Paleontology
We dig fossils!
What is paleontology?
Paleontology is the search for and study of fossils to deduce what life in the past was like. Paleontology has ties to many other sciences, such as biology, geology, anthropology, and ecology.
How does paleontology benefit humanity?
By studying fossils, we can discover lots about our past and the Earth's history. Paleontology is a very practical science that can bring about logical thinking. The main reason paleontology started was to bring about an age of practicality and logic, also known as the Renaissance.
The visual history of paleontology
<1800's
From the 6th century B.C.E. to the 1700's, the main concern of paleontologists was marine life found on mountains, also known as small shelly fossils (SSF).
1800's
The first "terrible lizard", or dinosaur, was discovered during the 1800's, which caused a boom of interest in paleontology, with the focus on reptiles. The bone wars, an intellectual battle between two paleontologists was started in this century, further contributing to the boom.
1900's onward
Mary Leakey's discovery of a Proconsul shifted the interest of paleontology to the search for the human origins. Later on, towards the 1990's, the interest of paleontology was in everything prehistoric, from the Archean age all the way to the early Holocene epoch.
Ethical concerns?
The main ethical concerns are illegal trespassing and theft from nations which the fossil was found in. Usually, the country in which the fossil is found keeps the fossil and the nation from which the paleontology buys it off of them, but quite frequently, the fossils are illegally removed from the country without permission. Trespassing is more for the amateur collectors. They will trespass on private property and take fossils without consent of the owner.
How does paleontology affect us?
Paleontology could help us open our mind to science as well as help us learn about our past.
The future of paleontology...
Like everything else, the future of paleontology is uncertain. Some believe that it will slowly die out, while others believe it will continue to move forward in leaps and bounds. With the discovery of Magnetic Resonance Imaging techniques, the future seems bright. MRI techniques make the life of paleontologists much easier. Instead of digging where they think a fossil may be, they can confirm the presence before digging.