What's the job of a paleontologist?

Question

Why is my best friend so "into it"? I mean, he's going to major in Paleontology in college? What is it about Paleontology that interests him? I mean, it's just fossils, right?

Answer 1

<<I mean, it's just fossils, right?>>

Those "just fossils" happen to be talking about a whole entangled weave of stories of the history of life on Earth, that have been playing out for the past 3.8 billion years.  My personal interest centres on the ancient evolutionary history of mammals and their closer ancestors, and some of the treasures in the paleontological trouve are truly stunning.  Did you know, for example, those "just fossils" happen to include burrows dug by non-mammalian cynodonts that are around 250 million years old, fur preserved from around 160 million years, and all kinds of other wonders.

This may not be your kind of thing, and that's fine.  But, should you one day have the misfortune to be infected by interest with this sort of fascinating stuff, then that interest may cause you to miss out on some parts of normal life, but your admittedly eccentric paleo-consciousness will amply reward you deep-seated and hard-won information of fascination.

The Mesozoic - far more than just the dinosaur.

Answer 2

Maybe so but it tells a lot about different eras in time, and can be very exciting to someone with sufficient imagination. I mean, Indiana Jones is an archaeologist(a similar field) and look how much excitement he had. Even if you're not Indiana Jones, however, to someone with sufficient imagination it can be a very exciting field. I mean, imagine meeting King Tutankhamen, or Ramses, or Moses.

Answer 3

Pretty sure its dinasours, cave men, stuff like that too.

Answer 4

it's for people who loves dinosaurs

Answer 5

Paleontology is the study of organisms by looking at the earth. Or at least that is what all of my science teachers since second grade told me.

Hope I helped!

~Liza :-)

Answer 6

The paleontologists I know look at micro fossils recovered from wells drilled in the Gulf of Mexico....Oh, did I mention that they make $1500-2000/day...thats right "day" if they are working on the drilling rig....you interested now?