1812 Egyptian Ibis & Cuviers Evolution is a photograph by Paul D Stewart which was uploaded on May 11th, 2013.
1812 Egyptian Ibis & Cuviers Evolution
Composite of three plates (by Balzac) from Cuvier's Ossamens Fossiles 1812. Left - a mummy skeleton from Thebes, middle - the modern sacred ibis,... more
Title
1812 Egyptian Ibis & Cuviers Evolution
Artist
Paul D Stewart
Medium
Photograph
Description
Composite of three plates (by Balzac) from Cuvier's Ossamens Fossiles" 1812. Left - a mummy skeleton from Thebes, middle - the modern sacred ibis, right - an Egyptian temple figure and mummified ibis head. Cuvier opposed the idea of Transmutation (evolution). Following Napoleon's Egypt campaign in 1798-1801 a large number of Ibis mummies came back to Paris. Lacepede, assisted by the rivals Cuvier and Lamarck, saw it as a way to test if animals had changed in 3000 years. Looking at the mummies in comparison with modern Numenius ibix (the Sacred Ibis now Threskiornis aethiopicus). He concluded "these animals are perfectly similar to those of today". Based on these observations Lamarck's hypothesis of transmutation was rejected by Cuvier, and consequently the scientific establishment. We now know the period of time involved was too short."
Uploaded
May 11th, 2013
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