Paleontology 23084 225785854 2008-07-15T11:45:04Z Delicious carbuncle 6189844 Reverted 1 edit by [[Special:Contributions/124.217.40.224|124.217.40.224]] identified as [[WP:VAND|vandalism]] to last revision by [[User:Liopleurodon93|Liopleurodon93]]. :'''''Palaeontology''' redirects here. For the [[scientific journal]], see [[Palaeontology (journal)]].'' '''Paleontology''', '''palaeontology''' or '''palæontology''' (from Greek: ''παλαιό (palaeo)'', "old, ancient"; ''όν (on)'', "being"; and ''logos'', "speech, thought") is the study of [[prehistory|prehistoric]] life forms on Earth through the examination of [[fossil]]s.<ref>{{cite book |last= Newman|first= Garfield, et al|authorlink= |coauthors= |title= Echoes from the past: world history to the 16th century|year= 2001|publisher= McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd|location= Toronto|isbn= 0-07-088739-X}}</ref> This includes the study of [[body fossil]]s, tracks ([[ichnite]]s), [[burrow]]s, cast-off parts, fossilised [[feces|faeces]] ([[coprolite]]s), [[palynomorph]]s and chemical residues. Studies of prehistoric [[hominins]], their culture and their behaviour are the purview of two other disciplines, [[archaeology]] and [[paleoanthropology]]. ==Background== Modern paleontology sets [[Prehistoric life|ancient life]] in its context by studying how long-term physical changes of global geography [[Palaeogeography|paleogeography]] and climate [[paleoclimate]] have affected the [[evolution]] of life, how ecosystems have responded to these changes and have adapted the planetary environment in turn and how these mutual responses have affected today's patterns of [[biodiversity]]. Hence, paleontology overlaps with [[geology]] (the study of rocks and rock formations) as well as with [[botany]], [[biology]], [[zoology]] and [[ecology]] – fields concerned with [[Organism|life forms]] and how they interact. The major subdivisions of paleontology include [[paleozoology]] (animals), [[paleobotany]] (plants) and [[micropaleontology]] (microfossils). Paleozoologists may specialise in [[invertebrate paleontology]], which deals with animals without backbones or in [[vertebrate paleontology]], dealing with fossils of animals with backbones, including fossil hominids ([[paleoanthropology]]). Micropaleontologists study microscopic fossils, including organic-walled microfossils whose study is called [[palynology]]. There are many developing specialties such as [[paleobiology]], [[paleoecology]], [[ichnology]] (the study of tracks and burrows) and [[taphonomy]] (the study of what happens to organisms after they expire). Major areas of study include the correlation of [[rock strata]] with their [[geologic ages]] and the study of evolution of lifeforms. Paleontology utilises the same classic [[binomial nomenclature]] scheme, devised for the biology of living things by the mid-18th century [[Swedish people|Swedish]] biologist [[Carolus Linnaeus]] and increasingly sets these species in a genealogical framework, showing their degrees of interrelatedness using the still somewhat controversial technique of '[[cladistics]]'. The primary economic importance of paleontology lies in the use of fossils to determine the age and nature of the rocks that contain them or the layers above or below. This information is vital to the [[mining]] industry and especially the [[petroleum]] industry. Simply looking at the fossils contained in a rock remains one of the fastest and most accurate means of telling how old that rock is. Fossils were known by primitive humans and were sometimes identified correctly as the remains of ancient lifeforms. The organised study of paleontology dates from the late 18th century. For a more complete historical overview see the article [[History of paleontology]]. ==History of paleontology== {{main|History of paleontology}} ==Notable paleontologists== [[Image:Paleontologist chipping.jpg|thumb|250px|right|A paleontologist carefully chips rock from a column of dinosaur vertebrae.]] History includes a number of prominent paleontologists. [[Charles Darwin]] collected fossils of South American mammals during his trip on the Beagle and examined petrified forests in Patagonia. [[Mary Anning]] was a notable early paleontologist. She found several landmark fossils, in her home town of [[Lyme Regis]]. Although self-taught, she collected and described them in a very systematic way. [[William Buckland]], [[Richard Owen]], [[Gideon Mantell]], [[Georges Cuvier]] and [[Thomas Huxley]] were important early pioneers, in the field of paleontology. [[Thomas Jefferson]] took a keen interest in mammoth bones. [[Edward Drinker Cope]] and [[Othniel Charles Marsh]] waged a famously fierce competition known as the [[Bone Wars]] in the late 19th century that involved some questionable practices, but which significantly advanced the understanding of the natural history of North America and vertebrate paleontology. Professor [[Earl Douglass]] of the Carnegie University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, opened the fossil quarry protected today by [[Dinosaur National Monument]] in Utah. Douglass' fossils are in several Natural History Museums. Meanwhile, Baron [[Franz Nopcsa]], a pioneer [[Paleobiology|paleobiologist]], argued that dinosaurs might have been both warm-blooded and ancestral to birds. Besides looking at mammal teeth and unearthing [[penguin]] skeletons, [[George Gaylord Simpson]] played a crucial role in bringing together ideas from biology, paleontology and genetics, to help create the 'Modern Synthesis' of evolutionary biology. His book "''Tempo and Mode''" is a classic in the field. Prominent names in invertebrate paleontology include [[Steven M. Stanley]], [[Stephen Jay Gould]], [[David Raup]], [[Rousseau H. Flower]] and [[Jack Sepkoski]], who have done much to expand our understanding of long-term patterns in the evolution of life on earth. Large names in the field of [[paleoanthropology]] include [[Louis Leakey|Louis]], [[Mary Leakey|Mary]] and [[Richard Leakey]], [[Raymond Dart]], [[Robert Broom]], [[Charles Kimberlin Brain|C.K. 'Bob' Brain]], [[Kenneth Oakley]], [[Robert Ardrey]] and [[Tim White (anthropologist)|Tim White]]. In recent times, [[Mongols|Mongolian]] paleontologist [[Rinchen Barsbold]] has done much to expand our understanding of [[dinosaur]] and [[bird]] evolution. [[Paul Sereno]] of the [[University of Chicago]] has made several important dinosaur finds in areas such as the [[Sahara]], where fossil hunting has been uncommon. ==See also== * [[Timeline of paleontology]] * [[List of publications in biology#Paleontology|Important publications in paleontology]] * [[Fossil]]s * [[History of paleontology]] * [[Paleorrota]] * [[Prehistoric life]] * [[Fossil Parks]] * [[List of Fossil Parks]] * [[Geology]] * [[Dinosaur]]s * [[Radiometric dating]] * [[Rockhounding]] * [[Synchrotron X-ray tomographic microscopy]] * [[Fossils and the geological timescale]] * [[Fossil collecting]] * [[List of transitional fossils]] * [[List of notable fossils]] * [[List of fossil sites]] ''(with link directory)'' * [[Fossil fuel]]s * [[Lazarus taxon]] * [[Elvis taxon]] * [[Bioerosion]] * [[Paleontological Museum in Tocuila]] ==References== <div style="font-size:85%"> <references/> </div> ==External links== {{wikibooks}} {{wiktionary}} {{wikiversity2|Topic:Paleontology}} {{portalpar|Paleontology}} *[http://paleobiology.si.edu/ Smithsonian's Paleobiology website: a good introduction] *[http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/FAQ/faq.html University of California Museum of Paleontology FAQ About Paleontology] *[http://www.paleosoc.org The Paleontological Society] *[http://www.palass.org The Palaeontological Association] *[http://www.paleoportal.org The Paleontology Portal] *[http://fossilinsects.net/index.html International Palaeoentomological Society] {{commonscat}} {{Biology-footer}} [[Category:Earth sciences]] [[Category:Geology]] [[Category:Paleontology| ]] [[Category:Zoology|Paleontology]] [[Category:Fossils|*]] [[Category:Historical geology]] [[af:Paleontologie]] [[ar:علم الإحاثة]] [[bs:Paleontologija]] [[br:Paleontologiezh]] [[bg:Палеонтология]] [[ca:Paleontologia]] [[cs:Paleontologie]] [[cy:Paleontoleg]] [[da:Palæontologi]] [[de:Paläontologie]] [[et:Paleontoloogia]] [[el:Παλαιοντολογία]] [[es:Paleontología]] [[eo:Paleontologio]] [[eu:Paleontologia]] [[fa:دیرین‌شناسی]] [[fr:Paléontologie]] [[fy:Paleontology]] [[gl:Paleontoloxía]] [[ko:고생물학]] [[hr:Paleontologija]] [[io:Paleontologio]] [[id:Paleontologi]] [[ia:Paleontologia]] [[ie:Paleontologie]] [[is:Steingervingafræði]] [[it:Paleontologia]] [[he:פליאונטולוגיה]] [[ka:პალეონტოლოგია]] [[la:Palaeontologia]] [[lt:Paleontologija]] [[hu:Őslénytan]] [[mk:Палеонтологија]] [[mn:Палеонтологи]] [[nl:Paleontologie]] [[ja:古生物学]] [[no:Paleontologi]] [[nn:Paleontologi]] [[nov:Paleontologia]] [[oc:Paleontologia]] [[nds:Paläontologie]] [[pl:Paleontologia]] [[pt:Paleontologia]] [[ro:Paleontologie]] [[ru:Палеонтология]] [[simple:Paleontology]] [[sk:Paleontológia]] [[sl:Paleontologija]] [[sr:Палеонтологија]] [[sh:Paleontologija]] [[su:Paléontologi]] [[fi:Paleontologia]] [[sv:Paleontologi]] [[ta:தொல்லுயிரியல்]] [[th:บรรพชีวินวิทยา]] [[vi:Cổ sinh vật học]] [[tr:Paleontoloji]] [[uk:Палеонтологія]] [[ur:حفریات]] [[vo:Fösilav]] [[yi:פאליאנטאלאגיע]] [[zh:古生物学]]