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Consequently, paleontologists must usually rely on stratigraphy to date fossils. Stratigraphy is the science of deciphering the "layer-cake" that is the sedimentary record, and has been compared to a jigsaw puzzle. [71] Rocks normally form relatively horizontal layers, with each layer younger than the one underneath it.
Paleontology or palaeontology is the study of prehistoric life forms on Earth through the examination of plant and animal fossils. [1] This includes the study of body fossils, tracks ( ichnites ), burrows , cast-off parts, fossilised feces ( coprolites ), palynomorphs and chemical residues .
Hence, paleontology overlaps with geology (the study of rocks and rock formations) as well as with botany, biology, zoology and ecology – fields concerned with life forms and how they interact. The major subdivisions of paleontology include paleozoology (animals), paleobotany (plants) and micropaleontology (microfossils).
Bust of the paleontologist Georges Cuvier (left) and a cast skeleton of Palaeotherium magnum (named by Cuvier in 1804, right), Cuvier Museum of Montbéliard. Paleontology (/ ˌ p eɪ l i ɒ n ˈ t ɒ l ə dʒ i, ˌ p æ l i-,-ən-/ PAY-lee-on-TOL-ə-jee, PAL-ee-, -ən-), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to the start of the ...
The history of paleontology traces the history of the effort to understand the history of life on Earth by studying the fossil record left behind by living organisms. Since it is concerned with understanding living organisms of the past, paleontology can be considered to be a field of biology, but its historical development has been closely tied to geology and the effort to understand the ...
This is a list of notable paleontologists who have made significant contributions to the field of paleontology. Only paleontologists with biographical articles in ...
Relative dating by biostratigraphy is the preferred method in paleontology and is, in some respects, more accurate. [1] The Law of Superposition, which states that older layers will be deeper in a site than more recent layers, was the summary outcome of 'relative dating' as observed in geology from the 17th century to the early 20th century.
Paleontology (US spelling) or palaeontology (UK spelling) is the study of the developing history of life on earth, of ancient plants and animals based on the fossil record, evidence of their existence preserved in rocks. This includes the study of body fossils, tracks, burrows, cast off parts, fossilized feces ("coprolites"), and chemical residues.