Buffon, Jefferson and the theory of New World degeneracy

Abstract In his magnum opus, Natural History: General and Particular, Count Buffon, one of the leading natural historians of the 18th century, argued that all life in the New World, particularly North America, was degenerate—weaker, smaller and feebler—than life in the Old World. This work tapped in...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Lee Alan Dugatkin
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2019-06-01
Series:Evolution: Education and Outreach
Subjects:
Online Access:http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12052-019-0107-0