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Fossils are windows to the past. This program takes a look at how fossils are formed and preserved. Special attention is given to the meaning, significance, and use of fossils in telling about past life on Earth.
(Source: DCMP)
Students learn why fossils are often referred to as "windows to the past." The basic requirements for fossil formation are identified. Examples of various fossils highlight different types of fossil preservation, including petrification, imprints, molds and casts, freezing, amber fossilization, and preservation in tar pits. Finally, various uses of fossils are discussed. Additional terminology and concepts: cement, paleontology, fossil fuels, preserved remains, paleontologist, sediments, and limestone.
Uses trilobite fossils as an example to illustrate the challenges scientists face in understanding the prehistoric world and its place in time. Examines fossil sites in Australia, discusses how fossils are formed, and tells how a fossil's world is recreated.
The age of dinosaurs comes alive as viewers take a trip back in time. Students will discover how fossils are formed and come to understand that fossils can provide clues about how dinosaurs lived and died. Part of the Real World Science series.
During prehistoric eras, the geography of North America was different. It was cut into by a large inland sea. In present day Utah, Paleontologists use guide fossils as they search for other fossils of ancient marine life. Ultimately, they hope to discover a fossil of Plesiosaurus. Segment of video from Wild Chronicles Series.
Lucy was a hominid that lived 3.2 million years ago, and her anatomy provides surprising insights into human ancestors. A member of the species Australopithecus afarensis, Lucy illuminates the human evolution timeline. Students learn about this world-famous fossil and the evidence of bipedalism.
Anthropologists have made new fossil discoveries on Palau, an island country located in the western Pacific Ocean. But these fossils do not appear to be of animal origins. Could they belong to early humans? If so, scientists must answer the question of human variation. Segment of video from Wild Chronicles Series.
Scientists locate dinosaur fossils in Mongolia's Gobi Desert. As they excavate the bones, a story of prehistoric life in the region emerges. A segment of video from Wild Chronicles Series.
People have been discovering the traces and remains of prehistoric creatures for thousands of years. They have also probably been telling stories about fantastic beasts since language became a thing. Is it possible that the monsters that populate myths and legends were influenced by the fossil record? Part of the "Eons" series.
National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Paul Sereno is usually digging up dinosaur bones. But Sereno was walking through the Sahara in northern Niger when he found a nearly 10,000-year-old human skull. This discovery lead Sereno to imagine the green Sahara that was their home. Segment of video from Wild Chronicles Series.
Ethiopia's Rift Valley seems a barren landscape, but it hides untold archaeological riches. Dig in with Wild Chronicles and National Geographic researcher Zeray Alemseged and unearth a three-million-year-old baby. This historic discovery of tiny bones may shed new light on man's ancestry. Segment of video from Wild Chronicles Series.
Dr. Scott Wing spent a decade combing the hills in the Bighorn Basin of Wyoming to find fossil evidence of an extinction event that occurred in the Southern Ocean of Antarctica around 56 million years ago. In this episode, host Emily Graslie talks with him and Dr. Kirk Johnson about how studying the fossil record helps scientists better understand climate change. Part of "The Brain Scoop" series.
Host Emily Graslie takes the fish fossils she found at Fossil Lake back to the museum. She works with Akiko Shinya, who is a fossil preparator, to prepare the fossils for exhibition. Part of "The Brain Scoop" series.
Host Emily Graslie explores myths surrounding the discovery of fossils. Did the discovery of Protoceratops fossils give birth to the stories about griffins? Another mythical creature, the Cyclops, also has potential ties to the fossil record. Is an extinct species of ammonite actually serpents turned into stone? Part of "The Brain Scoop" series.
In this episode, experts reveal Europe's geological history. They discuss the discovery of ancient fossils and petrified forests. Part of the "Voyage of the Continents" series.
The fossils of bats resemble the bat of today with some differences related to leg length and location of claws. Their fossils are also found on all the continents except Antarctica, and they appear in these areas around the same time. So what are the origins of bats? Part of the "Eons" series.
Explains how scientists learn about dinosaurs. Paleontologists use detective techniques to uncover fossils. They deduce how dinosaurs lived, what they ate, how they moved, and how they cared for their families. Visit a dig and learn how fossils are preserved for study. Watch a skeleton be reconstructed. Leslie Nielson hosts this live-action/animated presentation.
Is a sixth mass extinction on the horizon? Dr. Anthony Barnosky and Kaitlin Maguire travel to the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument to find, collect, and date fossils. They have determined that the rate at which animals are going extinct today is much faster than normal.
How is it that a museum can have over twelve hundred fossils of a particular species in its collection and not even know what it is? For decades, it was thought the Tully Monster, a bizarre animal that lived 307 million years ago, was an invertebrate. However, as host Emily Graslie reveals in this episode, scientists at The Field Museum finally cracked the mystery of the monster. It is actually related to lamprey fish. Part of "The Brain Scoop" series.
Charles Darwin once boldly predicted that buried deep in the earth are transitional fossils of creatures with intermediate features between ancestral animal groups and the modern animal groups. Since Darwin’s time, many transitional fossils have been discovered, and they provide crucial insights into the origin of key structures and the creatures that possess them. And University of Chicago paleontologist and award-winning author Neil Shubin provides a first-hand account of the painstaking search for the transitional fossil of Tiktaalik, a creature with a mix of features common to fish and four-legged animals.
