What idea was change by the work of James Hutton and chareles lyell?

James Hutton and Charles Lyell fundamentally changed the understanding of Earth's geological processes by introducing the concept of uniformitarianism. This idea posits that the same natural processes we observe today, such as erosion and sedimentation, have been occurring in a consistent manner over vast geological timescales. Their work emphasized that the Earth's features were shaped by gradual, continuous processes rather than sudden, cataclysmic events, thereby laying the groundwork for modern geology. This shift in perspective also influenced the way scientists approached the age of the Earth and the development of life.