The Sacred Ibis debate: The first test of evolution.

Caitlin Curtis,David M Lambert,Craig D Millar

doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.2005558

Caitlin Curtis, David M Lambert + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.2005558

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Abstract

In 1798, Napoleon Bonaparte’s army invaded Egypt, returning with many treasures including large numbers of Sacred Ibis mummies. The ancient Egyptians revered the ibis and mummified literally millions of them. The French naturalist Georges Cuvier used these mummies to challenge an emerging idea of the time, namely Jean-Baptiste Lamarck’s theory of evolution. Cuvier detected no measurable differences between mummified Sacred Ibis and contemporary specimens of the same species. Consequently, he argued that this was evidence for the “fixity of species.” The “Sacred Ibis debate” predates the so-called “Great Debate” between Cuvier and Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire and the publication of Darwin’s On the Origin of Species five decades later. Cuvier’s views and his study had a profound influence on the scientific and public perception of evolution, setting back the acceptance of evolutionary theory in Europe for decades.

Highlights

When Napoleon’s army invaded Egypt in 1798, his soldiers collected many treasures
Cuvier detected no measurable differences between mummified Sacred Ibis and contemporary specimens of the same species
The most famous of these was the Rosetta Stone discovered by a French soldier in 1799

Summary

OPEN ACCESS

The French naturalist Georges Cuvier used these mummies to challenge an emerging idea of the time, namely Jean-Baptiste Lamarck’s theory of evolution. Cuvier detected no measurable differences between mummified Sacred Ibis and contemporary specimens of the same species. He argued that this was evidence for the “fixity of species.”. The “Sacred Ibis debate” predates the so-called “Great Debate” between Cuvier and Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire and the publication of Darwin’s On the Origin of Species five decades later. Cuvier’s views and his study had a profound influence on the scientific and public perception of evolution, setting back the acceptance of evolutionary theory in Europe for decades

Introduction

Cuvier performed the first test of evolution

Sacred Ibis mummies become the focus of evolutionary debate

The Great Debate

Conclusion