The scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene Epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossils to determine organisms' evolution and interactions with each other and their environments (their paleoecology).
Paleontology lies on the border between biology and geology, but differs from archaeology in that it excludes the study of anatomically modern humans. The final quarter of the 20th century saw the development of molecular phylogenetics, which investigates how closely organisms are related by measuring how similar the DNA is in their genomes. Molecular phylogenetics has also been used to estimate the dates when species diverged, but there is controversy about the reliability of the molecular clock on which such estimates depend.
Join 4M+ learners. Unlock unlimited quizzes, wrong-answer tracking, flashcards + reminders, study guides, and 1-on-1 challenges.