Issues of paleontology, stratigraphy and historical geology in the treatise of N. Stenon «On the solid, naturally contained in the solid»

Abstract

The 350th anniversary of the publication of Nicholas Stenon's treatise «On the solid, naturally contained in the solid» is marked in 2019. This work proves possibility of interpretation of spatial relations of layers of rocks from the point of view of the time sequence of the phenomena. N. Stenon linked space and time through the appearance in the same place of different bodies, united by certain spatial and geometric relationships, having created a methodological basis for geohistorical analysis. Having substantiated the continuous-discontinuous structure of the sedimentation process, he concluded that a geohistorical process has a similar structure. N. Stenon made a conclusion about the incompleteness of the geological chronicle and the universality of the stratons, and formulated the principle of actualism. In the treatise, the origin of fossils is defined, the factors of fossilization of remains of organisms are analyzed, regularities of formation of locations are considered, new methodical receptions of deciphering of landscapes of the geological past are developed. Linking the spatial relationships between the layers with the sequence of their formation in time, N. Stenon introduced in geology a new relational genetic concept of time and developed a method for determining the temporal properties and relationships of geological objects.

Keywords

• н. стенон
• палеонтология
• стратиграфия
• историческая геология
• геологическое время