Paleontologists don’t exactly have an easy job. They do the digging, dusting, labeling, writing, and waiting all themselves. (Unless a helpful coal miner digs up a mammoth, which is rare!)
What goes into their work?
- Make the find. For paleontologists, the world is like a big sandbox where puzzle pieces (fossils) are buried. They want to put the puzzle together. Think bonebeds of skeletons in Texas. Frozen carcasses in the permafrost of Canada and Siberia. A mummified duckbilled dinosaur with fossilized skin in North Dakota.
- Dig. It’s time to start digging the fossil from the rock. First come the big tools, like shovels and picks. Closer to the fossil, paleontologists employ rock picks—two-headed hammers with a flat side and a chisel side. Next, they use a medium knife and then a smaller knife. As they work, they clean with a paintbrush to keep dust away.
- Catalog. Time to haul the treasure out of the “sandbox”? Not yet. Paleontologists use words, photos, and videos to record everything about their discovery. Where did they find their fossil? Did they discover other bones nearby? These may belong to the same creature or the predator that killed it. Paleontologists also look for pollen or plant samples. These help them guess the age of their fossil.
- Move it—very carefully. The puzzle is just beginning. Now they spend long months in the lab studying the artifacts. Next, they tell the world what they have found—through the tasks of writing and publishing. Some paleontologists also spend time teaching students or museum-goers about historical finds. And some work raising money so they can go back to the fun part: dirty work!
Would you enjoy being a paleontologist? What creature would you most want to find? Tell us! Write to worldkidseditor@gwnews.com.
