Introduction to Natural History

Natural history is the study of all creation, including living and non-living things, their environment, and how they interact with each other. It is the systematic investigation of any natural object and organism. Natural history is the progenitor of all natural sciences. The word “history”, as it applies in this use, does not refer to the past. Instead it means “research” or “investigation”. that’s why natural history is also known as “nature-study”. ^{1 2 3 4}

The study of nature is inherent in all societies. Since fruits, vegetables, and roots form part of the diet of human beings, it is vital for all communities to differentiate good and nourishing plants from unhealthy and poisonous ones. Similarly, all people must know the animals around them, and distinguish the useful and amicable ones from those predators and unsafe animals. Basic survival also depends on comprehending one’s natural environment and the objects in it. Furthermore, human civilization is the outcome of the study of nature. For scientific discoveries and technological inventions are the outcomes of the unraveling of the workings of natural forces and objects. ^{5 6 7 8}

Consequently, throughout history the investigation of nature has been pursued by all societies. Ancient peoples considered it as useful, instructive, and entertaining; and modern peoples continue to be engaged in this first of sciences, perceiving it to be the fountain of practical and theoretical knowledge. The devotion of ancient Ethiopians to the mysteries of nature caused them to initiate the study of the celestial bodies. They were the first who began the field of astronomy by giving names to the stars and planets, descriptive of the qualities which they conceived them to possess.⁹ They also made important contributions to agriculture,¹⁰ architecture,¹¹ and the art of writing.¹² The learning and arts that ancient Ethiopians acquired was later passed down the Nile valley to ancient Egypt.¹³

Over the thousands of years ancient Egyptians thrived, their accomplishment in the study of nature made them to become the most advanced civilization of their age. As a result, they have left us a huge scientific legacy. They are recognized to be pioneers in the fields of chemistry, astronomy, medicine, agriculture, engineering and architecture.¹⁴ Likewise, the interest that the Babylonians displayed in the study of nature enabled them to make fundamental discoveries in mathematics, physics and astronomy.¹⁵ Among their many accomplishments, they developed trigonometry, produced the first maps, and devised methods of tracking time that are still used today.¹⁶ The same applies to The Chaldeans, Assyrians, Indians, Chinese, and other ancient Eastern peoples, who, owing to their diligence in natural history, had made countless contributions to the development of science and to human civilization.

IN the investigation of nature, every individual with an active mind is sure to find things not only that amuse and delight, but also that are instructive and useful. The bible tells us that God gave King Solomon great wisdom, insight and understanding. And since the wisdom he received included a vast knowledge of natural history, “He described plant life, from the cedar of Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of walls. He also taught about animals and birds, reptiles and fish.”¹⁷ The great historian Herodotus, on his part, informs us that an appreciation for natural history had in his time found a place in the mind of the Greeks.¹⁸ They followed the nature-studies of the Chaldeans, Assyrians, Babylonians, and Egyptians, and learnt from the older Eastern races the successful cultivation of plants that had required much study to make them useful.¹⁹

In the West, the first formal study of nature is attributed to Aristotle’s investigation of animals and plants.²⁰ The ancient Greek scholar and first genuine scientist Aristotle started a branch of philosophy that he termed “natural philosophy”, in order to uncover the facts and secrets of the natural world.²¹ His new field of study included areas that would be regarded today as physics, chemistry, botany, zoology, and other natural sciences. The term “Natural philosophy” continued to be used in place of the term “natural science” until the scientific revolution of the 1600s. Nevertheless, the word “scientist” was not coined until the 1800s.²²

In books, the term “natural history” was first employed in Pliny the Elder’s groundbreaking work Historia Naturalis (Study of Nature).²³ Pliny the Elder²⁴ spent most of his spare time studying, writing or investigating natural and geographic phenomena in the field. He wrote an encyclopedic work, entitled “Naturalis Historia”, which became a model for all natural histories and encyclopedias written subsequently, in terms of the breadth of subject matter examined, the need to reference original authors, and a comprehensive index list of the contents. The Naturalis Historia is one of the largest single works to have survived from the Roman empire, and attempted to cover the entire field of ancient knowledge, based on the best authorities available to Pliny. Among others, it contains content related to the fields of botany, zoology, astronomy, geology and mineralogy.

Reference Notes

1. Parker, Amber (2007) Natural History and Naturalist Skills. Clemson University. Retrieved from https://www.clemson.edu/extension/mn/advanced_training/interpretation/natural_history_naturalist_skills.pdf ↩︎
2. Anderson, Kevin M. (2016) The Study of Nature: Natural History and the Creation of Nature. Austin Water-Center for Environmental Research. Retrieved from https://www.austintexas.gov/sites/default/files/files/Water/CER/the_study_of_nature_march_2016.pdf ↩︎
3. Hartley, Camille. What is Natural History? Norris Center for Natural History. Retrieved from https://norriscenter.ucsc.edu/resources/environmental-education/images/what-is-natural-history-by-camille-hartley_.pdf ↩︎
4. Hartley, Camille. Teaching Natural History. Norris Center for Natural History. Retrieved from https://norriscenter.ucsc.edu/resources/environmental-education/images/teaching-natural-history-by-camille-hartley.pdf ↩︎
5. Buffon, comte de Georges Louis Leclerc (1797) Buffon’s Natural History. Volume I. Translated and edited by James Smith Barr. Digitally printed by gutenberg.org 2014. H. D. Symonds: London. ↩︎
6. Lubbock, John (1892) The Beauties of Nature, and the Wonders of the World We Live In. Digitally printed by gutenberg.org 2009. Macmillan and Co.: New York. ↩︎
7. Haeckel, Ernst (1880) The History of Creation: The Development of the Earth and its Inhabitants by the Action of Natural Causes. Volume I. Translated by L. Dora Schmitz from the German into English. Edited by E. Ray Lankester. Digitally printed by gutenberg.org 2012. D. Appleton and Company: New York. ↩︎
8. Duncan, P. Martin (1882) Heroes of Science – Botanists, Zoologists, and Geologists. E. & J. B. Young and Co.: New York. ↩︎
9. Belay Tessema, Solomon (2015) Journey of Ethiopia Astronomy. IAU General Assembly, Meeting #29, id.2252310. Provided by the SAO/NASA Astrophysics Data System. Retrieved from https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2015IAUGA..2252310B/abstract ↩︎
10. Vavilov, N. I., & Dorofeev, V. F. (1992). Origin and geography of cultivated plants. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge. ↩︎
11. Russell, Michael (1833) Nubia and Abyssinia: Comprehending their Civil History, Antiquities, Arts, Religion, Literature, and Natural History. Oliver and Boyd: Edinburgh. ↩︎
12. Houston, Drusilla Dunjee (1985) Wonderful Ethiopians of the ancient Cushite empire. Book I. Black Classic Press: Baltimore. ↩︎
13. Russell (1833). ↩︎
14. Elhalfawy, Nancy (2016) Why has Egypt produced so many great scientists? British Council. Retrieved from https://www.britishcouncil.org/voices-magazine/why-has-egypt-produced-so-many-great-scientists ↩︎
15. Jarus, Owen (2022) Ancient Babylon, the iconic Mesopotamian city that survived for 2,000 years. Live Science. Retrieved from https://www.livescience.com/ancient-babylon-mesopotamia-civilization ↩︎
16. Adhikari, Saugat (2022) Top 12 Inventions and Discoveries of Ancient Babylonia. Ancient History Lists. Retrieved from https://www.ancienthistorylists.com/mesopotamia-history/inventions-ancient-babylonia/ ↩︎
17. 1 Kings 4:33. ↩︎
18. Rawlinson, George (1862) History of Herodotus: a new English version. 2nd edition. John Murray: London. ↩︎
19. Duncan (1882). ↩︎
20. Anderson (2016); Parker (2007). ↩︎
21. Althoff, Jochen, ‘Aristotle, the Inventor of Natural Science’, in Paul T. Keyser, and John Scarborough (eds), Oxford Handbook of Science and Medicine in the Classical World, Oxford Handbooks (2018; online edn, Oxford Academic, 10 July 2018), https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199734146.013.13, accessed 28 Mar. 2024. ↩︎
22. Anderson (2016); Parker (2007). ↩︎
23. Pliny the Elder (1855) The Natural History of Pliny. Translated into English by John Bostock and Henry T. Riley. Taylor and Francis: London. ↩︎
24. Gaius Plinius Secundus, best known as Pliny the Elder lived from 23 to 79 AD. He was a Roman author, philosopher, natural historian, and a military commander. ↩︎