Talk:Paleontology

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etymology note

Παλαιός (Palaios) is the greek word for old not paleos. So it's better to spell the term as palaiontology (this is the main lemma in good dictionaries (i.e. oxford). "ον" (On)=being:

singular

nominative: Το ον, prossessive: Του όντος, accusative: Το ον

plural nominative: Τα όντα, prossessive: Των όντων, accusative: Τα όντα

"Λόγος"= speech, thought, proportion, ratio

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Attribution

..."is often said[by whom?] to work by conducting experiments to disprove hypotheses". Obviously, the idea is best known from the works of Karl Popper. Macdonald-ross (talk) 13:45, 2 April 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Does Paleontology just count as the study of pre-historic life instead of pre-history in general?

Technically speaking, isn't that more specifically paleobiology? Other fields such as paleoclimatology, paleomagnetism, and other fields are also included in paleontology. Asaduzzaman Khan Shahriar (talk) 14:35, 6 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]

In my experience (MS in geology) paleontology includes the study of the environment in which the paleo-organisms evolved. It is more than just the fossil organisms and their biology. Vsmith (talk) 00:54, 7 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Then why is Paleontology still described as the study of prehistoric life forms? Asaduzzaman Khan Shahriar (talk) 08:25, 8 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]

A complete study of any life form will include their ecology, their adaptations to their habitat and climate, and interaction with other organisms. Ontology deals with the nature of being, so technically Palaeontology will be the broadest subject area, although in practice it's probably more narrowly defined by those working as palaeontologists. Such terms can have more than one meaning. — Jts1882 | talk 08:44, 8 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Yeah, but you're not studying the pre-historic life forms while studying pale-climatology. Even if you do, that is in an inter-disciplinary session. Asaduzzaman Khan Shahriar (talk) 15:19, 9 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Breadth of paleontology

This article says paleontology "is the scientific study of life ... It includes the study of fossils ..."

The article on fossils says "Paleontology is the study of fossils ..."

These don't seem consistent, and one needs amendment. Masato.harada (talk) 14:13, 24 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]

When you say "is the scientific study of life," are you aware that you're using the ellipses to omit the amending clause of "that existed prior to the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present)"? Mr Fink (talk) 15:55, 24 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks for the grammar lesson. So which article needs correction? Masato.harada (talk) 07:17, 25 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]

in the absence of any other comments, I've amended Fossils to say 'Paleontology includes the study of fossils'. Masato.harada (talk) 11:58, 30 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]