Philippe-Charles Schmerling

Philippe -Charles Schmerling (* March 2, 1790 () in Delft? † November 17, 1836 in Liège) was a Belgian physician, anatomist and paleontologist. He is considered one of the pioneers of paleoanthropology and paleopathology. From Schmerling comes the first scientific description of the Neanderthal fossils belonging.

Life and work

Schmerling first studied anatomy in Delft, and later medicine in Liège, where he in 1825 received his doctorate of medicine. In 1829 he lived in the vicinity of Flémalle and came there with places of discovery of fossils in touch.

26 years of Darwin 's epoch-making work On the Origin of Species described Schmerling in 1833 first bone findings - which he had in 1829 discovered even in Belgium in the caves of Engis and Engihoul - firstly, fossil and on the other as the same age as the remains of extinct mammals from the same localities; because of animal fossils and stone tools also discovered he ordered his finds the " Pleistocene " to ( the era of the Flood). Of the former naturalists this interpretation, however, was not taken up. This is followed initially changed nothing after 1857 those fossils templates from the field Hofer grotto, known as Neanderthals since 1864.

Even Charles Lyell, who had both the Belgian caves also explored and 1863 the interpretations Schmerlings agreed met with his contemporaries still largely on deaf ears. Instead, the opinion of Thomas Henry Huxley prevailed, although it described in detail the anatomical features of the finds from Belgium and from the field Hofer grotto, but - partly because of the unusual compared to modern humans appearance of the skull - came to the conclusion that there had been to modern people with a low degree of civilization. This interpretation he underpinned by pointing out that it was possible to demonstrate a seamless transition from primitive to advanced features based on skulls of his contemporaries from different regions of the world.

Only with the recognition of the theory of descent was widely shared that there are both extinct animal and plant species as well as extinct species of the Homo genus as recognized by Schmerling fact.

The discovered Schmerling Fossil Engis 1 ( an almost completely preserved skull ) is interpreted today as anatomically modern humans (Homo sapiens). Engis 2 is a partially preserved Neanderthal child's skull with separately of found maxilla and is considered the first scientifically described fossil Neanderthal. The whereabouts of the designated as Engis 3 bone fragments is unknown, their phylogenetic origin also.

Due to its comments on pathological findings in the animal fossils he discovered Schmerling is also one of the pioneers of paleopathology.