Rereading the Fossil Record: The Growth of Paleobiology as an Evolutionary Discipline

by David Sepkoski

Although fossils have provided some of the most important evidence for evolution, the discipline of paleontology has not always had a central place in evolutionary biology. Beginning in Darwin’s day, and for much of the twentieth century, paleontologists were often regarded as mere fossil collectors by many evolutionary biologists, their attempts to contribute to evolutionary theory ignored or regarded with scorn. In the 1950s, however, paleontologists began mounting a counter-movement that insisted on the valid, important, and original contribution of paleontology to evolutionary theory. This movement, called “paleobiology” by its proponents, advocated for an approach to the fossil record that was theoretical, quantitative, and oriented towards explaining the broad patterns of evolution and extinction in the history of life. Rereading the Fossil Record provides, as never before, a historical account of the origin, rise, and importance of paleobiology, from the mid-nineteenth century to the late 1980s. Drawing on a wealth of archival material, David Sepkoski shows how the movement was conceived and promoted by a small but influential group of paleontologists—including Stephen Jay Gould and Niles Eldredge, among others—and examines the intellectual, disciplinary, and political dynamics involved in the ascendency of paleobiology. By emphasizing the close relationship between paleobiology and other evolutionary disciplines, this book writes a new chapter in the history of evolutionary biology, while also offering insights into the dynamics of disciplinary change in modern science.

Genres: Science

440 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

David Sepkoski is the Thomas M. Siebel Chair in the History of Science at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He is the author of several books, most recently Rereading the Fossil Record: The Growth of Paleobiology as an Evolutionary Discipline.

Reviews

[Kurt · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve always loved paleontology and even though I didn’t end up pursuing it as a career, I still try to read as much about it as I can get my hands on. However, over the years, I’ve gotten kind of tired of reading books that are geared more towards a general audience, and have tried to find more books that delve deeper into the understandings of the past. So I was excited to find a book that seemed to fit that bill, without being a massive text book costing over $100.

While this book did provide me with a lot of good information I didn’t know, I was a little disappointed that it didn’t have more of a focus on the explanations of the scientific concepts it presented. Unfortunately, it seems that Sepkoski was writing more towards an audience that already understood concepts like stochastic modeling, and punctuated equilibrium, maybe towards graduate students, or people who work in the field. While I generally held at least a slight familiarity with most of the scientific ideas presented, there were a couple times, I felt a little lost.

Sepkoski, instead spends most of the book delving into the history and motivations of the main scientists involved in the development of Paleobiology, and how they worked to try to make this new field respectable and worthwhile in the realm of evolutionary science, which was fascinating. However, I wish Sepkoski had continued the story on to the present day. The book almost makes it seem like the field of Paleobiology suddenly stopped existing in 1985, and nothing ever happened within it ever again. I’ve been curious about whether current evolutionary biologists still think that punctuated equilibrium or the ideas of macroevolution still hold any merit, and this book didn’t address those issues. Nonetheless, I still found the information, and the story fascinating, and I’m sure it will enrich the context of some of these theories as I run across them again in the future.

[Douglas · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very solid history. Unfortunately, follows Gould’s mischaracterisation of Simpson’s “hardening” also like Gould based on the page count of the quantum evolution chapter in Major Features, rather than appreciating as Simpson wrote, that he saw it as so important that its features were woven into the rest of the text, as is readily apparent from the back references in the chapter itself. I agree that Tempo and Mode has a better structure, but Simpson has been screwed on this point for a couple generations now and it is stupid.

Would that Gould had put in the effort to be so clear, precise, concise, and consistent, but we know that Gould just couldn’t do that. He is an important figure as this book makes abundantly clear, and made important contributions, socially and rhetorically mostly, but scientifically his contributions have been usually indirect as others have cleaned up in his wake. Note the “usually,” Ontogeny is great, though despite its length is scientifically rather thin on ideas, surprisingly thin in retrospect considering how absolutely bonkers wide open the field was at the time.

But, while Gould is justifiably found throughout this book, since this is a retrospective history, many other more sturdy thinkers whose work remains relevant are here as well. The Raup and Sepkoski papers are still great reading and truly revolutionised paleobiological analysis. The book makes clear that the importance of MacArthur/Wilson as a generator of quantitative ideas cannot be overemphasised. Ty Robert RIP.

[Anshuman Swain · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read for any paleo enthusiast who wants to see a detailed and intricate (but not boring) history of Paleobiology.