Meaning Of Paleontology
The meaning of paleontology can be stood from the Greek word which where the word is derived. In Greek, paleontology means study of early beings, and true this is. Paleontology is a science related to studying ancient animals, plants and microorganisms based on fossils that are found. In addition, paleontologists study other fossils like tracks, teeth marks, feces and even eggs. |
It should not come as a surprise to figure out that the meaning of paleontology comes from a Greek word. Fossils were discovered even during the period of ancient Greeks who at that time thought that these were the remains of the many creatures that Greek mythology talks about.
However, only few fossils have been found that are older than 600 million years, so paleontology basically restricts itself to studying life over the last 600 million years. Paleontology works alongside geology to understand the age, structure and composition of rocks in which the fossils were found. This enables paleontologists to figure out the age of the fossils. Another subdivision of paleontology studies microorganisms and this is used extensively when it comes to drilling for petroleum.
Although paleontology and geology work side by side, they are completely different fields of science. This separation only occurred during the 19th century when Georges Cuvier discovered fossils and Charles Darwin published his famous and controversial book, The Origin of Species.
Today paleontology conducts in depth study on how changes in the climate and geography affected evolution, as these had major impact on the organisms. No doubt paleontology is an important science and many industries like mining and petroleum are dependent on the information that this science provides.
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