"Welcome, welcome to the new wing of the Sam Nobel Museum of Natural History!! I am Emily Remmel, and I will be your guide throughout this amazing transgression of zoology through time. Quickly, quickly, let's begin the tour.... lots to see."
Zoology and the study of animals have a unique beginning. Many credit Aristotle as the founder of zoology because he wrote De animalibus in 1476. The art of observation (which is a prime foundation in zoology along with experimentation) took place long before Aristotle's famous works. For instance, the Cro-Magnons (who of which replaced the Neanderthals long ago) used etching and cave sketches to document some of the earliest known pictures of the animals they readily and occasionally encountered (Locy 15). These famous carvings are found in various places from different individuals. From deer and fish, to reindeer these early depictions were anatomically proportional and varied between different species*. Shown below is one of the most well known animal observations. It was found in 1873 in the Cave of Lortet, in France. The link above the picture will take you this cave sketch as well as to the other Lortet cave drawings.
 This intricate detail illustrates the early indication of observation of different animals within a person or group of people's environment. Restoration attempts have been done to also show the physiological and anatomical differences between sexes and species (Locy 16).
This is just one example of how the Cro-Magnons which dated around 50,000-25,000 years ago recorded observations of animals and their surroundings (Locy 14). These early findings are just another example of how people recorded what they saw even before a scientific mindset was sought. With the scientific explosion in history began the first basis from which many of today's scientific fields once began, such as zoology and botany.
So how did Aristotle further along this appreciation for understanding animals and their behaviors? What other early scientists contributed to this field and how did zoology get its head start within the times and culture?
Aristotle is one of the earliest, most well known scientists to the field of zoology (Lindberg). We know this because Aristotle kept records of his observations and wrote treaties that described not only humans, but animals. Several different authors acknowledge Aristotle's keen work especially with his admiration to marine and oceanic animals (Lindberg and Locy).
The next wing of the museum constitutes its findings towards the aspirations and documentation of Aristotle. We have several of his actual written treaties on exhibit for your viewing purposes. For example, the following texts were written in Aristotle's 1476 treatise De Animalibus (Magruder).
Click Here for the University of Oklahoma's History of Science Collection for more pictures of Aristotle's De Animalibus.
   "This is marvelous, simply marvelous. The year is 1476 and we have a scientist that is more focused on the study of animals than many other philosophers of his day!!" One of the most intriguing aspects of Aristotle's research on animals was that he used his local resources and several "assistants" to help him. This is similar to how the medieval time period conducted their research with the construction of universities we shall see in the next wing of the museum. But for now let's dive head first into some of the interests of Aristotle himself.
Plato once stated in regards to Aristotle's position in science, "[He] represents the best of zoological inheritance combined with extensive personal observations." (Locy 14). Although during the Greek science explosion zoology may have been put on the back burner as compared to physics or medical science, it served an important milestone by simply addressing the observations of different animal species. Although many of Aristotle's drawings have been lost there is still hope from the writings and treaties he left behind. Some of the interesting work he has done revolves around the marine life, such as the dogfish, crayfish, crab, and other cephalopods (Locy 28). The sketchings and physical aspects were drawn to denote the differences between his observations, but seem to have been lost over the centuries. If these etches and drawings still existed in present day they would be probably as popular as other famous scientists of history such as Linnaeus and Darwin.
Not only did Aristotle have exquisite notes on his observations he also made detailed occurrences of embryology and reproduction. The review of incubation of a bird's egg led Aristotle to think further upon the male and female gender issues (Lindberg 65). Although his depiction of reproduction is not accurate, it was a primitive attempt to understand how a male and female make new offspring.
"Folks, gather round. Aristotle as you have seen it was one of the earliest and most well known scientists and natural historians to use observation to document his ideas on matters that were important in his understandings. We know that Aristotle is a well-rounded scientist and had significant inputs to many fields of study, but with respect to the field of zoology, he was the founder and father of what we now know as a distinct and huge area of experimental research."
"Any questions?"
"Let's proceed to the next era of zoological exploration.... the medieval period, don't be scared I know it is the dark ages but there is light in the understandings of science."
*Keep in mind that I merely use the term species to denote the different phenotypic (physical appearance) of various animals. The Cro-Magnons and Aristotle's time period was way before the specific two part naming system of Genus species came to be.
My interpretation:
This time period was crucial to the start of what is now a popular field of research. Aristotle's observation techniques and detailed recordings is all that was required to begin what we now have coined "zoology," the study of animals. Although this began over 500 years ago, the science has changed in various ways (with the discovery of genetics etc.) but moreorless, has remained tied to the simple observation method.
In my opinion zoology was at its birth during the middle ages. It was primitive, but detailed. Zoology was not regarded as important as some other fields of study during this time period, such as medicine or astronomy. Zoology was a pastime, one that progressed throughout the late middle ages and into the medieval period.
Emily Remmel
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References:
Primary source(s):
Aristotle. De Animalibus. Venice, 1476.
information: The primary source used for episode 1 was denoted as the image of the text written by Aristotle himself. The actual works of De Animalibus are available in the University of Oklahoma's History of Science Collection.
Secondary source(s):
Lindberg, David. The Beginnings of Western Science; the European scientific tradition in philosophical, religious, and institutional context, 600 B.C. to A. D. 1450. University of Chicago Press: Chicago, 1992. information: I used Lindberg as a secondary source because throughout the semester this book has served as a foundation in understanding various topics of the history of science. I used it for background and understanding more in depth topics. Locy, William. 1925. The Growth of Biology. Henry Holt and Company: New York, 1925.
information: This is a an older book that I found useful to get a grasp of the time line of zoological findings. This is where I found many ideas on how to put together my time line of information starting with the Cro-Magnons and Aristotle.
Magruder, K. 2008 History of Science, University of Oklahoma Online Course. Accessed 16 October 2008. http://homepage.mac.com/kvmagruder/hsci/04-Pyth-Plato-Aristotle/aristotle/aristotle-animals.html
information: I also used the web page that Dr. Kerry Magruder has set up to establish again a foundation in this particular topic in history.
*the images have direct links to their webpages, but I am also going to cite them in an image bibliography.
Aristotle's De Animalibus:
Lortet Cave drawings:
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