Fossils as remains of marine organisms (Leonardo da Vinci)
Los fósiles como restos de organismos marinos (Leonardo da Vinci)
- Date
- c. 1508-1510 · confidence medium
- Place
- Milan, Lombardy, Italy
- Credited to
- Leonardo da Vinci
- Field
- Cosmos & Earth
What was discovered
In the Codex Leicester and other manuscripts, Leonardo argued that the shells of the Apennines and the Alps were remains of animals that lived in the sea, and rejected both the Flood explanation and a 'plastic force' in rocks. He also understood that strata were deposited slowly.
His manuscripts were not studied until the 19th century, so his direct influence was almost nil; Girolamo Fracastoro reached a similar conclusion in 1517.
What it led to
- an argument for the organic origin of fossils later taken up by Fracastoro and Steno
- a precedent for reasoning about the long time needed for sediments