[Researches on the fossil bones of quadrupeds: where the characters of several species of animals are re-established, which the revolutions of the globe appear to have destroyed] 

Georges Cuvier (1769–1832)

In 1808 Georges Cuvier and Alexandre Brongniart presented their research on the Paris Basin to the Institut de France. Their findings were published in 1811 along with this map. Significantly, the oldest formation in their study was the chalk formation – often considered ‘youngest’ in studies by others. Their detailed survey of the Paris Basin found layers of interchanging marine and freshwater fossils, which indicated the ancient environment had a succession of dramatic changes in the recent geological past.

T.53.27

Master and Fellows of Trinity College, Cambridge