Paleontological observations date back to at least the 6th century BC.
Notes on verification
Corroborated by multiple independent sources including Wikipedia's Timeline of paleontology and History of paleontology articles, and Grokipedia, all citing Xenophanes of Colophon's 6th century BC observations of marine fossils.
Sources
- Paleontology (en.wikipedia.org)
- https://iep.utm.edu/xenoph/ (iep.utm.edu)
- https://grokipedia.com/page/Timeline_of_paleontology (grokipedia.com)
- https://ucmp.berkeley.edu/history/ancient.html (ucmp.berkeley.edu)
- https://www.britannica.com/science/Earth-sciences/Origins-in-prehistoric-times (britannica.com)
- https://journaljgeesi.com/index.php/JGEESI/article/view/142 (journaljgeesi.com)