palaeontology

Everyday

1. The science that studies life from long ago, mostly through fossils of animals and plants, such as dinosaurs. tree →
2. The study of how living things changed over millions of years. tree →

In the lessons

In science lessons on fossils and evolution, palaeontology tells us about dinosaurs, ancient sea creatures and early plants. A palaeontologist digs up fossils, cleans them and works out what the animal was like. Mary Anning, a fossil hunter from Lyme Regis in England, found famous fossils in the 1800s.

Examples

• Palaeontology is the study of fossils. tree →
• She wants to study palaeontology and dig up dinosaurs. tree →
• Mary Anning made great discoveries for palaeontology. tree →
• Palaeontology tells us that sharks are older than trees. tree →
• The museum has a palaeontology room full of bones. tree →
• In palaeontology, a single tooth can tell you what an animal ate. tree →

Note

UK spelling: palaeontology; US spelling: paleontology. Person: palaeontologist. Pronounced "pal-ee-on-TOL-uh-jee". Myth: palaeontologists do not study human history in old cities; that is archaeology. Dinosaurs and people never lived at the same time.