this did not happen accidentally, but rather through rhetorical persuasion, institutional positioning, and sheer toil, as key figures attempted to build a new sub-discipline. An important feature of this development was the disciplinary alliances between paleontology and biology, ecology, and molecular genetics. By the late 1980s, paleobiology had successfully integrated itself into the mainstream of evolutionary research.
Broader Impacts In addition to contributing to the literature on the history of modern paleontology, this project will be relevant to historians, philosophers, and scientists interested in the development of modern evolutionary theory, as well as to educators. Within history, the themes of intellectual self-promotion, and institutional politics will be valuable as a case study in modern scientific disciplinary transformation. This will be a book that can be assigned to students in history of science and science courses. It will be instructive about the content of recent evolutionary theory and the nature of scientific change. It will be useful for non-science majors who desire an overview of complex recent developments in evolutionary thought. It will also serve an additional pedagogical role by illustrating that revisions to evolutionary theory introduced during the paleobiological revolution of the 1970s demonstrate the stability and robustness of Darwinian evolution. In This project will promote collection and preservation of oral interviews and documents not currently available to scholars and educators, and potential dissemination of these materials at a central archive and/or as electronic resources.
