LECTURE IV 

 EVIDENCE FROM PALAEONTOLOGY 



Palaeontology is the science which deals with the 

 fossils of animals and plants entombed in the rocks 

 of the earth's crust. This science has certain pre- 

 eminent advantages for the investigation of evolu- 

 tionary problems, because it has to do with the 

 recognizable remains of the actual organisms which 

 formerly inhabited the surface of the earth and which 

 are themselves the links in the chain of development. 

 If there be any truth in the theory of evolution, 

 palaeontology ought to be one of its strongest supports 

 and offer some of the most convincing testimony in 

 its favour, and, on the other hand, if it be false, the 

 fossils should be able to expose its fallacies in an over- 

 whelming manner. 



Here, again, it is necessary to utter a warning not 

 to expect too much, for this method of inquiry suffers 

 from certain very serious difficulties and disad- 

 vantages. 



(1) Many types of animals and plants are not 

 capable of preservation in the fossil state, or else are 

 so extremely rare and are found separated by such 

 vast intervals of time, that their remains are of no 

 practical assistance in our inquiry. It is particularly 



82 



