Paleontology
Photo: Oregon State University, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Paleontology or palaeontology is the study of prehistoric life on Earth, especially through fossils, and is an important tool for studying organisms' evolution. A traveller can find museums and dig sites which tell the story of our planet before recorded history, before mankind, before land animals, even before vertebrates.
The oldest fossils go back over 600 million years. Among the most interesting are:
- the dinosaurs (reptiles of the Mezozoic Era, 245 to 66 million years ago)
- other great beasts such as mammoths and sabertooth tigers
- (mammals of the Pliocene epoch, about 5 million years ago, to the end of the last Ice Age, around 12,000 years ago)
- the various extinct human or proto-human species (around 3.5 million to 40,000 years ago)
- see early explorers for some of their migrations
Of course there are many other epochs, each with different fossils.
For the history of modern humans, Homo sapiens, during the last 50,000 years, see Archaeological sites and Historical travel.
UnderstandNothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution. Fossils are most often formed when some creature is buried in mud or silt which later turns into sedimentary rock, typically shale or limestone.
MuseumsToo many museums to mention have paleontological exhibits; almost any natural history museum worldwide has some, and many other museums have a natural history section.
SitesMany of the sites for mankind's earliest ancestors are along Africa's Great Rift Valley.
DoIn some places you can actually "fossil hunt" yourself, but this may be subject to a number of local regulations, as well as import/export restrictions when crossing borders.
See also
Sources and licences
- Guide text adapted from the Wikivoyage article "Paleontology" by its contributors, available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read on Wikivoyage · Contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Photo: Oregon State University, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons