ScienceEurope
Linnaeus orders nature
Two names per species, and a system still in use
See it on the timeline →In depth
Placing humans among the primates was provocative and had consequences he can hardly have foreseen: classification became a tool later misused to rank human groups. Linnaeus himself divided humanity into "varieties" with inherited traits — one of race thinking's early scientific wrappings. The system's strength became its danger too.
For children
Linnaeus gave each species a two-word name — genus and species — so scientists everywhere could speak of the same thing. The system is still in use, which is why humans are called *Homo sapiens*.
Connects to
Part of Terra Saga — the story of Earth on a timeline. terrasaga.org