MadSci Network: Evolution
Query:

Re: Will there always be dinosaur bones left to dig up?

Date: Wed Jul 26 09:27:36 2000
Posted By: Thomas M. Greiner, Assistant Professor of Anatomy / Physical Anthropology
Area of science: Evolution
ID: 964050860.Ev
Message:

Will there be dinosaur bones left?

It seems that most people develop a dinosaur fascination around age six. 
You imagine the giant beasts lumbering across the landscape, and you 
imagine yourself working in far away exotic places uncovering their 
remains. What turns you into a paleontologist is that you never outgrow 
that fascination. We all still have those dreams - or at least I do.

However, even a budding paleontologist needs to grow up. Most 
paleontologists do not work with dinosaur remains. Paleontology is the 
study of past life, and the dinosaurs existed for only a small period 
during the history of life on our planet. So, you don't want to think of 
paleontology as being dinosaur dependent. While finding new fossils is an 
important aspect of paleontology, that is not where most of the work gets 
done. Most paleontologists do their work in museums and laboratories 
examining the fossils that were found by other people. Because there are 
always new ways of looking at things, and new technologies, there will 
always be opportunities for the paleontologist. 

But we all still really want to dig up fossils. To be sure the fossil 
record is limited. It is theoretically possible that all the fossils that 
exist could be dug up - but that's not likely to happen in the near 
future. Digging up fossils is an extremely labor intensive process. It also 
happens to be a job that doesn't pay very well. That means that there are 
very few people that are actually digging up fossils. Most fossil hunters 
work more for the joy of the process than for the pay. Fossils are not 
being actively mined the way oil or coal is being drawn out of the ground. 
In fact, the fossil record has barely been scratched. You can rest assured 
that there are many times more buried fossils out there than exist in 
museums today, and that this will remain true for years to come. So, I 
think that there will be plenty of fossils to uncover when your son gets 
his chance.




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