Early Discoveries
Human beings have been finding evidence of ancient life for millennia. We’ve been trying to better understand what fossil could tell us about the ancient world since the time of Greek Antiquity.
In the Americas, Native Americans have incorporated fossils into jewelry, tools, and ceremonial items. Before any formal study of Paleontology was established, most fossil discoveries came from African slaves. While digging, several slaves unearthed a mammoth tooth in South Carolina, correctly identifying it as being related to elephants. Though their contributions are not well-known, black and indigenous-made discoveries helped our modern understanding of our continent’s pre-history.
Drawing by Mary Buckland of the Megalosaurus jaw fossil found by husband William Buckland.
1824: First Dinosaurs Described
In 1824, geologist William Buckland discovered the first dinosaur fossil, the lower jaw of a theropod dinosaur he named Megalosaurus, which means “big lizard.” Later that year, more dinosaur fossils were discovered by Gideon Mantell, who found large teeth that resembled an iguana’s. Therefore, the second dinosaur ever described was named Iguanodon, or “iguana-tooth”.
1811: Mary and Joseph Anning Discover the Ichthyosaur
Mary Anning was instrumental in the development of early Paleontology. Her family home was situated on the cliffs of the English Channel in the town of Lyme Regis, England. Her father was a cabinet maker and amateur fossil hunter and sold his finds for extra money for the family. Unfortunately, her father died when Mary was only eleven years old, and her and her family had to rely on charity to survive without her father’s income. Mary, her mother (also named Mary) and her brother Joseph continued searching the coasts for fossils to sell to make some meager income. Thus began a lifetime of fossil-hunting for young Mary Anning.
Anning is most famous for two major discoveries: the first was the Ichthyosaur.
One day, her brother Joseph showed her a strange fossil he’d found on the coast. She set to work excavating it and discovered that it was a species that no other fossil hunter had ever found before. The fossil was an Ichthyosaur, a marine reptile from the Jurassic period that resembled a modern dolphin. When they made this discovery, Mary was only twelve years old.
Portrait of Mary Anning and her dog Tray
Drawing of the skull of the Ichthyosaur found by Joseph and Mary Anning
1842: Richard Owens coined the term “Dinosaur”
After examining the large, unusual fossils that were being discovered in Southern England, Sir Richard Owens noticed that these strange fossils belonged to a distinct group of animals. He dubbed species within this class Dinosauria, which means “Terrible Lizards”.