Understanding Fossils

For my extra credit book report, I chose to read “Your Inner Fish” by Neil Shubin. Neil Shubin is a highly regarded paleontologist, and is extremely qualified to have written this book. Shubin studied at Harvard university and earned his Ph.D. in organismic and evolutionary biology in 1987. He also studied at Columbia University, as well as Berkeley. He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2011. He is currently the Robert R. Bensley professor of organismal biology and anatomy, Associate Dean of Organismal Biology and Anatomy and Professor on the committee of Evolutionary Biology at the University of Chicago as well as being the Provost of the Field Museum of Natural History. Shubin also is very well known for his discovery of

In the article, “Anthropology Inc.”, Graeme Wood describes how anthropologists study a specific group of people, and how anthropologist practice research. When I was reading the article, the first example was the study of “Corrida de lesbianas” in home parties. Their goal was to write an ethnographic survey of drinking parties. The anthropologist approached to the study of this people by focusing on what, when, and how people drank Vodka. Then, they asked themselves; what are people seeking when they drink? In the end, they concluded that people where seeking for personal narratives because the narratives said in the party shows humor and creates a more trusting environment. I personally was convinced with this first study because they not only focus on what people say that they want, but they instead, focus more

Did you know that the first fully documented woolly mammoth skeleton was discovered in 1799..Probably not right? Is it ethical for scientist to clone woolly mammoths? Well if they do clone a mammoth and bring them back where would they live? I think it is ethical i say that because they already have the DNA to clone the mammoth . it would be a good thing to experience how there life was before our time.

Have you heard about the large reptile swimming in the dark, deep waters of Loch Ness? Many people question the existence of the Loch Ness Monster. Although, there are some non-believers in the world, evidence proves that Nessie is real.

"Oh Lord How manifold are thy works! In wisdom Hast thou made them all: The earth is full of thy riches"( Psalms 104:24). The Grand Canyon is known to be one of the most fascinating places on earth. The Grand Canyon is outstanding; however one must see it to believe it. Over five million people visit the canyon ever year. The Grand Canyon is famous for the way it is formed, the different types of rocks and fossils that exist, and the fun and interesting places to explore.

Neil and his colleagues focused on rocks from 375 million years ago because fossils from 360 million years ago were amphibians with necks and four legs. However rocks that are 380 million years old looked more like fish we know today, with fins and scale. So, it made sense that they would find the transitioning fossils in rocks that was 375 million years old. Neil chose to look in sedimentary rocks, such as limestone, sandstones, siltstones and shales, because they form fossils gently since they generally are formed by rivers, lakes and seas. At first, they were looking for fossils in the Devonian rocks in Pennsylvania, but they did not have much luck since the rocks had too much exposure. So they found that the High Arctic of Canada was ideal because the rocks were 375 million years old, they were sedimentary and had little exposure.

The Pan-American Highway Project recently unearthed a bunch of old bones, which were initially found by construction workers. The bones were turned over to scientists, who discovered that the large bones were part of the skeletons of over 40 marine animals. The bones belonged to animals like seals, aquatic sloths, and even an extinct species of sperm whales. These creatures are thought to have been killed off nearly 10,000 years ago.

The article “Ardipithecus ramidus: A New Kind of Ancestor: Ardipithecus Unveiled” written by Anna Gibbons, talks about how scientist learn many things about human evolution through artifacts of ancestors, DNA and bones. All of this helps reveals different things about our past and how we came to be. This article briefly mentions Lucy and it mainly focuses on the discovery of ardipithecus ramidus.

The tongue twister “She Sells Sea Shells” is one of the best known of its genre. Implied by its title, the tongue twister simply concerns a woman that scours the beach and sells the shells that she finds. Mary Anning was a young woman born to a working class family that lived in Lyme Regis, a small seaside town in England. She grew up helping her father comb the beaches for fossils they would sell to tourists. Even after her father died, Mary kept up the fossil collecting practice in order to sustain her mother and brother. But what started out as a means of survival for the Annings turned out to impact the world of paleontology in the early 19th century, though Mary was rarely credited for her finds. The credit typically went to her male colleagues

Experimental Archaeology focuses on experiments and theories in order to determine what possible use a certain artifact was for, such as in a utilitarian sense or symbolically. Archaeologists then are able to develop a sense of how the people who used those specific artifacts functioned in their society.

Aim: To study fossils and the sedimentary layers they were found. Examine the clues left to appreciate the species found and the characteristics of the environment at the time when the organisms died and became fossilized.

The Cretaceous Period was the third period in the Mesozoic Era, this period lasted for about 145-65 million years. This period was known as the last age of dinosaurs.

Have you ever wondered about the past? How did humans and other creatures live together? Such questions create curiosity that makes one want to search for answers. When it comes to prehistoric researching, however, the answers will not be that accurate. This is because there were only remnants and monuments that indicate what probably happened at that time. According to the movie, the Cave of Forgotten Dreams (Herzog, 2010), the Chauvet Cave that lies in France, is one of the ancient caves that belongs to the Paleolithic period. The cave is special because some of the oldest paintings were discovered inside it. That such art work exists has made scientists pose many questions and draw tentative conclusions.

The dinosaurs are vertebrate animals that dominated our planet for over 160 million years ago. It is said that they first appeared on our land 230 million years ago. Our attention was drawn to the dinosaurs after watching the blockbuster science fiction film entitled Jurassic Park directed by Steven Spielberg in 1993. By the end of the Cretaceous period, about 65 million years ago, they had experienced a catastrophic extinction. How often have you wondered what happened to the dinosaurs? Do you know what factors contributed to their rapid extinction? Now, let me tell you my theories on behalf of their rapid disappearance from our Earth.

Fossils are important evidence for evolution because they show that life on earth was once different from life found on earth today.