Abstract

LUGO HUBP, José. Contribution to Geology of Charles Darwin in On the Origin of Species. Bol. Soc. Geol. Mex [online]. 2009, vol.61, n.3, pp.485-490. ISSN 1405-3322.

One hundred and fifty years after its appearance, Charles Darwin's (1809-1882) master work, On the Origin of Species (1859), continues to be one of the best selling books of all time. Four of the 15 chapters focus on geology, presenting analyses of oceanic sedimentation processes, which deal with the relationship between time and the thickness of sedimentary units, uplifting and sinking movements, the depth at which these processes take place, and all aspects related to the presence or absence of fossils, subsequent erosion on dry land, and the length of time necessary for these processes to take place. This work led Darwin, like Charles Lyell before him, to suppose that the Earth must be at least 300 million years old, something which was inconceivable at the time. Darwin explained the habitation of the planet through migrations, whereby diverse geographical conditions, combined with time, infuenced the changes the organisms have undergone. He put to an end the idea of creationism, a concept in which the Earth is conceived as being a few thousand years old, and one which therefore leaves no place for evolution. Darwin made important contributions to geology in such areas as the origin of atolls, and tectonic movements in the Andes, among others. Subsequent geological research has reaffirmed and strengthened the theory of evolution.

Keywords : Charles Darwin; Geology; Paleontology; Paleobiogeography; Earth's age.

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