Palaeontology is the study of the history of life on Earth, as reflected in the fossil record. Fossils are the remains or traces of organisms (plants, animals, fungi, bacteria and other single-celled living things) that lived in the geological past and are preserved in the crust of the Earth.

There are many subdivisions of the field of palaeontology, including vertebrate palaeontology (the study of fossils of animals with backbones), invertebrate palaeontology (the study of fossils of animals without backbones), micropaleontology (the study of fossils of single-celled organisms), paleobotany (the study of plant fossils), taphonomy (the study of how fossils form and are preserved), biostratigraphy (the study of the vertical distribution of fossils in rocks), and paleoecology (the study of ancient ecosystems and how they developed). Palaeontologists also frequently are involved in studies of evolutionary biology.

As South Africa is home to The Cradle of Humanity where the oldest fossils of hominids have been uncovered and South Africa as a whole has been the site of other discoveries such as the Taung Child. There are still a large number of sites being excavated and these will hopefully produce even more fossils so we may better understand the earth's past.

To study palaeontology you first have to do an archaeology degree followed by post-grad work in palaeontology.

You can study archaeology as a degree at either the University of Cape Town (UCT) or Stellenbosch University.

For more info, visit the following:

UCT
Stellenbosch

Page Last Updated 18 May 2010