A Plea for a New Synthesis: From Twentieth-Century Paleobiology to Twenty-First-Century Paleontology and Back Again

Abstract

In this paper, I will briefly discuss the elements of novelty and continuity between twentieth-century paleobiology and twenty-first-century paleontology. First, I will outline the heated debate over the disciplinary status of paleontology in the mid-twentieth century. Second, I will analyze the main theoretical issue behind this debate by considering two prominent case studies within the broader paleobiology agenda. Third, I will turn to twenty-first century paleontology and address five representative research topics. In doing so, I will characterize twenty-first century paleontology as a science that strives for more data, more technology, and more integration. Finally, I will outline what twenty-first-century paleontology might inherit from twentieth-century paleobiology: the pursuit of and plea for a new synthesis that could lead to a second paleobiological revolution. Following in the footsteps of the paleobiological revolution of the 1960s and 1970s, the paleobiological revolution of the twenty-first century would enable paleontologists to gain strong political representation and argue with a decisive voice at the “high table” on issues such as the expanded evolutionary synthesis, the conservation of Earth’s environment, and global climate change.

Updating studies of past life and ancient ecologies using defossilized organismal proxies

“…Functional experimental studies are also valuable to modern animal behaviorists interested in evolutionary processes governing behaviors (Hsieh and Plotnick, 2020). Understanding the behaviors of extinct organisms also expands the range of taxa that can be used for bioinspired design in engineering (Perricone et al, 2022;Tamborini, 2022). 2) DOP-based studies are useful for refining existing deep-time eco-evolutionary hypotheses previously understood primarily from description.…”

Paleontology in the 21st Century

“…Tamborini [ 27 ] reviews the changing role of paleobiology between the 20th and 21st centuries, pointing to the necessity of fossils in elucidating “deep time patterns and processes”. He contrasts the historical differences between paleontology, a geology-based discipline, and the more biological approaches of paleobiology.…”