Georges Cuvier

High school (ages 12+)
History & Culture

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/georges-cuvier

1. When was Georges Cuvier born?
2. When did Georges Cuvier die?
3. Where was Georges Cuvier born?
4. Who was Georges Cuvier and why is he called the 'founding father of paleontology'?
5. How did Cuvier prove that some animals are extinct?

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. When was Georges Cuvier born?August 23, 1769
2. When did Georges Cuvier die?May 13, 1832 (age 62)
3. Where was Georges Cuvier born?Montbéliard, Duchy of Württemberg (now France)
4. Who was Georges Cuvier and why is he called the 'founding father of paleontology'?Georges Cuvier was a French scientist who studied bones and fossils. He showed that many animals from the past no longer exist, and his careful comparisons helped start paleontology as a science.
5. How did Cuvier prove that some animals are extinct?He examined layers of rock in places like the Paris Basin and found fossils that matched animals that never appear in later layers. This showed that those animals disappeared long ago.

Paleontology: The scientific study of ancient life through the analysis of fossils.
Comparative Anatomy: The study of similarities and differences in the anatomical structures of different species.
Extinction: The complete disappearance of a species from Earth, marking an irreversible loss of biodiversity.
Catastrophism: A geological theory proposing that Earth's features result from sudden, violent, and short-lived catastrophic events.