万物简史英文版_比尔·布莱森- 第15部分

buckland　found　herself　being　shaken　awake　in　the　middle　of　the　night；　her　husband　crying　inexcitement：　鈥渕y　dear；　i　believe　that　cheirotherium　鈥檚　footsteps　are　undoubtedly　testudinal。鈥�

together　they　hurried　to　the　kitchen　in　their　nightclothes。　mrs。　buckland　made　a　flour　paste；which　she　spread　across　the　table；　while　the　reverend　buckland　fetched　the　family　tortoise。

plunking　it　onto　the　paste；　they　goaded　it　forward　and　discovered　to　their　delight　that　itsfootprints　did　indeed　match　those　of　the　fossil　buckland　had　been　studying。　charles　darwinthought　buckland　a　buffoon鈥攖hat　was　the　word　he　used鈥攂ut　lyell　appeared　to　find　himinspiring　and　liked　him　well　enough　to　go　touring　with　him　in　scotland　in　1824。　it　was　soonafter　this　trip　that　lyell　decided　to　abandon　a　career　in　law　and　devote　himself　to　geology　full…time。

lyell　was　extremely　shortsighted　and　went　through　most　of　his　life　with　a　pained　squint；which　gave　him　a　troubled　air。　（eventually　he　would　lose　his　sight　altogether。）　his　other　slightpeculiarity　was　the　habit；　when　distracted　by　thought；　of　taking　up　improbable　positions　onfurniture鈥攍ying　across　two　chairs　at　once　or　鈥渞esting　his　head　on　the　seat　of　a　chair；　whilestanding　up鈥潯。╰o　quote　his　friend　darwin）。　often　when　lost　in　thought　he　would　slink　so　lowin　a　chair　that　his　buttocks　would　all　but　touch　the　floor。　lyell鈥檚　only　real　job　in　life　was　asprofessor　of　geology　at　king鈥檚　college　in　london　from　1831　to　1833。　it　was　around　this　timethat　he　produced　the　principles　of　geology；　published　in　three　volumes　between　1830　and1833；　which　in　many　ways　consolidated　and　elaborated　upon　the　thoughts　first　voiced　byhutton　a　generation　earlier。　（although　lyell　never　read　hutton　in　the　original；　he　was　a　keenstudent　of　playfair鈥檚　reworked　version。）between　hutton鈥檚　day　and　lyell鈥檚　there　arose　a　new　geological　controversy；　which　largelysuperseded；　but　is　often　confused　with；　the　old　neptunian鈥損lutonian　dispute。　the　new　battlebecame　an　argument　between　catastrophism　and　uniformitarianism鈥攗nattractive　terms　for　animportant　and　very　long…running　dispute。　catastrophists；　as　you　might　expect　from　the　name；believed　that　the　earth　was　shaped　by　abrupt　cataclysmic　events鈥攆loods　principally；　which　iswhy　catastrophism　and　neptunism　are　often　wrongly　bundled　together。　catastrophism　wasparticularly　forting　to　clerics　like　buckland　because　it　allowed　them　to　incorporate　thebiblical　flood　of　noah　into　serious　scientific　discussions。　uniformitarians　by　contrast　believedthat　changes　on　earth　were　gradual　and　that　nearly　all　earth　processes　happened　slowly；　overimmense　spans　of　time。　hutton　was　much　more　the　father　of　the　notion　than　lyell；　but　it　waslyell　most　people　read；　and　so　he　became　in　most　people鈥檚　minds；　then　and　now；　the　father　ofmodern　geological　thought。

lyell　believed　that　the　earth鈥檚　shifts　were　uniform　and　steady鈥攖hat　everything　that　hadever　happened　in　the　past　could　be　explained　by　events　still　going　on　today。　lyell　and　hisadherents　didn鈥檛　just　disdain　catastrophism；　they　detested　it。　catastrophists　believed　thatextinctions　were　part　of　a　series　in　which　animals　were　repeatedly　wiped　out　and　replacedwith　new　sets鈥攁　belief　that　the　naturalist　t。　h。　huxley　mockingly　likened　to　鈥渁　succession　ofrubbers　of　whist；　at　the　end　of　which　the　players　upset　the　table　and　called　for　a　new　pack。鈥潯�itwas　too　convenient　a　way　to　explain　the　unknown。　鈥渘ever　was　there　a　dogma　more　calculatedto　foster　indolence；　and　to　blunt　the　keen　edge　of　curiosity；鈥潯�sniffed　lyell。

lyell鈥檚　　oversights　　were　　not　　inconsiderable。　he　failed　to　explain　convincingly　howmountain　ranges　were　formed　and　overlooked　glaciers　as　an　agent　of　change。　he　refused　toaccept　louis　agassiz鈥檚　idea　of　ice　ages鈥斺�渢he　refrigeration　of　the　globe；鈥潯�as　he　dismissivelytermed　it鈥攁nd　was　confident　that　mammals　鈥渨ould　be　found　in　the　oldest　fossiliferousbeds。鈥潯�he　rejected　the　notion　that　animals　and　plants　suffered　sudden　annihilations；　andbelieved　that　all　the　principal　animal　groups鈥攎ammals；　reptiles；　fish；　and　so　on鈥攈adcoexisted　since　the　dawn　of　time。　on　all　of　these　he　would　ultimately　be　proved　wrong。

yet　it　would　be　nearly　impossible　to　overstate　lyell鈥檚　influence。　the　principles　of　geologywent　through　twelve　editions　in　lyell鈥檚　lifetime　and　contained　notions　that　shaped　geologicalthinking　far　into　the　twentieth　century。　darwin　took　a　first　edition　with　him　on　thebeaglevoyage　and　wrote　afterward　that　鈥渢he　great　merit　of　the　principles　was　that　it　altered　thewhole　tone　of　one鈥檚　mind；　and　therefore　that；　when　seeing　a　thing　never　seen　by　lyell；　one　yetsaw　it　partially　through　his　eyes。鈥潯�in　short；　he　thought　him　nearly　a　god；　as　did　many　of　hisgeneration。　it　is　a　testament　to　the　strength　of　lyell鈥檚　sway　that　in　the　1980s　when　geologistshad　to　abandon　just　a　part　of　it　to　acmodate　the　impact　theory　of　extinctions；　it　nearlykilled　them。　but　that　is　another　chapter。

meanwhile；　geology　had　a　great　deal　of　sorting　out　to　do；　and　not　all　of　it　went　smoothly。

from　the　outset　geologists　tried　to　categorize　rocks　by　the　periods　in　which　they　were　laiddown；　but　there　were　often　bitter　disagreements　about　where　to　put　the　dividing　lines鈥攏onemore　so　than　a　long…running　debate　that　became　known　as　the　great　devonian　controversy。

the　issue　arose　when　the　reverend　adam　sedgwick　of　cambridge　claimed　for　the　cambrianperiod　a　layer　of　rock　that　roderick　murchison　believed　belonged　rightly　to　the　silurian。　thedispute　raged　for　years　and　grew　extremely　heated。　鈥渄e　la　beche　is　a　dirty　dog；鈥潯�murchisonwrote　to　a　friend　in　a　typical　outburst。

some　sense　of　the　strength　of　feeling　can　be　gained　by　glancing　through　the　chapter　titlesof　martin　j。　s。　rudwick鈥檚　excellent　and　somber　account　of　the　issue；　the　great　devoniancontroversy。　these　begin　innocuously　enough　with　headings　such　as　鈥渁renas　of　gentlemanlydebate鈥潯�and　鈥渦nraveling　the　greywacke；鈥潯�but　then　proceed　on　to　鈥渢he　greywacke　defendedand　attacked；鈥潯♀�渞eproofs　and　recriminations；鈥潯♀�渢he　spread　of　ugly　rumors；鈥潯♀�渨eaverrecants　his　heresy；鈥潯♀�減utting　a　provincial　in　his　place；鈥潯�and　（in　case　there　was　any　doubtthat　this　was　war）　鈥渕urchison　opens　the　rhineland　campaign。鈥潯�the　fight　was　finally　settledin　1879　with　the　simple　expedient　of　ing　up　with　a　new　period；　the　ordovician；　to　beinserted　between　the　two。

because　the　british　were　the　most　active　in　the　early　years；　british　names　are　predominantin　the　geological　lexicon。　devonian　is　of　course　from　the　english　county　of　devon。　cambrianes　from　the　roman　name　for　wales；　while　ordovician　and　silurian　recall　ancient　welshtribes；　the　ordovices　and　silures。　but　with　the　rise　of　geological　prospecting　elsewhere；names　began　to　creep　in　from　all　over。jurassic　refers　to　the　jura　mountains　on　the　border　offrance　and　switzerland。permian　recalls　the　former　russian　province　of　perm　in　the　uralmountains。　forcretaceous　（from　the　latin　for　鈥渃halk鈥潱�　we　are　indebted　to　a　belgian　geologistwith　the　perky　name　of　j。　j。　d鈥檕malius　d鈥檋alloy。

originally；　geological　history　was　divided　into　four　spans　of　time：　primary；　secondary；tertiary；　and　quaternary。　the　system　was　too　neat　to　last；　and　soon　geologists　werecontributing　additional　divisions　while　eliminating　others。　primary　and　secondary　fell　out　ofuse　altogether；　while　quaternary　was　discarded　by　some　but　kept　by　others。　today　onlytertiary　remains　as　a　mon　designation　everywhere；　even　though　it　no　longer　represents　athird　period　of　anything。

lyell；　in　his　principles；　introduced　additional　units　known　as　epochs　or　series　to　cover　theperiod　since　the　age　of　the　dinosaurs；　among　them　pleistocene　（鈥渕ost　recent鈥潱�；　pliocene（鈥渕ore　recent鈥潱�；　miocene　（鈥渕oderately　recent鈥潱�；　and　the　rather　endearingly　vague　oligocene（鈥渂ut　a　little　recent鈥潱�。　lyell　originally　intended　to　employ　鈥湣璼ynchronous鈥潯�for　his　endings；giving　us　such　crunchy　designations　as　meiosynchronous　and　pleiosynchronous。　thereverend　william　whewell；　an　influential　man；　objected　on　etymological　grounds　andsuggested　instead　an　鈥湣璭ous鈥潯�pattern；　producing　meioneous；　pleioneous；　and　so　on。　the　鈥湣璫ene鈥潯�terminations　were　thus　something　of　a　promise。

nowadays；　and　speaking　very　generally；　geological　time　is　divided　first　into　four　greatchunks　known　as　eras：　precambrian；　paleozoic　（from　the　greek　meaning　鈥渙ld　life鈥潱�；mesozoic　（鈥渕iddle　life鈥潱�；　and　cenozoic　（鈥渞ecent　life鈥潱�。　these　four　eras　are　further　dividedinto　anywhere　from　a　dozen　to　twenty　subgroups；　usually　called　periods　though　sometimesknown　as　systems。　most　of　these　are　also　reasonably　well　known：　cretaceous；　jurassic；triassic；　silurian；　and　so　on。

1then　e　lyell鈥檚　epochs鈥攖he　pleistocene；　miocene；　and　so　on鈥攚hich　apply　only　to　themost　recent　（but　paleontologically　busy）　sixty…five　million　years；　and　finally　we　have　a　massof　finer　subdivisions　known　as　stages　or　ages。　most　of　these　are　named；　nearly　alwaysawkwardly；　after　places：　illinoian；　desmoinesian；　croixian；　kimmeridgian；　and　so　on　in　likevein。　altogether；　according　to　john　mcphee；　these　number　in　the　鈥渢ens　of　dozens。鈥�

fortunately；　unless　you　take　up　geology　as　a　career；　you　are　unlikely　ever　to　hear　any　of　themagain。

further　confusing　the　matter　is　that　the　stages　or　ages　in　north　america　have　differentnames　from　the　stages　in　europe　and　often　only　roughly　intersect　in　time。　thus　the　northamerican　cincinnatian　stage　mostly　corresponds　with　the　ashgillian　stage　in　europe；　plus　atiny　bit　of　the　slightly　earlier　caradocian　stage。

also；　all　this　changes　from　textbook　to　textbook　and　from　person　to　person；　so　that　someauthorities　describe　seven　recent　epochs；　while　others　are　content　with　four。　in　some　books；too；　you　will　find　the　tertiary　and　quaternary　taken　out　and　replaced　by　periods　of　differentlengths　called　the　palaeogene　and　neogene。　others　divide　the　precambrian　into　two　eras；　thevery　ancient　archean　and　the　more　recent　proterozoic。　sometimes　too　you　will　see　the　termphanerozoic　used　to　describe　the　span　enpassing　the　cenozoic；　mesozoic；　and　paleozoiceras。

moreover；　all　this　applies　only　to　units　of　time　。　rocks　are　divided　into　quite　separate　unitsknown　as　systems；　series；　and　stages。　a　distinction　is　also　made