185 by Björn Sundquist1, Ilmari Haapala2, Jens Morten Hansen3, Geir Hestmark4, and Sigurdur Steinthorsson5 History of Geology in Norden 1 Department of Earth Sciences, Uppsala University, Villavägen 16, SE-75236 Uppsala, Sweden. E-mail:
[email protected] 2 Department of Geology, University of Helsinki, P.O.Box 64, FI-00014 Helsinki, Finland. E-mail: ilmari.haapala@helsinki.fi 3 Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS), Øster Voldgade 10, DK-1350 København K, Denmark. E-mail:
[email protected] 4 Institute of Biology, University of Oslo, P.O.Box 1066 Blindern, NO-0316 Oslo, Norway. E-mail:
[email protected] 5 Department of Earth Sciences, University of Iceland, Jardarhaga 2-6, IS-107 Reykjavík, Iceland. E-mail:
[email protected] The Nordic countries of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, This brief chapter on the history of geology in Norden will cast Norway, and Sweden have been closely connected for light on some problems and endeavours engaging people—natural scientists, as well as physicians and clergy in the early days—in the many centuries, not least from a geological point of Nordic countries contributing to this process. view. Scientific cooperation as well as contentions have been common. The earliest known records of “geologi- cal” treatises are from the 16th century, but especially A brief outline up to 1800 in the 18th century, when the natural sciences flourished Basic knowledge about rocks, ores and soils were of course achieved all over Europe, Nordic scholars were in the forefront in from generations of experience in mining and agriculture. An early geochemistry, mineralogy, and paleontology.