Advanced search
Publication Cover
Annals of Science Volume 51, 1994 - Issue 6
Submit an article Journal homepage
41
Views
2
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Main articles

The archaean controversy in britain: Part IV—Some general theoretical and social issues

D.R. Oldroyd School of Science and Technology Studies, University New South Wales, Kensington, New South Wales, 2033, Australia
Pages 571-592 | Received 10 Dec 1992, Published online: 23 Aug 2006

  • 1888 . “ Record of Proceedings, 30 September, 1885 ” . In Congrès Géologique International Compte Rendu de la 3me Session, Berlin, 1885 lxxviii – lxxviii . Berlin
  • Oldroyd , D.R. 1991 . The Archaean Controversy in Britain: Part I—The rocks of St David's . Annals of Science , 48 : 407 – 452 . Part II—The Malverns and Shropshire’, Annals of Science, 49 (1992), 401–60; ‘Part III: The rocks of Anglesey and Caernarvonshire’, Annals of Science, 50 (1993), 523–534.
  • Oldroyd , D.R. 1990 . The Highlands Controversy: Constructing Geological Knowledge through Fieldwork in Nineteenth-Century Britain Chicago and London
  • Oldroyd . 1990 . The Highlands Controversy: Constructing Geological Knowledge through Fieldwork in Nineteenth-Century Britain 253 – 253 . Chicago and London
  • The first Survey Director, Henry De la Beche, did use lithological correlations to some considerable degree in his work in Devon. As has been shown by Rudwick M.J.S. The Great Devonian Controversy Chicago and London 1985 however, it was Murchison's reliance on fossils that was a major feature in his ultimate victory. During the nineteenth century, the Survey was at first deficient in the department of mineralogy and petrology. Although from an early it had specialist palaeontologists such as John Phillips, Edward Forbes, and John Salter, it was not until 1888 that Jethro Teall was appointed as petrographer. Other specialists on the mineralogical and petrological side were John Judd, Frank Rutley, William Watts, Alfred Harker and Frederick Hatch, but of these the four took up academic appointments in Britain and Hatch moved to South Africa.
  • Dana , J.D. 1872 . Green Mountain geology. On the quartzite . American Journal of Science , 3 : 174 – 186 . 3rd Series and 250–56 (at p. 253).
  • Murchison , R.I. , de Verneuil , E. and von Keyserling , A. 1845–46 . The Geology of Russia and the Ural Mountains Vol. 2 , 10 – 10 . London I
  • See Willmarth M.G. The Geological Time Classification of the United States Geological Survey Compared with Other Classifications Accompanied by the Original Definitions of Era, Period and Epoch Terms Washington 1925 (United States Geological Bulletin No. 769).
  • Jukes , J.B. 1862 . The Student's Manual of Geology , new edition 432 – 434 . Edinburgh Jukes was Director of the Irish Branch of the Survey from 1850 until his untimely death in 1869.
  • Jukes , J.B. and Geikie , A. 1872 . The Student's Manual of Geology , third edition 523 – 523 . Edinburgh
  • Jukes , J.B. and Geikie , A. 1872 . The Student's Manual of Geology , third edition 522 – 522 . Edinburgh
  • 1879 . The Encyclopaedia Britannica: A Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, and General Literature, Ninth Edition Volume X 327 – 327 . Edinburgh
  • Hunt , T.S. 1871 . The geognosy of the Appalachians and the origin of crystalline rocks . The American Naturalist , 5 : 451 – 509 .
  • Ramsay , A.C. 1880 . “ On the recurrence of certain phenomena in geological time ” . In Report of the British Association for the Advancement of Science 1 – 22 . London
  • Callaway , C. 1881 . How to work in the Archaean rocks . Geological Magazine , 8 : 348 – 353 . decade 2 420–27
  • Callaway , C. 1885 . A plea for comparative lithology . Geological Magazine , 2 : 258 – 264 . decade 3
  • Following the claims made by William Logan, of the Canadian Survey, that apparent organic remains could be found in Canadian gneisses, there was for some time (in the nineteenth century) a belief in the existence of Precambrian life—Eozoon canadense. But this particular ‘fossil’ was eventually discredited. See O'Brien C.F. Eozoon Canadense: the dawn animal of Canada Isis 1970 61 206 223 In the twentieth century, ample evidence has been found for the existence of soft-bodied organisms in Precambrian strata. (For a recent review of fossils and the stratigraphy of the late Precambrian, see A. H. Knoll and M. R. Walter, ‘Latest Proterozoic stratigraphy and Earth history’, Nature, 356 (1992), 673–78.)
  • Oldroyd . 1990 . The Highlands Controversy: Constructing Geological Knowledge through Fieldwork in Nineteenth-Century Britain 206 – 216 . Chicago and London
  • Callaway , C. 1883 . The age of the newer gneissic rocks of the Northern Highlands … With notes on the lithology by Prof. T. G. Bonney . Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London , 39 : 355 – 422 . [hereinafter QJGS]
  • Callaway . 1881 . How to work in the Archaean rocks . Geological Magazine , 8 : 423 – 423 . decade 2
  • 1888 . “ Troisième Séance du Mercredi 30 Septembre 1885. Présidence de M. von Dechen ” . In Congrès Géologique International, Compte Rendu de la 3me Session, Berlin, 1885 lxxiv – lxxxvii . Berlin
  • 1888 . “ Record of Proceedings, 30 September, 1885 ” . In Congrès Géologique International Compte Rendu de la 3me Session, Berlin, 1885 lxxviii – lxxviii . Berlin
  • Geikie , A. 1925 . A Long Life's Work: An Autobiography 223 – 223 . London
  • Frazer , P. 1891 . “ Report of the Sub-Committee on the Archaean (Note II) ” . In Congrès Géologique International, Compte Rendu de la 4me Session, Londres, 1888 A59 – A64 . London
  • Frazer . 1891 . “ Report of the Sub-Committee on the Archaean (Note II) ” . In Congrès Géologique International, Compte Rendu de la 4me Session, Londres, 1888 A14 – A85 . London
  • For synoptic accounts of the work of the different state surveys, see Merrill G.P. Contributions to a History of American State Geological and Natural History Surveys Washington 1920 (Smithsonian Institution, United States National Museum, Bulletin No. 109).
  • This issue was clarified considerably by Charles Van Hise at the 1891 International Geological Congress The Pre-Cambrian rocks of North America Congrès Géologique International, Compte Rendu de la 5me Session, Washington, 1891 Washington 1893 110 150 He pointed out that in the Precambrian there was typically a ‘basement complex’ consisting of enormously complex metamorphic rocks. Over these, there lay unconformably one or more unfossiliferous clastic units. And then came the fossiliferous Cambrian, with its lowest beds characterized by the Olenellus fauna. It was recommended that the term Archaean be restricted in application to the basement complex. So it was becoming a subdivision of the Precambrian, rather than a synonym for the term Precambrian. (The American picture was clearly paralleled in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland, where there was Murchison's ‘Fundamental Gneiss’ overlain unconformably by the Torridon Sandstone.) Today, subdivision of the Precambrian has been carried further, so that we have Priscoan, Archaean, and Proterozoic as chronometric divisions (eons); and Hadean, Swazian, Randian, Huronian, Animikean, Riphaean, and Sinian (subdivided into Sturtian and Vendian) as chronostratigraphic units (eras).
  • Frazer . 1891 . “ Report of the Sub-Committee on the Archaean (Note II) ” . In Congrès Géologique International, Compte Rendu de la 4me Session, Londres, 1888 A35 – A35 . London
  • Frazer . 1891 . “ Report of the Sub-Committee on the Archaean (Note II) ” . In Congrès Géologique International, Compte Rendu de la 4me Session, Londres, 1888 A36 – A36 . London
  • 1891 . Congrès Géologique International, Compte Rendu de la 4me Session, Londres, 1888 B163 – B178 . London
  • Strahan , A. 1914 . “ The subdivisions and correlation of the Pre-Cambrian rocks of the British Isles ” . In Congrès Géologique International, Compte-Rendu de la XIIe Session, Canada 339 – 347 . Ottawa
  • Lyell , C. 1830–33 . Principles of Geology, Being an Attempt to Explain the Former Changes of the Earth's Surface, by References to Causes now in Operation. In Three Volumes Vol. III , 374 – 374 . London
  • Lyell . 1830–33 . Principles of Geology, Being an Attempt to Explain the Former Changes of the Earth's Surface, by References to Causes now in Operation. In Three Volumes Vol. III , 386 – 387 . London
  • See Oldroyd The Highlands Controversy: Constructing Geological Knowledge through Fieldwork in Nineteenth-Century Britain Chicago and London 1990
  • For a brief but useful survey of the literature, see Vallance T.G. The span of metamorphism Proceedings of the 27th International Geological Congress 1984 21 67 84
  • Sedgwick , A. 1835 . Remarks on the structure of large mineral masses, and especially on the chemical changes produced in the aggregation of stratified rocks during different periods after their deposition . Transactions of the Geological Society of London , 3 : 461 – 486 . 2nd series and plate.
  • Sedgwick , A. 1835 . Remarks on the structure of large mineral masses, and especially on the chemical changes produced in the aggregation of stratified rocks during different periods after their deposition . Transactions of the Geological Society of London , 3 : 479 – 479 . 2nd series
  • Darwin , C. 1846 . “ Geological Observations on South America, Being the Third Part of the Geology of the Voyage of the Beagle, Under the Command of Capt. Fitzroy, R. N. During the Years 1832 to 1836 ” . 141 – 141 . London
  • Darwin , C. 1846 . “ Geological Observations on South America, Being the Third Part of the Geology of the Voyage of the Beagle, Under the Command of Capt. Fitzroy, R. N. During the Years 1832 to 1836 ” . 167 – 167 . London
  • Sorby , H.C. 1857 . “ On the microscopic structure of mica-schist ” . In British Association Report, 1856 78 – 78 . London
  • Phillips , J. 1857 . “ Report of cleavage and foliation in rocks, and on the theoretical explanations of these phenomena—Part I ” . In British Association Report, 1856 369 – 396 . London
  • Jukes and Geikie . 1925 . The Geological Time Classification of the United States Geological Survey Compared with Other Classifications Accompanied by the Original Definitions of Era, Period and Epoch Terms 142 – 142 . Washington
  • Dana , J.D. 1843 . On the analogies between modern igneous rocks and the so-called primary formations, and the metamorphic changes produced by the heat in the associated sedimentary deposits . Silliman's Journal (American Journal of Science) , 45 : 104 – 129 .
  • Rogers , H.D. 1858 . The Geology of Pennsylvania Vol. II , 911 – 911 . Washington 2 vols
  • Lossen , K.A. 1869 . Metamorphische Schichten aus der paläozoischen Schichtenfolge des Ostharzes . Zeitschrifte der Deutsche Geologische Gesellschafte , 21 : 282 – 340 . Lossen's term ‘dislocations metamorphism’ has been superseded by Rosenbusch's ‘dynamo-metamorphism’.
  • Lehmann , J.G. 1884 . Untersuchungen über die Entstehung der altkrystallinischen Schiefergesteine mit besonderer Bezugnahme auf das Sachsische Granulitgebirge, Erzgebirge, Fichtelgebirge und Bairische-Böhmische Grenzgebirge 248 – 248 . Bonn
  • Oldroyd . 1990 . The Highlands Controversy: Constructing Geological Knowledge through Fieldwork in Nineteenth-Century Britain 260 – 260 . Chicago and London
  • Lapworth , C. 1883 . The secret of the Highlands . Geological Magazine , 10 : 120 – 128 . decade 2 193–99, 337–44; ‘On the structure and metamorphism of the rocks of the Durness-Eriboll district’, Proceedings of the Geologists' Association, 8 (1883–1884), 438–42; ‘On the close of the Highland Controversy’, Geological Magazine, decade 3, 2 (1885), 97–106.
  • Hutton , J. 1899 . Theory of the Earth, with Proofs and Illustrations. In Four Parts, Vol. III Edited by: Geikie, D.C.L., F.R.S. , Archibald . 217 – 227 . London
  • Hull , E. 1882 . On the Laurentian rocks of Donegal, and of other parts of Ireland . Transactions of the Royal Dublin Society , 1 : 243 – 256 . series 2 and plates.
  • Callaway , C. 1885 . On the granitic and schistose rocks of North Donegal . QJGS , 41 : 221 – 241 .
  • Callaway , C. 1887 . A preliminary inquiry into the genesis of the crystalline series of the Malvern Hills . QJGS , 43 : 523 – 536 . ‘On the production of secondary minerals at shear-zones in the crystalline rocks of the Malvern Hills', QJGS, 45 (1889), 475–503; ‘The origin of the crystalline schists of the Malvern Hills', QJGS, 49 (1893), 398–425.
  • Callaway , C. 1897 . A sketch of the process of metamorphism in the Malvern crystallines . Proceedings of the Liverpool Geological Society , 7 : 453 – 460 .
  • Peach , B.N. , Horne , J. , Gunn , W. , Clough , C.T. , Hinxman , L. and Cadell , H.M. 1888 . Report on the recent work of the Geological Survey in the North-west Highlands of Scotland, based on the field notes and maps of Messrs. B. N. Peach, J. Horne, W. Gunn, C. T. Clough, L. Hinxman, and H. M. Cadell . QJGS , 44 : 378 – 441 .
  • Bullard , D.W. 1989 . Malvern Hills: A Student's Guide to the Geology of the Malverns 10 – 10 . Peterborough
  • Earp , J.R. and Hains , B.A. 1971 . British Regional Geology: The Welsh Boderland , third edition 13 – 13 . London 2nd impression, 1981
  • Callaway , C. 1897 . On the origin of some of the gneisses of Anglesey . QJGS , 53 : 349 – 359 . ‘On the metamorphism of a series of grits and shales in northern Anglesey’, QJGS, 54 (1898), 374–81; ‘A descriptive outline of the plutonic comples of central Anglesey’, QJGS, 58 (1902), 662–79.
  • Callaway , C. 1900–1904 . A sketch of the Archaean geology of Anglesey . Proceedings of the Liverpool Geological Society , 9 : 82 – 93 .
  • Bischof , G. 1854–59 . Elements of Chemical and Physical Geology Vol. 3 , London translated by B. H. Paul and J. Drummond iii, Chapter 48 (1st German edition, 1847).
  • Cited in von Zittel K.A. History of Geology and Palaeontology to the End of the Nineteenth Century London 1901 356 357 translated by M. M. Ogilvie-Gordon
  • Roth , J. 1883 . Allgemeine und chemische Geologie, Zweiter Band, ‘Petrographie’ Berlin cited in von Zittel (footnote 70), 358.
  • Von Zittel . 1901 . History of Geology and Palaeontology to the End of the Nineteenth Century 358 – 358 . London translated by M. M. Ogilvie-Gordon
  • Daubrée , A. 1857 . Observations sur le métamorphisme et recherches expérimentales sur quelques-uns des agents qui ont pu le produire . Annales des Mines , 12 : 289 – 326 . Les Eaux Souterraines aux Époques Anciennes: Rôle qui leur Revient dans l'Origine et les Modifications de la Substance de l'Écorce Terrestre (Paris, 1887), p. 275.
  • Rosenbusch , H. 1898 . Die Elemente der Gesteinlehre Stuttgart
  • Bonney , T.G. 1888 . The foundation-stones of the Earth's crust . Nature , 39 : 89 – 94 .
  • See Burchfield J.D. Lord Kelvin and the Age of the Earth New York 1975
  • Geikie , A. 1882 . Text-book of Geology 588 – 589 . London
  • See On the recurrence of certain phenomena in geological time Report of the British Association for the Advancement of Science London 1880 1 22
  • Bonney , T.G. 1886 . The Anniversary Address of the President . QJGS , 42 : 38 – 115 . (p. 61).
  • Bonney , T.G. 1886 . The Anniversary Address of the President . QJGS , 42 : 62 – 62 .
  • Marr , J.E. 1883 . Origin of the Archaean rocks . Geological Magazine , 10 : 263 – 273 . decade 2
  • Darwin , G.H. 1879 . On the precession of a viscous spheroid, and on the remote history of the Earth . Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London , 170 : 447 – 538 . Part II and plates. This was a highly mathematical paper, which dealt with tidal interactions between the Earth and the Moon, and alterations in the lengths of month and day, and changes in the obliquity of the ecliptic.
  • Darwin , G.H. 1879–1880 . A tidal theory of the evolution of satellites . The Observatory , 3 : 79 – 84 . (pp. 83–84).
  • Lapworth , C. 1882 . On the discovery of Cambrian rocks in the neighbourhood of Birmingham . Geological Magazine , 9 : 563 – 566 . decade 2 ‘On the sequence and systematic position of the Cambrian rocks of Nuneaton’, Geological Magazine, decade 3, 3 (1886), 319–25; ‘On the recent discovery of Lower Cambrian rocks in the Nuneaton district: Lecture to the Geological Section of the Birmingham Natural History and Philosophical Society, held at Mason College, January 28th, 1896’, Lapworth Archives, Department of Earth Sciences, University of Birmingham, Packet 26.
  • Wills , L.J. and Shotton , F.W. 1934 . New sections showing the junction of the Cambrian and Pre-Cambrian at Nuneaton . Geological Magazine , 71 : 512 – 521 .
  • A rock called ‘markfieldite’, being a type of granophyric diorite. It has recently been dated to 603±2 Myr. See Tucker R.D. Pharaoh T.C. U-Pb zircon ages for Late Precambrian igneous rocks in southern Britain Journal of the Geological Society, London 1991 147 435 443
  • Ager , D.V. 1973 . The Nature of the Stratigraphical Record 73 – 73 . London and Basingstoke
  • Cowie , J.W. 1985 . Continuing work on the Precambrian-Cambrian boundary . Episodes , 8 : 93 – 97 . ‘Two decades of research on the Proterozoic-Phanerozoic transition: 1972–1991’, Journal of the Geological Society, London, 149 (1992), 589–92.
  • In fact, a specific check-list for suitable sites for Golden Spikes has been established: (1) Potential for correlation on a global scale; (2) Completeness of exposure; (3) Adequate completeness of deposition; (4) Abundance and diversity of well-preserved fossils; (5) Favourable facies for widespread correlation; (6) Freedom from structural complication; (7) Freedom from metamorphism; (8) Amenability to magnetostratigraphy; (9) Amenability to geochronology; (10) Acessibility and conservation; (11) Adequate thickness of sediments. See The Precambrian-Cambrian Boundary Cowie J.W. Brasier M.D. Oxford 1989 207 207
  • For a general review of the various sites, and other matters relating to the problem of the Precambrian/Cambrian boundary, see Cowie Brasier The Precambrian-Cambrian Boundary Cowie J.W. Braiser M.D. Oxford 1989 207 207
  • See Huilin Luo Zhiwen Jiang Xiohe Wu Xueliang Song Lin Ouyang Yuskeng Xing Guizhi Liu Shishan Zhang Yonghe Tao Sinian-Cambrian Boundary Stratotype Section at Meishucun, Jinning, Yunnan, China Yunnan 1984 (in Chinese and English). This monograph gives a detailed description of the Meishucun section, with photographs of the section itself and the relevant fossils. It should be noted that the boundary is located some distance below the first appearance of Olenellid fauna. The chief criterion has been the appearance of shelly fauna, and these occur some time before the appearance of trilobites.
  • For details of this section, see Conway Morris S. South-eastern Newfoundland and adjacent areas (Avalon Zone) The Precambrian-Cambrian Boundary Cowie J.W. Brasier M.D. Oxford 1989 7 39 in Cowie and Brasier
  • Brasier , M.D. 1992 . Background to the Cambrian explosion . Journal of the Geological Society, London , 149 : 585 – 587 . and Cowie (footnote 94 [1992]).
  • Brasier , M.D. 1992 . Events across the Precambrian-Cambian boundary . Abstracts of the 29th International Geological Congress Kyoto Japan 24 August-3 September , 2 : 256 – 256 . of 3
  • Hetch , J. 1992 . The Incredible Shrinking Cambrian . New Scientist , 134 : 15 – 15 .

Reprints and Corporate Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

To request a reprint or corporate permissions for this article, please click on the relevant link below:

Order Reprints Request Corporate Permissions

Academic Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

Obtain permissions instantly via Rightslink by clicking on the button below:

Request Academic Permissions

If you are unable to obtain permissions via Rightslink, please complete and submit this Permissions form. For more information, please visit our Permissions help page.

Related research

People also read lists articles that other readers of this article have read.

Recommended articles lists articles that we recommend and is powered by our AI driven recommendation engine.

Cited by lists all citing articles based on Crossref citations.
Articles with the Crossref icon will open in a new tab.