2.1 Scientists

Relative dating

Dating a fossil based on the layer of rock in which it was found.

Significant scientists

Key figures in evolutionary theory including Darwin, Wallace, Lamarck, Malthus, Smith, and Cuvier.

Smith

Identified unknown fossils and dated them through the rock layers they were found in.

Cuvier

French zoologist who concluded that many fossils belonged to extinct organisms due to catastrophic events.

Lamarck

Proposed that characteristics acquired during an organism’s lifetime are inherited.

Malthus

Suggested that the human race would overrun the Earth if not checked by war, famine, and disease.

Wallace

Discovered new species in Asia and proposed natural selection as the mechanism of evolution.

Darwin

Observed finch variations and conducted selective breeding in pigeons, publishing on natural selection.