Paleontology is a science that studies aspects of life on Earth in past geological periods, using as main objects of analysis the fossils of animals and plants that inhabited those times.
From the fossil study, paleontologists are able to acquire a lot of information about the fossilized being and what life was like on the planet in the past. They are still able to trace several peculiar characteristics about the behavior, food and environment where this organism lived.
By analyzing the fossil, it is also possible to discover the probable cause of the organism's death. But it is not just fossils of living beings that serve as an object of study in paleontology. the calls trace fossils (preserved traces that indicate activities of living organisms, such as footprints, for example) are also useful in helping to draw a profile of life in the past.
Paleontologists are known to be the professionals responsible for study the dinosaurs. But the paleontologist's work is quite diversified, working both in research and directly on the sites paleontological, participating in excavations with the objective of finding fossils or trace fossils that may be studied.
In theory, the field of study of paleontology extends from the appearance of life on Earth (more than 3 billion years ago) to about 10 thousand years ago. However, if necessary, professionals in this area can analyze more recent fossils.
Paleontology can be further subdivided into four different areas: a paleozoology (study of animal fossils); paleobotany (study of plant fossils); macropaleontology (fossils visible to the naked eye); and the micropaleontology (fossils of microorganisms).
Paleontology and Archeology
As stated, paleontology is concerned with studying the remains of living beings (animals and plants) that inhabited the different geological periods of the Earth in the past. It should be noted that paleontology studies hominids, as well as primate-human evolution. But, the current human being is not covered by this science.
Archeology differs in that it focuses on study of the traces left by humanity and its societies, aiming mainly at the cultural aspect. For this reason, archeology is classified as a social science or human science, even working with elements of biological, earth and exact sciences.
Both sciences, however, can be interconnected and, as a rule, act in a cooperative way. In fact, the results obtained by both archeology and paleontology contribute to the development of other areas of study, such as Biology, Sociology, History, among others.
Learn more about meaning of archeology.
