Why scientist study fossils

Fossils vertebrates provide evidence for their invasion of land. Fossil evidence from the Burgess Shale provides an explanation of ancient life in the Cambrian era and its significant connection to modern animal life.

When paleontologists study ancient life, they assume that the patterns of natural systems operating then and now are the same. Skip to main content. Fossils can show how organisms evolved over very long periods of time. They also show how living things today relate to those from millions of years ago. Some fossils even give clues about how ancient organisms went about their daily lives.

For example, fossil footprints suggest some dinosaurs lived in groups. Check out the full list of Scientists Say. By Carolyn Wilke October 28, at am. By measuring the proportion of 14C relative to 12C in an ancient organic sample, it is possible to calculate its age. Researchers can study the internal anatomy of fossils without damaging the material by using X-ray analysis radiography. CT scans using computed tomography provide detailed internal images of fossils.

Taphonomy is the study of processes which relate to the death of organisms, their burial and decay. It is important to understand these to interpret fossil sites correctly. Bones were once parts of living animals. After an animal dies, it naturally decays where it is buried. Taphonomy includes the investigation of things like the age of the individuals which the bones once belonged to, and how weathering has affected them.

Dr Bob Brain, a zoologist at the Transvaal Museum, undertook pioneering taphonomic work on fossils at Swartkrans in the Cradle of Humankind. At issue was an idea developed by Professor Raymond Dart of the University of the Witwatersrand, who identified the Taung Skull, that the early hominids were ruthless hunters.

In the course of examining nearly , fossils over 25 years, Brain hypothesised that some of the hominid and animal bones were food remains left by large cats. The early hominids were not the hunters, but the hunted!

Palaeoecology is the study of how organisms — including hominids — related with their environment in the past. The proportions of species represented in a fossil assemblage may suggest much about the nature of past environments. There are a number of ways in which modern primates can be studied to model the lives of extinct hominids.

Return to the Exhibition Guide. A map detailing fossil sites in the Cradle of Humankind. Site preparation When a potential site is identified, it is surveyed using technology that produces three-dimensional maps and plans of potential fossil-bearing areas. The "Almost Human" exhibition takes you through the excavation for Homo naledi.

In the laboratory After a fossil has been prepared and cleaned, it is studied in the laboratory. Binocular light microscopes are used to look at surface features of bones. Scientific techniques: At the cutting edge. Understand the science behind fossil dating at Maropeng's "Almost Human" exhibition.

Scientists date fossils using various techniques.