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A Pioneering Woman of Science Re‑Emerges After 300 Years (Maria Sibylla Merian)
https://nyti.ms/2jRt2n2Maria Sibylla Merian, like many European women of the 17th century, stayed busy managing a household and rearing children. But on top of that, Merian, a German-born woman who lived in the Netherlands, also managed a successful career as an artist, botanist, naturalist and entomologist.
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At a time when natural history was a valuable tool for discovery, Merian discovered facts about plants and insects that were not previously known. Her observations helped dispel the popular belief that insects spontaneously emerged from mud. The knowledge she collected over decades didn’t just satisfy those curious about nature, but also provided valuable insights into medicine and science. She was the first to bring together insects and their habitats, including food they ate, into a single ecological composition.
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Merian also made note of the help she received from the natives of Suriname, as well as slaves or servants that assisted her (she was not a slave owner). In some instances she wrote moving passages that included her helpers in descriptions. As she wrote in her description of the peacock flower:
Londa Schiebinger, a professor of the history of science at Stanford University, called this passage rather astounding in a short paper in the journal The Lancet. Merian reported this detail that directly acknowledged the injustices of slavery and colonialism, and suggested that a medicine could be a tool to allow women to control their own reproductive destinies. It’s particularly striking centuries later when these issues are still prominent in public discussions about social justice and women’s rights.
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At a time when natural history was a valuable tool for discovery, Merian discovered facts about plants and insects that were not previously known. Her observations helped dispel the popular belief that insects spontaneously emerged from mud. The knowledge she collected over decades didn’t just satisfy those curious about nature, but also provided valuable insights into medicine and science. She was the first to bring together insects and their habitats, including food they ate, into a single ecological composition.
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Merian also made note of the help she received from the natives of Suriname, as well as slaves or servants that assisted her (she was not a slave owner). In some instances she wrote moving passages that included her helpers in descriptions. As she wrote in her description of the peacock flower:
The Indians, who are not treated well by their Dutch masters, use the seeds to abort their children, so that they will not become slaves like themselves. The black slaves from Guinea and Angola have demanded to be well treated, threatening to refuse to have children. In fact, they sometimes take their own lives because they are treated so badly, and because they believe they will be born again, free and living in their own land. They told me this themselves.
Londa Schiebinger, a professor of the history of science at Stanford University, called this passage rather astounding in a short paper in the journal The Lancet. Merian reported this detail that directly acknowledged the injustices of slavery and colonialism, and suggested that a medicine could be a tool to allow women to control their own reproductive destinies. It’s particularly striking centuries later when these issues are still prominent in public discussions about social justice and women’s rights.
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https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/23/science/maria-sibylla-merian-metamorphosis-insectorum-surinamensium.html?rref=collection%2Fcolumn%2Ftrilobites&_r=0
Pretty fascinating write-up about an early scientist that I hadn't heard of before (although DU as a whole did not share my ignorance!)...
Merian’s drawing of a tarantula devouring a hummingbird was criticized as impossible during the Victorian era, only to later be confirmed. (Maria Sibylla Merian, Metamorphosis insectorum Surinamensium, Amsterdam 1705, The Hague, National Library of the Netherlands)
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