Prehistory Prior to the advent of
Western science, humans were engaged and highly competent in indigenous ways of understanding the more-than-human world that are now referred to as
traditional ecological knowledge. 21st century definitions of natural history are inclusive of this understanding, such as this by Thomas Fleischner of the Natural History Institute (Prescott, Arizona): Natural history – a practice of intentional focused attentiveness and receptivity to the more-than-human world, guided by honesty and accuracy – is the oldest continuous human endeavor. In the evolutionary past of our species, the practice of natural history was essential for our survival, imparting critical information on habits and chronologies of plants and animals that we could eat or that could eat us. Natural history continues to be critical to human survival and thriving. It contributes to our fundamental understanding of how the world works by providing the empirical foundation of natural sciences, and it contributes directly and indirectly to human emotional and physical health, thereby fostering healthier human communities. It also serves as the basis for all conservation efforts, with natural history both informing the science and inspiring the values that drive these.
Ancient from the sixth-century
Vienna Dioscurides manuscript As a precursor to
Western science, natural history began with
Aristotle and other ancient philosophers who analyzed the diversity of the natural world. Natural history was understood by
Pliny the Elder to cover anything that could be found in the world, including living things, geology, astronomy, technology, art, and humanity. was written between 50 and 70 AD by
Pedanius Dioscorides, a Roman physician of Greek origin. It was widely read for more than 1,500 years until supplanted in the
Renaissance, making it one of the longest-lasting of all natural history books. From the
ancient Greeks until the work of
Carl Linnaeus and other 18th-century naturalists, a major concept of natural history was the
scala naturae or
Great Chain of Being, an arrangement of minerals, vegetables, more primitive forms of animals, and more complex life forms on a linear scale of supposedly increasing perfection, culminating in our species.
Medieval Natural history was basically static through the
Middle Ages in Europe—although in the
Arabic and
Oriental world, it proceeded at a much brisker pace. From the 13th century, the work of Aristotle was adapted rather rigidly into
Christian philosophy, particularly by
Thomas Aquinas, forming the basis for
natural theology. During the Renaissance, scholars (herbalists and humanists, particularly) returned to direct observation of plants and animals for natural history, and many began to accumulate large collections of exotic specimens and unusual
monsters.
Leonhart Fuchs was one of the three founding fathers of botany, along with
Otto Brunfels and
Hieronymus Bock. Other important contributors to the field were
Valerius Cordus,
Konrad Gesner (),
Frederik Ruysch, and
Gaspard Bauhin. The rapid increase in the number of known organisms prompted many attempts at classifying and organizing species into
taxonomic groups, culminating in the system of the Swedish naturalist
Carl Linnaeus. and his
Bencao gangmu "undoubtedly the greatest scientific achievement of the Ming". His works translated to many languages direct or influence many scholars and researchers.
Modern is best remembered for his
Histoire naturelle, a 44-volume encyclopedia describing quadrupeds, birds, minerals, and some science and technology. Reptiles and fish were covered in supplements by
Bernard Germain de Lacépède. A significant contribution to English natural history was made by
parson-naturalists such as
Gilbert White,
William Kirby,
John George Wood, and
John Ray, who wrote about plants, animals, and other aspects of nature. Many of these men wrote about nature to make the
natural theology argument for the existence or goodness of God. Since early modern times, however, a great number of women made contributions to natural history, particularly in the field of botany, be it as authors, collectors, or illustrators. In modern Europe, professional disciplines such as botany, geology,
mycology,
palaeontology,
physiology, and
zoology were formed.
Natural history, formerly the main subject taught by college science professors, was increasingly scorned by scientists of a more specialized manner and relegated to an "amateur" activity, rather than a part of science proper. In Victorian Scotland, the study of natural history was believed to contribute to good mental health. Particularly in Britain and the United States, this grew into specialist hobbies such as the
study of birds, butterflies, seashells (
malacology/
conchology), beetles, and wildflowers; meanwhile, scientists tried to define a unified discipline of biology (though with only partial success, at least until the
modern evolutionary synthesis). Still, the traditions of natural history continue to play a part in the study of biology, especially ecology (the study of natural systems involving living organisms and the inorganic components of the Earth's biosphere that support them),
ethology (the scientific study of animal behavior), and
evolutionary biology (the study of the relationships between life forms over very long periods of time), and re-emerges today as integrative organismal biology. Amateur collectors and natural history entrepreneurs played an important role in building the world's large natural history collections, such as the
Natural History Museum, London, and the
National Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC. Three of the greatest English naturalists of the 19th century,
Henry Walter Bates,
Charles Darwin, and
Alfred Russel Wallace—who knew each other—each made natural history travels that took years, collected thousands of specimens, many of them new to science, and by their writings both advanced knowledge of "remote" parts of the world—the
Amazon basin, the
Galápagos Islands, and the
Indonesian Archipelago, among others—and in so doing helped to transform biology from a descriptive to a theory-based science. The understanding of "nature" as "an organism and not as a mechanism" can be traced to the writings of
Alexander von Humboldt (Prussia, 1769–1859). Humboldt's copious writings and research were seminal influences for Charles Darwin,
Simón Bolívar,
Henry David Thoreau,
Ernst Haeckel, and
John Muir. ==Museums==