Similarities Between Charles Darwin And Alfred Russel Wallace
674 Words3 Pages
Dillen Chamberlin
30 January 2015
ANTH 102-1003
Alyssa Crittenden
Writing Assignment 1
In the field of anthropology, there have been many significant contributions by various people. However, when the word anthropology comes up, the two names that are commonly associated with this study are Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace. Both Darwin and Wallace had similar theories, both were naturalists and explorers, and both of their research provided the basis to the theory of evolution as well as natural selection. Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace both were influential during their time period. Darwin is most known for developing his theory of adaptation as well as the theory of natural selection. “Before Darwin, there was no scientific…show more content… But when it comes to Wallace, most people do not know who he is or what makes him well known. The truth is, Darwin and Wallace knew each other and actually had very similar theories. Wallace and Darwin worked separately and still came up with a theory similar to Darwin’s. Wallace is “known for independently conceiving the theory of evolution through natural selection; his paper was jointly published with some of Charles Darwin’s writings in 1858” (Wikipedia). Wallace can be credited with the theory just as much as Darwin can since their ideas were virtually the same. Darwin and Wallace knew each other only through exchanging letters and “briefly before Wallace left on his second trip”(Charles Darwin & Evolution). The simple reason why Wallace is not known as well as Darwin is because Darwin published his work before Wallace did. Either one of these two naturalists could have published their work and received more credit but Darwin was quicker and allowed to publish his studies and work before Wallace. Both researchers provided a solid ground to further study the field of evolution and natural selection. Darwin’s research on finches showed the world that there were changes happening over time. The finches were all the same species, however, their beaks differed in shape and length. Depending on the island the finch lived on, its beak could either be wide and short, or skinny and long. This difference in beaks showed that the finches had to have adapted to the changing conditions or they would have all died off. For example, a finch with a smaller wide beak would inhabit an island that had many seeds above ground. This is because there was no need for the finch to dig to find food. On the other hand, finches on another island would have to dig underground and pull the seeds out because no seeds were