A true Renaissance Man, and the first geologist?
Geology came into its own in the 18th and 19th centuries; the term geology was coined in the mid-1700s (Gohau, 1990 English translation), detaching from the more generalized field of natural history. The first geologists were often aristocrats (like William Maclure) or those in religious roles (like Nicholas Steno) who could afford the expense and/or time to follow their curiosities. But perhaps one of the earliest geologist was Leonardo da Vinci.
Leonardo da Vinci was born in 1452, and died at age 67 as the archetypal Renaissance Man. He was an Italian polymath who showed genius in subject matters ranging from art to music, anatomy to invention, and cartography to astronomy. Leonardo often drew natural forms, but is more famous for his anatomical work than landscapes. As an example, he combined art and science in “Vitruvian Man.”
Attention to detail and keen observation allowed him to recreate three dimensional scenes, objects, and people in two dimensions. Leonardo not only observed what was in front of him, but also researched natural phenomena. He walked through the Alps, explored caves, and hunted for fossils (Jones, 2011). His attention to detail brought him to the following insights about geology (Jones, 2011):
1) Shells that appear on mountain tops and fish bones in caves must be the remains of animals that long ago swam in these places when they were covered in sea. The claim they were swept there by the biblical flood is a completely inadequate explanation. So the surface of the earth has changed over time, with land where once there was sea.
2) The most powerful natural force is the movement of water in rivers. Water has sculpted the very largest features of the landscape, a process that must have taken a very long time.
3) Therefore slow and relentless natural processes, not the divine instantaneous act described in Genesis, have shaped our planet.
Although these ideas seem very basic now, they challenged the status quo in his time. Leonardo’s insights were rediscovered long after his death. Hundreds of year later, the role of fossils would be revealed as an important key to unlock our understanding of Earth’s history.
Want to learn more?
- Article about Leonardo’s geological insights: Jones (2011)
- The History of Geology: Gohau (1990)
