Paleontology
What Happened to the Wizard of Oz Costumes and More Great Questions From our Readers
Apollo 11 souvenirs, Walt Whitman’s politics, and dinosaur DNA were among the subjects you wanted to know more about
May 2013 |
By Smithsonian magazine
When Did Humans Come to the Americas?
Recent scientific findings date their arrival earlier than ever thought, sparking hot debate among archaeologists
February 2013 |
By Guy Gugliotta
Welcome to America’s Dinosaur Playground
Countless bones and a billion years of geological action make Dinosaur National Monument the go-to park for fossil finds
February 2013 |
By Mary Roach
How Scientists Are Recreating a Mating Call Last Heard in the Jurassic Period
Preserved in stone, a set of ancient insect wings are “chirping” once again thanks to the work of entomologists
January 2013 |
By Brian Switek
The Most Exciting (and Frustrating) Stories From This Year in Dinosaurs
From feathers to black market fossil controversies, 2012 was a big year for dinosaurs
December 14, 2012 |
By Brian Switek
From Golf Courses to Petting Zoos, Dinosaurs Get in the Way
Recently unveiled dinosaur sculptures are frustrating eyesores to some and tourist attractions to others
December 13, 2012 |
By Brian Switek
Did Early Dinosaurs Burrow?
Were enigmatic, 230-million-year-old burrows created by dinosaurs?
December 12, 2012 |
By Brian Switek
Beyond the Childhood Dinosaur Phase: Why Dinosaurs Should Matter to Everyone
Dinosaurs can help us unlock essential secrets about the history of life on Earth
December 11, 2012 |
By Brian Switek
How Did Raptors Use Their Fearsome Toe Claws?
Claw Shapes: A Glimpse Into the Lifestyle of Raptors?
December 07, 2012 |
By Brian Switek
What Prehistoric Reptile Do These Three-foot Claws Belong To?
Claws once thought to belong to a giant turtle turned out to be from one of the weirdest dinosaurs ever found
December 06, 2012 |
By Brian Switek
Scientists Discover Oldest Known Dinosaur
A fragmentary skeleton pins the emergence of dinosaurs more than 10 million years earlier than previously thought
December 05, 2012 |
By Brian Switek
How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Dinosaurian Oddities
A new book argues that dinosaur reconstructions, which stretch skin over bone, are bound to be inaccurate and imagines what the creatures may have looked with more fat, feathers and accessory adornments
November 30, 2012 |
By Brian Switek
Why Did Plant-Munching Theropods Get So Big?
Were these Late Cretaceous dinosaurs just the culmination of an evolutionary trend towards ever-larger body size or was something else at work?
November 29, 2012 |
By Brian Switek
Feathers Fuel Dinosaur Flight Debate
Was the early bird Archaeopteryx more of a glider than a flier?
November 28, 2012 |
By Brian Switek
What is Genyodectes?
A set of partial jaws hold an important place in the history of South American paleontology, but what sort of dinosaur do they represent?
November 27, 2012 |
By Brian Switek
Stegosaurus Plate Debate
Stegosaurus is immediately recognizable for its prominent plates, but why did these structures actually evolve?
November 23, 2012 |
By Brian Switek
What Kind of Dinosaur is Coming to Dinner?
Everyone knows that birds are dinosaurs, but what kind of dinosaur is your holiday turkey?
November 22, 2012 |
By Brian Switek
What’s the Secret of Hadrosaur Skin?
Were extra-thick hides the secret to why paleontologists have found so much fossilized hadrosaur skin?
November 21, 2012 |
By Brian Switek
Paleontologists Puzzle Over Possible Dinosaur Bones
When did dinosaurs start to become giants? Enigmatic bone fragments found in England complicate the debate
November 20, 2012 |
By Brian Switek
Cretaceous Legs Give Away New Dinosaur
Slender limb bones found in Argentina give away a new species of tiny dinosaur
November 16, 2012 |
By Brian Switek
