The incorporation of Darwinism – its theory of modification of species through natural selection – occurred in research programs in France in the 1930s with the development of a remarkable and unique school of genetics of experimental populations. Around the same time, however, France witnessed another remarkable episode, perhaps the most impressive example of a durable and late opposition of French science to evolutionary theory: the general aversion of French paleontologists to phylogenies in the years 1900–50. (For a detailed account of these episodes, see Gayon and Veuille 2001; Gayon 2006, 2009.) As will be seen, images play an important role in this story.

The French Paleontologists’ Aversion to Representing Phylogenies (1900–1950)

This is a rather strange story, well known to paleontologists, but that has escaped the attention of historians of science. A quantitative enquiry into the three French periodicals that published almost the entire production of French paleontology in the years from 1900 to 1950 gave the following results.

Case 1: Annales de paléontologie (1906–1950)

Let us first consider the Annales de paléontologie (Annals of Paleontology). Founded in 1906, this was the very first periodical devoted entirely to paleontology in France. In the first issue of the journal, the editor Marcellin Boulle (known for his work in human paleontology) stated that “philosophical paleontology” should be a priority for the authors. “Philosophical paleontology” was a term Albert Gaudry used as a synonym for “evolutionary paleontology.” “Philosophical” meant that paleontologists should not only describe the presence of fossils in stratigraphic layers but should dare to make phylogenetic inferences.