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Paleontologist
Studies fossils to understand ancient life — from dinosaurs to early humans.
Did you know?
T. rex (about 68 million years ago) lived closer in time to us than to Stegosaurus, which died out around 145 million years ago.
How subjects help
- Biology: Compare fossil bones with living animals to work out how a dinosaur moved and fed.
- Geology: Read rock layers to know where fossils are likely to be found and how old they are.
- Chemistry: Use weak acids and fine tools to free a fragile fossil from the rock around it.
- Geography: Picture how continents and coastlines have shifted to see where ancient animals lived.
A famous name
Mary Anning: At about 12, she and her brother found the first ichthyosaur skeleton to be correctly identified.
Try it yourself: Make a mould fossil
- Press a layer of dough about 2 cm thick into the pot and smooth the top as flat as you can.
- Push your toy, shell or leaf firmly into the dough, then lift it out slowly so the shape stays sharp.
- Look closely at the print. Write down what it tells you (size, number of legs, patterns) and what it cannot tell you (colour, what it ate).
- Swap moulds with someone else and see if they can work out what made theirs without being told.
Palaeontologists study trace fossils, such as footprints and imprints left in mud that hardened into rock, and work out what animal made them and how it moved.
Adapted from Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County: Make Your Own Trace Fossil.
Also try: Build dig layers in a tub.
Known for it in
USA, China, Argentina, Canada, Mongolia