Abstract

RAMOS, Victor A.. Two hundred years of Earth Sciences in Argentina. Rev. Asoc. Geol. Argent. [online]. 2011, vol.68, n.3, pp.392-406. ISSN 0004-4822.

The history of the Earth Sciences in Argentina since the Revolution of May 1810 shows four different stages related to major political changes. the passage from a colonial organization controlled from the metropolis to a new regional government pointed out the major needs for the founding of new institutions where the basis of the science could be given. The Rivadavia's science period (1810-1830) represents a personal effort to go in this direction. Most of his initiatives failed, but at least two institutions by him founded remain to present. The second period (1830-1853) is dominated by the foreign travelers, when personalities like Alcide d'Orbigny and Charles Darwin made universal contributions to the Earth Sciences based on local observations that shed light in important processes. The third period corresponds to the national organization (1853 until the first decades of the 20th century), when new authorities established some order and promote the founding of new institutions. The proactive attitude developed for the basic sciences by Juan Mara Gutirrez in the University of Buenos Aires, as well as the actions of President Domingo F. Sarmiento for the University of Crdoba were a milestone to start researching and teaching the Earth Sciences in Argentina. As early as in 1865 the first earth scientists who came from Italy began regular courses in geology at the University of Buenos Aires, and a few years later German geologists did the same in Crdoba. These two foundational facts consolidated the fourth period, when a series of institutions created in the 20th century promote the present development of Earth Sciences country wide.

Keywords : Colonial period; Jesuits; History; Geology; Institutions; University.

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