Paleontology -

The earth has been theorized to be 4.54 billion years old. Early conditions did could not support life as we know it. The study of life in geological history appears to begin around 3.8 billion years ago in the Archean.  Over time, organisms became more complex, evolving plants first and later animals. It was not until roughly 500 million years ago during the Cambrian period that complex life forms evolved.

The geology of the earth preserved records of life as fossils. Paleontology is the study of these records.  These were either preserved as body fossils (the remains of the actual organism) or as trace fossils (records of the activity created by the organisms such as burrowing or footprints). Unfortunately much of the geology is not conducive to preserving fossils. Igneous rocks and metamorphic rocks involve too much heat and pressure to save the organism in the geological record. This leaves sedimentary rocks. Oceans, rivers, swamps and marshes provided conditions for sedimentary deposition (as well as tar pits) provided that the energy involved in the depositional environment was not too great (as it would end up destroying the organism's remains.)  Furthermore, organisms which lived in higher elevations or where non-depositional environments existed would not likely be preserved.  Over time, many sedimentary  deposits have been eroded or even recycled into new rock materials.

Despite this we continue to find a tremendous variety of fossils. However, we may never find all of the previous life.

There are many sites and locations dedicated to paleontology. Here are a few. If you have others you would like to have listed, please contact us at This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it .

Sample form the Gastropod formation near Notch Bottom