Stephen S. Pope, age 10, of Asheville, N.C., for his question:
What is paleontology?
Man's history has been a long, slow struggle against the hardships of nature. His triumphs came from learning the ways of nature and by using her strict laws to suit himself. This phase of our story is science. And one of its newest and most rewarding fields is paleontology.
More time and effort will be devoted to the sciences .in the world of the future, and many of Andy's young readers will find their happy life's work in the many branches of science. There will be more than Enough work for all of you to do in these careers, and the time to start your planning is now. Paleontology is one of those parent sciences linked to a family of specialized branch sciences.
The word paleontology means the study of ancient things. The early paleontologists Were fossil specialists. Such a career sfems rather stuffy to bright eyed space agers, but the paleontologists of the 18th Century suddenly saw that their Science was far more than a Collection of dusty relics from the dead past. They saw that rocks and their fossils held a record of the history of our planet and its living things. Its rocky relics tell of the past and the present and also point to the future.
The scope of paleontology is immense, and no one can specialize in all its departments. Some paleontologists specialize in their favorite periods of the past; others specialize in the rocky records of their favorite lands. There are specialists in vertebrates, invertebrates and plant fossils. The vast field of paleontology draws data from earth scientists in geology and geography, from mineralogists and experts who figure the age old cy ges of the global climate.
Much of the long story was recorded in the sea, and some paleontologists Specialize in Oceanography. Entwined in the epic story of our planet and its children is the story of man. Archeology may be considered as a social science, along with medicine and psychology. This study of mankind, however, is also a specialized branch of the parent science, paleontology.
One of the many practical gifts of paleontology is a knowledge of the Earth's minerals, when and where they were formed. An up to date oilman needs the know how of a trained paleontologist to tell where petroleum is likely to be found and where drilling would be a hopeless waste of Effort.
There are enough specialized branches of paleontology to interest almost Every young scientist. All these careers require an Early background of courses in chemistry, mineralogy, geology, geography and, of course, math, the basic language of all sciences. The young student must also know something of physics because modern Experts figure the age of fossils from the activity of certain radioactive materials.