Paleontology
From CreationWiki, the encyclopedia of creation science
Paleontology is the study of the forms of life existing in prehistoric times, chiefly by studying the fossils of plants, animals, and other organisms. A paleontologist is a scientist who studies aspects such as morphology, behavior, and how ancient life interacted with their environment.
Paleontology is based on uniformitarian geology, which holds that there has been no Biblical flood, but instead it is believed the layers of stata represent vast geologic ages. Based on this assumption, paleontologists examine and characterize fossils.
Within paleontology, there are branches and areas of specializations based on the particular type of organism. The study of prehistoric humans is known as Paleoanthropology, animal paleontology is Paleozoology, and the branch which studies ancient plants is called Paleobotany.
Paleontologists are often incorrectly referred to as archaeologists, because of public perception regarding similarities in techniques (i.e., both "dig in the dirt for old things"). There is somewhat of a blurring between archaeology and paleoanthropology, and even more so between paleoanthropology and some branches of paleozoology.
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Paleoanthropology
- Main Article: Paleoanthropology
Paleoanthropology is a specialized branch of physical anthropology involved with the study of ancient human beings. Paleoanthropologists are those investigating the origin and subsequent evolution of human physiology by examining fossil remains and other ancient evidence.
Mainstream anthropologists and archaeologists believe that humans began domesticating animals and plants in the Middle East about 10-12,000 years ago. The earliest known civilization, the Sumerians, developed in Mesopotamia about 7,000 years ago, after humans had developed agriculture sufficiently. This is the same location where many of the early Biblical stories in Genesis are set.
Paleozoology
- Main Article: Paleozoology
- Archaeopteryx is classified as late Jurassic, and dated by evolutionary dating methods at 150 million years.
- Dinosaur is undoubtedly the most popular group of animals studied by paleontologists.
- Plesiosaur is an extinct marine reptile that is found in strata identified as the Mesozoic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous Eras.
- Pterosaur is not scientifically classified as a dinosaur but more like a flying lizard, they have unique characteristics that set them apart from reptiles, birds, and bats.
- Mammoth is an extinct form of elephant. There are three different types of mammoths whose skeletons have been found in North America.
- Mastodon
Paleobotany
- Main Article: Paleobotany
Paleobotany is involved with the study of ancient plants. It is an important area of creation biology, as creationism and evolutionism have radically different descriptions of ancient plant life. Creationism holds that a wide variety of plant life was created by God fully intact with the capacity to reproduce and adapt to changing environments, approximately 6,000 years ago. Evolutionism holds that all plant life (and indeed all life on the planet) is related by common descent over millions of years, and that more complex plants developed more recently than simpler plants.
Paleontology News
- "Dinosaur Mummy" Found; Has Intact Skin, Tissue Scientists today announced the discovery of an extraordinarily preserved "dinosaur mummy" with much of its tissues and bones still encased in an uncollapsed envelope of skin. National Geographic News. December 3, 2007
- Mummified Dinosaur May Have Outrun T Rex A whole fossilized duckbilled dinosaur was unearthed, allowing more detailed research than ever had been possible. Associated Press. December 3, 2007.
- Dinosaur graveyard may unearth new reasons for their extinction Spanish scientists have unearthed what could be Europe's largest dinosaur boneyard, finding the remains of 65-foot plant-eaters never before discovered on the continent. Times Online. November 29th, 2007.
- Discovery of giant bird-like dinosaur leads to major questions for evolution surprising discovery indicates a more complicated evolutionary process for birds than originally thought. June 14, 2007
- In Startling Advance, Study Identifies Dinosaur Protein Findings offered as new evidence for dino-bird evolution. New York Times. April 13, 2007
- Rediscovering the Dinosaurs The Carnegie Museum of Natural History is revamping their entire dinosaur exhibit to account for new understandings of dinosaur evolution. ABC, April 10, 2007
- China's Earliest Modern Human Found human from China dated to about 40,000 years ago adds to evidence that Homo sapiens sapiens and Neandertals are the same species. National Geographic News. April 3, 2007
- Find raises doubts on key theory of human evolution A 40,000-YEAR-OLD skeleton found in China has raised questions about the "out of Africa" hypothesis on how early modern humans populated the planet. The Scotsman, April 3 2007
- Man's earliest direct ancestors looked more apelike than previously believed "Dr. Leakey produced a biased reconstruction based on erroneous preconceived expectations of early human appearance that violated principles of craniofacial development." EurekAlert, March 24, 2007
- Dinosaurs' den unearths new theory on extinction The find also casts doubt on the theory that a giant asteroid from space that crashed into the earth wiped out the dinosaurs. The Scotsman, March 21, 2007
- Fossil Meat Found in 380-Million-Year-Old Fish National Geographic, February 12, 2007
- Ancient skeleton focus of modern debate The national museum of Kenya prepares to exhibit the most complete skeleton of a prehistoric human ever found. Associated Press/MSNBC, Feb 07, 2007, 19:33 UTC
- RATE Book available Online! Available now for FREE download: the 676-page book Radioisotopes and the Age of the Earth.
- Vatican archaeologists unearth St. Paul's tomb Vatican archaeologists have unearthed a sarcophagus believed to contain the remains of the Apostle Paul. International Herald Tribune. December 6, 2006.
- Flood of claims for 'Noah's Ark': Legendary vessel of Genesis story goes from nowhere to everywhere numerous claims about the final resting place and modern technology being utilized in the hunt. WorldNetDaily. July 16, 2006.
- "Living fossil" discovered in SW China Experts recently discovered a type of amphibian species that once used to live in the dinosaur period. People's Daily Online. July 21, 2006
- Noah's Ark Discovered in Iran? A team of Christian archaeologists says rock outcrop could be the remains of Noah's ark. National Geographic News. July 5, 2006
- Earliest hominid: Not a hominid at all? The earliest known hominid fossil is actually some kind of ape. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. June 19, 2006
- Jurassic "Beaver" Found; Rewrites History of Mammals It looks a lot like a beaver—hairy body, flat tail, limbs and webbed feet adapted for swimming—but it lived 164 million years ago. National Geographic News. February 23, 2006.
Related References
- The Paleontology Portal (Not to be confused with the Paleontology Portal of CreationWiki)
- Paleontology at the U.S. Geological Survey
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