Well, it’s that time again. The calendar has flipped, the sun appeared, and the groundhog did not see his shadow so spring evidently is upon us, almost.* The ‘Ology of the month is once more upon us as well, get excited! This month we will delve into…wait for it….PALEONTOLOGY!
Now, before you stop reading because you assume that of all the ‘ologies you’ve got this one pegged, I’d like us all to be clear on a few things:Paleontology is not:
- Archaeology (the study of past cultures)
- Indiana Jones’ profession (yep, that’s still archaeology)
- Irrelevant to modern humans (paleontology affects you, yes, you!) Finds such as Lucy require the expertise of anthropologists, archaeologists and paleontologists to figure out the whole story
- Only the study of dinosaurs-basically it covers ALL old, dead, plant and animal specimens
- A sure-fire career path to sweat and sunburns—check out this link to read about the Burke’s curator Christian Sidor and his team’s latest paleontological research in ANTARCTICA
Paleontology is the study of past life forms, based on plant and animal fossils and their geological contexts.
Here to tell you more about what paleontology is and what paleontologists actually do is the Burke’s curator of vertebrate paleontology, Christian Sidor (pictured above next to Lego Indiana).
ES: How would you describe paleontology in ten words or less?
CS: It's the study of the history of life on Earth.
ES: Most people think they may know a little about what it’s like to study paleontology--what is something unusual or random that most people would not know?
CS: The fossil record consists of more than just bones. Some of the most interesting fossils are the fossilized remains of animal behavior- like footprints, trackways, burrows, or poop-things that paleontologists call trace fossils.
ES: When you tell people you are a paleontologist, what is usually the first thing they ask or say?
CS: Like Ross? (from Friends - but that's fading now that the show is no longer on TV.)
ES: What are some common misconceptions about paleontology?
CS: The single biggest misunderstanding is between paleontology and archaeology - THEY'RE NOT THE SAME! (ES here: again, please refer to the above diptych of Sidor vs. the Lego if this point needs any further clarification!)
ES: What’s the most interesting research project you’ve worked on this year?
ES: What’s the most interesting research project you’ve worked on this year?
CS: My students and I just got back from looking for fossils in Antarctica. We found lots of great material from the Early and Middle Triassic - about 245 million years ago - a time when Antarctica formed part of the supercontinent Pangea and was devoid of glaciers.
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| Kryostega collinsoni, a Triassic amphibian discovered by Sidor on a previous expedition to Antarctica |
CS: The fossil record documents how animals and plants responded to climate change in the past, and this type of knowledge could be very important to have in the face of future changes to the Earth.
If you would like to learn more about the paleontological work that happens at the Burke Museum, or want to meet Christian Sidor, come to the Burke on Saturday, March 5th for Dino Day! In addition to the opportunity to see real dinosaur and dinosaur-era fossils, there will be digging, dino dress-up, and drawing occurring all day!
CS: I think the “Expeditions” theme is great and hopefully will show people that the Burke Museum is actively collecting from all over the world.
Read more about the Burke Paleontology department here.
*please note that the Burke Museum does not take a position on the relative merits or lack thereof of groundhog shadow watching as a scientifically verifiable seasonal indicator…but we really would like spring to come soon.
Posted by: Emily Sparling
