Cradle of Life: The Discovery of Earth's Earliest Fossils

by J. William Schopf

Book Overview

One of the greatest mysteries in reconstructing the history of life on Earth has been the apparent absence of fossils dating back more than 550 million years. We have long known that fossils of sophisticated marine life-forms existed at the dawn of the Cambrian Period, but until recently scientists had found no traces of Precambrian fossils. The quest to find such traces began in earnest in the mid-1960s and culminated in one dramatic moment in...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0691088640
• ISBN13: 9780691088648
• Release Date: April 2001
• Publisher: Princeton University Press
• Length: 384 Pages
• Weight: 1.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.0" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

A thorough grounding in the state of the field

This is a great overview of the development and current state of the study of how life developed before the Cambrian period. The book is well-written and easy to read for a literate layperson. Schopf explains key scientific concepts well and blends this with narrative on the history of the field as well as some personal experiences. The pictures and illustrations are very helpful. The book communicates the excitement and challenge that is part of doing science.

Surpised about how much new information has been learned.

Wow. I am surprised at how much has been learned about the early phases of life's development since I last formally studied paleontology. One of my favorite areas of study was invertebrate and early life forms. At the time only a modest amount was known about stromatalites and cyanobacteria. The trace fossils of the soft bodied, multicellular, Ediacaran fauna were known but were considered "late" in geologic and biologic terms. The Burgess Shale community, made famous by Gould's "Wonderful Life" in the late '80s, was known, but the organisms were confusing and many have since been restudied and reclassified. Having been a leading actor in the field of microfossils and early bacterial life forms, Schopf puts everything into perspective in his book, making it virtually a history of research into the topic of life's beginnings.Cradle of Life begins, as such books so often do, with a brief synopsis of Darwin and his theory of evolution, including most critically, its early problems. Thereafter Schopf begins a veritable "who's who" of early paleontology, giving short professional biographies of those who worked in the field as early as the 19th century. He points out where promising leads were suppressed by virtue of the lesser standing of the individual proposing them, and misleading theories given credence because they were proposed by someone of powerful academic credentials. Some of the tales are impressive object lessons in how things can go wrong for human reasons and why science ultimately "gets it right in the end."One of the more interesting topics the author confronts is how our recent advances in the field of paleontology might help determine whether life exists or has ever existed elsewhere. The author provides an interesting perspective on the Mars meteorite "life forms" that shows how easily it is to be lead astray by high hopes, and how space research scientists can benefit by a familiarity with modern precepts applicable to early life studies on this planet. The book goes into great detail about the discovery of early life, what forms evidence takes, how it can be mistaken, what information is derived from study of the remains, and what indirect evidence tells us about the early earth. It also discusses how life might have evolved from non-life, how it managed to get started so early, how the atmosphere changed and how that change affected the diversity of earth's biomass. For those who are only casually interested in the topic of fossils, this book might be a little too much information. I love this kind of stuff, but I could certainly see how others might find it incredibly boring. I doubt that those in junior high would find it rewarding, but those in senior high might have enough science background to understand and enjoy it. Certainly for anyone fascinated with science and by how paleontology works, this book will be right up your alley. FOR THOSE WRITING PAPERS: in paleontology, biochemistry, biology, evolut

Resolving Darwin's Dilemma

Schopf escorts us into the realm of deep time, introducing us to our earliest microbe ancestors found locked away in ancient rocks. The path is often vague and indistinct, but Schopf is a sure and eloquent guide. Not only has he traversed the route before, but he's helped select and clear the track. This fine book reflects Schop's lighthearted "trailside" manner. He fully enjoys scrutinising the rocks for early lifeforms, and the enjoyment is infectious. It's a pleasure to accompany him on this journey.Of all the ideas of the origins of life, none proved more exciting than the experiments of Harold Urey and Stanley Miller. Their zapping of elemental chemicals to produce amino acids seemed the final answer to how it all began. Years of criticism of their work and assumptions led to the acclaim fading, but Schopf here attempts to resurrect its primacy. His argument relies on his findings of evidence of wide-ranging shallow seas - Darwin's famous "warm, shallow pond" as the place of life's origins. Schopf argues these seas were present at the same time simple life-forms emerged. In Darwin's time, the techniques for analysing the early rocks were limited. Today, as Schopf demonstrates, looking in the right place with the proper tools brings rich paleontological rewards.After tracing the histories of several researchers in Pre-Cambrian fossils, Schopf goes on to illustrate the most recent finds and their significance. Some of the finds are beyond the realm of the rocks alone. His description of the process of polymer formation illustrates the beginning of complex chemistry leading from non-life to life. The distinction, as he notes, has become vague as research from many disciplines has been applied to evolutionary studies. As life progressed, it developed such talents as use of light energy, self-perpetuating activities, and the emergence of metabolism. He explains these processes in quite readable prose, but also depicts them with fine illustrations. It's a rare combination of multi-level presentation. Schopf's tour takes us not only into deep time, but deep space. At the end of the book he examines the issues surrounding the "Martian meteorite" which was suspected to contain remnants of life on that planet. Schopf was the lone dissenter in NASA's presentation of the likely presence of micro-organism fossils. His disappointment in the presentation and the hype surrounding the proposal is keenly expressed. One of his proposals in this book is the universality of life's roots. Lifeforms of some level are almost inevitable on other worlds, given the necessary conditions. He argues the components are available throughout the cosmos, needing only the proper environment to start evolving. It would be exciting to detect evidence of past life on Mars, but meteorite ALH80001 didn't provide it.

Very Interesting

I don't really like biology. There is too much memorizing, and not enough math for my tastes. When I picked up this book, I figured I'd give it a try anyway. I had read Richard Fortey's book _Life_ (a good intro to the history of life) and wanted a little more depth. Boy did I get it.This is a well written book. The first section is about the history of the quest to find these early fossils and the different theories. I found the stories interesting and fascinating, especially the encounter with Salvador Dali. I don't want to give away any of the suprises. I found that he explained everything very well. I was able to follow the biological ideas and I have only had one class in college biology. I think if you have not had ANY biology knowledge you probably should get the basics down before reading this book.But that shouldn't stop you from reading it. If you have any interest in how life started on Earth you have to read this book.

Good basic book on Precambrian life

I disagree with an earlier review that this is not for the lay person. I am a lay person who has read a few books on evolution, and I enjoyed the degree to which this was readable and understandable to the *intelligent* lay person. (say no more.)Yes, Schopf occasionally writes some whoppers, such as 10 to the 47 being half of 10 to the 80. He also begins with the attitude that we do not actually know for sure that life developed in this path, but here is the evidence that it did. Then he switches to an attitude of: we do know how life developed, and here is the progression. It is an easy jump for an expert in the field to go from "we believe it most probably went this way" to "it did go this way." Galileo got into trouble for that.Nevertheless, I like how in the middle, he shows that the various energy strategies are minor alterations of one another, showing that the Intelligent Design school critics such as Behe are overblown in their claim that these enzyme pathways are just too irreducibly complex to have evolved by natural selection. A nice review of the history of this area, by a participant. A nice review of the science behind paleobiology. A nice read.