Evidence for Evolution: Paleontology

What is paleontology?

Paleontology (Greek palaios = old, on = being, logos = teaching) is the science / doctrine of the development of living things. She is involved in the study of prehistoric creatures from sedimentary and rock strata.

Paleontology is indispensable when it comes to finding and giving arguments for the theory of evolution. Evolution is a long process that accompanies the development of species. Paleontological findings allow comparisons between deceased and surviving individuals, and in this way connections can be made and new hypotheses can be established. After all, how could the human phylogenetic history be proved if there had never been found numerous fossils that would show the development of monkey-like beings into the genus Homo?

Fossils

Fossils (lat. Fossilis = excavated) are preserved traces of plants and animals of past earth ages. Fossils can occur as a body fossil (the living being itself) or as a trace fossil (traces of the living being, such as imprints).
Evolutionary, fossils illustrate biodiversity and the appearance and disappearance of individuals from past geological history. In addition, they help in the creation of phylogenetic systems, where, among other things. it's about which organisms have evolved from what.

Examples of measurement methods - relative dating methods

 Rock stratigraphy: Lower layers are always older than the upper layers. Thus, relative statements can be made according to the scheme "fossil 1 is older than fossil 2".

 Biostratigraphy: Guiding fossils can be used to make relative statements about the age of surrounding rock strata. Guiding fossils have been typical living beings for their time. If you find two Leitfossilien in different places, the layers are about the same age.

For a limitation to be possible, a Leitfossil may:

a) have only existed for a short time (otherwise the time periods to be determined become too large)

b) must have occurred in many remote habitats (so that it can be compared over long distances)

c) must occur in large numbers if possible (because no guide fossil is found, this method is obsolete)

Examples of Measurement Methods - Absolute dating methods

 Radiocarbon method: This can be used to determine the age of organic substances. Living things ingest the radioactive carbon isotope 14C through food. If a person dies, he does not take up 14C anymore, it will only be mined. The half-life is 5730 years. Based on the amount of residual carbon isotope 14C, the age can now be determined fairly accurately (but never exactly!). The disadvantage of this method is the limitation of the temporal scope, because for finds that are older than 50,000 years, 14C is only so low available that no reliable measurement is possible.

There are a number of other measuring methods that can determine the age based on decayed isotopes. However, one then selects isotopes with a significantly greater half-life (e.g., potassium-argon dating, half life of 1.25 billion years).

Summary

Paleontology is the science of living beings of bygone eras
Fossils are important evidence of evolution

With the help of relative and absolute dating methods archaeological finds can be classified temporally