| Over the millenia, many people have made important contributions to our current
understanding of dinosaurs. The list below contains capsule descriptions of some major
advances and short accounts of how they were made and of those who made them.
Click on the name to see what each did to improve knowledge of dinosaurs or to bring them to the attention of the general public. |
I. THE FORMATIVE PERIOD (750 BC - 1800 AD): The concepts of "fossil"; "extinction";
and "deep time" are worked out.   XenophanesConrad GesnerNiels StensenJames HuttonGeorges Cuvier
II. THE PRE-CLASSICAL ERA (1680-1842): Giant bones are found, but their significance is
not fully appreciated. III. THE CLASSICAL AGE (1842-1870): Dinosaurs are recognized as a unique group of reptiles
IV. THE GOLDEN AGE (1870 - 1899): Dinosaurs are discovered in numbers never equaled
since. V. THE BAROQUE ERA (1899-1966): VI. THE DINOSAUR RENAISSANCE (1966-Present): |
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