Publisher description for De natura fossilium = (Textbook of mineralogy) / Georgius Agricola ; translated from the first Latin edition of 1546 by Mark Chance Bandy and Jean A. Bandy.
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This 1546 publication advanced the science of geology by classifying rocks and minerals according to their simple physical properties, rather than alphabetically or by their supposed mystical powers. De Natura Fossilium (On the Nature of Fossils) covers a variety of excavated matter, including all kinds of minerals and gemstones. For more than 400 years, it has stood as a landmark in the development of geology and paleontology due to its unprecedented classifications by physical property and locality, its simple standardized naming system, its meticulous summaries of earlier studies, and its employment of observation and personal experience. Unabridged republication of the classic translation of the first Latin edition of 1546.
Library of Congress subject headings for this publication:
Mineralogy -- Early works to 1800.