1. growth of
BIOLOGY

2. The earliest humans must have had and passed on knowledge about
plants and animals to increase their chances of survival. This may
have included knowledge of human and animal anatomy and aspects
of animal behavior (such as migration patterns). However, the first
major turning point in biological knowledge came with the Neolithic
Revolution about 10,000 years ago.
Let’s trace the history of Biology

3. PREHISTORY
Homo sapiens – 1.75 million B.C.
origin (4.5 billion B.C.) Human speech – 50, 000 B.C.
Writing – 4, 000 B.C.
The age of the Earth has been
determined to be 4.54 billion
years old
Pre history is a term used to describe a period before the recorded history. The term "prehistory" can be used to refer to all time since the beginning of the
universe, although it is more often used in referring to the period of time since life appeared on Earth, or even more specifically to the time since human-like
beings appeared. In dividing up human prehistory, prehistorians typically use the Three age system, whereas scholars of pre-human time periods typically use
the well defined Rock record and its internationally defined stratum base within the geologic time scale. The three-age system is the periodization of human
prehistory into three consecutive time periods, named for their respective predominant tool-making technologies; the Stone Age, Bronze Age, and Iron Age.
technology
stone age bronze age iron age
paleolithic mesolithic neolithic
chalcolithic most advanced advent of ferrous
- first use of stone - development of - primitive technological - copper age metal working metallurgy
tools human technology & social development

4. CLASSICAL ANTIQUITY (4000 B.C. to 476 A.D.)
classical Greece hellenistic period Roman empire
The history of science in Classical Antiquity encompasses both those inquiries into the
The ancient cultures of Mesopotamia, Egypt, the workings of the universe aimed at such practical goals as establishing a reliable calendar
Indian subcontinent, and China, among others, or determining how to cure a variety of illnesses and those abstract investigations known
produced renowned surgeons and students of the as natural philosophy. The ancient peoples who are considered the first scientists may
natural sciences such as Susruta and Zhang have thought of themselves as natural philosophers, as practitioners of a skilled
Zhongjing, reflecting independent sophisticated profession (for example, physicians), or as followers of a religious tradition (for
systems of natural philosophy example, temple healers).The encyclopedic works of
Aristotle, Archimedes, Hippocrates, Galen, Ptolemy, Euclid, and others spread throughout
the world. These works and the important commentaries on them were the wellspring
Zhang of science.
Hippocrates Aristotle
Zhongjing known for Edwin Smith Papyrus (460 B.C.)
of Egypt (384 B.C.)
of China developing the established Focused on
(150 A.D.) process of (16th cent. B.C.) medicine as a biological
embalming, which profession causation and
was used for the diversity of
Susruta of India wrote the medical mummification, in life
performed masterpiece Treatise on order to preserve
cataract surgery Cold Pathogenic and human remains
before 800 B.C. Miscellaneous Diseases and forestall
decomposition

5. CLASSICAL ANTIQUITY (4000 B.C. to 476 A.D.)
Theophrastus Pliny the Elder
(371 B.C.), Galen (129 – 199
(23 A.D.) known
Aristotle’s A.D.) was arguably
for his
successor at the the most
knowledge of
Lyceum, wrote a accomplished of
plants and
series of books all medical
nature, and was
on Botany researchers of
the most prolific
Zhuangzi, Taois antiquity. He
compiler of
t philosopher contributed
zoological
of China (4th greatly to the
descriptions
cent. B.C.) understanding of
expressed numerous
ideas related scientific
to disciplines The decline of the Romans led to the
evolution, such including disappearance and destruction of
as denying the anatomy, physiolo much knowledge.
fixity of gy, pathology,phar
biological macology,neurolo
species and gy, philosophy, an
speculating d logic middle ages
that species
had developed
differing Herophilus (335-280 B.C.) & Erasistratus
attributes in (304 – 250 B.C.) amended Aristotle’s
response to physiological work. They performed
differing experimental dissections and they
environments founded the school of anatomy in
Alexandria.

6. MIDDLE AGES (476 A.D. – 1449)
Avicenna (980–1037) introduced
8th to 13th cent. – Islamic Golden Age clinical trials and clinical pharmacology
in The Canon of Medicine
Avenzoar (1091–1161) was an early adherent of
Al-Jahiz (781-869) experimental dissection and autopsy, which he
described early carried out to prove that the skin disease
evolutionary ideas in scabies was caused by a parasite, a discovery
zoology; such as which upset the theory of humorism. He also
struggle for existence. Abu Rayhan introduced experimental surgery, where animal
He also introduced the Biruni (973- testing is used to experiment with surgical
idea of food chain. 1048) described techniques prior to using them on humans
the idea of During a famine in Egypt in 1200, Abd-el-latif (1162-1231)
artificial observed and examined a large number of skeletons, and he
Al Dinawari (828- selection and discovered that Galen was incorrect regarding the formation
896) is considered argued that of the bones of the lower jaw and sacrum
the founder of nature works in
Arabic botany for much the same Abu al-Abbas al-Nabati developed an early scientific
his Book of Plants, in way, an idea that method for botany, introducing empirical and experimental
which he described has been techniques in the testing, description and identification of
at least 637 species compared to numerous materia medica, and separating unverified
and discussed plant natural selection. reports from those supported by actual tests and
development from observations
germination to Rhazes (865–925) In
death, describing anatomy and physiology, the
the phases of plant Persian physician carried out
growth and the an early experiment to Renaissance and
production of discredit the Galenic theory Reformation
flowers and fruit of humorism

7. RENAISSANCE and REFORMATION (1450-1600)
Andreas Vesalius
Otto Brunfels (1530s) (1543) inaugurated the
Leonhart Fuchs Heironymus Bock
often called a father modern era of Western
(1530) (1539)
of medicine with his
Errata recentiorum The first edition of
botany, because, in treatise De humani
medicorum ("Errors his Kreutterbuch
his botanical corporis fabrica, which
of recent ("plant book")
writings, he relied was based on
doctors“), his first appeared in 1539.
not so much on the dissection of corpses.
publication, in He described
ancient authors as on He was the first in a
which he argued for German
his own observations series of anatomists
the use of "simples" plants, including
and described plants who gradually replaced
(herbs) rather than their
according to the scholasticism with
the noxious names, characteristi
latter empiricism in
"compounds" of cs, and medical
physiology and
arcane ingredients uses. He developed
medicine, relying on
concocted in his own system to
first-hand experience
medieval medicine classify 700 plants
rather than authority
Modern Era
and abstract reasoning

8. MODERN ERA (1600 onwards)
1628 1665 1667-1674 1673 1730
William Harvey Jan
Robert Hooke Carolus Linnaeus
- English Swammerdam
- published the - laid the
physician who -the first to
seminal foundations for
was the first to observe and
Micrographia the modern
describe describe red
based on scheme of
correctly and in blood cells
observations Anton Van binomial
detail the - was one of the
with his own Leeuwenhoek nomenclature.
systemic first people to
compound -Father of He is known as
circulation and use the
microscope in microbiology. the father of
properties of microscope in
1665 - best known for modern
blood being dissections
- His work on his work on the taxonomy
pumped to the
insects improvement of
body by the
demonstrated the microscope
heart. Harvey's
that the various and for his
De motu cordis
phases during contributions
in 1628 was the
the life of an towards the
beginning of the
insect establishment of
end for Galenic
microbiology
theory.

9. bioinformatics computational astrobiology
theoretical biology
genomics
biophysics Synthetic biology
ecology & Classical genetics,
environmental modern synthesis &
science 21st Century biological evolutionary theory
sciences
biochemistry, biotechnology,
microbiology 20th Century biological genetic
& molecular sciences engineering
biology & genomics
morphology embryology
bacteriology geography
cytology geology
19th Century: Emergence
of Biological Disciplines