Fossils Findings in the Late 1800s by Annie

During the second have of the nineteenth century, numerous fossil discoveries from all over the world contributed greatly to scientists' understanding of prehistoric life and the theory of evolution. Important fossils and artifacts discovered during this time were the dinosaur skeletons, an Archaeopteryx feather, and the Neanderthal man.
In 1855 the first skeleton of Archaeopteryx was discovered in Germany. Overtime more specimens were found including the London Specimen, Berlin Specimen, and the Haarlem specimen. What was remarkable about Archaeopteryx was that it had features of both dinosaurs and birds.
"By virtue of this fact Archaeopteryx represents an example of a group in transition - a representative which, although on the sidelines in the dinosaur to bird transition, an echo of the actual event, still allows a brief glimpse into the possible mechanism which brought about the evolution of the birds and by its very existence shows that such a transition is possible (Nedin)."
When found fossils weren't necessarily described to the world by the person who discovered them, for it was often accidental. Instead it was the scientists who studied them, drew conclusions about them, and finally after what could be years published their conclusions. Scientists famous for their study of Archaeopteryx were Herman von Meyer and Robert Owen.
In 1860, five years after the skeleton was unearthed, Herman von Meyer found a feather of Archaeopteryx. The age of the feather was not as significant as simply the amount of detail that was preserved with such a soft tissue.
Around this same time Hadrosaurus skeletons were being found in Haddonfield, New Jersey by the paleontologist Joseph Leidy. These discoveries gave both scientists a lot of notoriety and were the basis for modern paleontology in North America. "His Hadrosaurus foulkii studies would establish Leidy as the father of modern paleontology and make the Academy North America's preeminent institution in that field throughout the rest of the nineteenth century (Levins)."
Another famous American paleontologist was Othniel Charles Marsh who discovered among many other remains, the first pterosaur fossils in 1871. As professor of vertebrate paleontology at Yale University he established the Peabody Museum of Natural History and the Marsh Botanical Garden at Yale University, both of which contributed to furthering the world's understanding of evolution.
Around the same time Archaeopteryx was discovered, the first Neanderthal man was discovered in the Neander valley by quarry workers. It was debated whether the skeleton was actually a different-but-close species of human or merely a deformed example of a human being. However, the prior proved correct when gradually more Neanderthal fossils were found over a region stretching from Britain and Spain all the way to Iran. Not only had Neanderthals existed over such a vast area, but also for a very long period of time. The bones dated from 35 to 230 thousand years old.
Nowadays, although they are still researching and making discoveries, scientists are much more aware of evolution and how it works. They all have a lot to thank fossils and the scientists who studied them in the late 1800s.

Bibliography

Gascoigne, Bamber. HistoryWorld.

http://www.historyworld.netlwrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?groupid =604&Histor yID=.2007. October 21,2007.

Levins, Hoag. "From the Shores of a Bucolic Pond to World Fame: Haddonfield's Dinosaur" http://www.levins.com/bones.shtml. 1995-2004. October 21,2007.

Nedin, Chris. "Talk Origins Archive" www.talkorigins.org/fags.archaeoptcryx/inf().htmI. 1999. October 21, 2007.