Computers in Paleontology
Andy Epton
Please excuse the incompleteness of this essay.
What is paleontology? It is defined as: “a science dealing with the life of past
geological periods as known from fossil remains.” Paleontology uses bones and other
fossilized material, such as leaves and eggs, to give us information about life in the past.
Although paleobotany and paleoclimatology are disciplines of paleontology, animals
such as dinosaurs are most commonly associated with the study of paleontology. In
1822, the first dinosaur bones, consisting of some bones and teeth,were discovered by
the British geologist Gideon Algernon Mantellin Sussex, England. He knew that the
bones were from a large animal of some sort. He sent the teeth and bones to the French
naturalist Georges, Baron Cuvier (Asimov par.1). Cuvier made major contributions to
the field of vertebrate paleontology. He also studied comparative anatomy, the study of
physical similarities among vertebrates, which led him to be the first person to classify
fossils (Cuvier, Georges, Baron par.1). Cuvier examined the teeth and a bone that looked
like a horn of some kind. Using this information, Cuvier incorrectly identified the bones
as belonging to a “rhinoceroslike mammal.” While doing some fieldwork in North
America a couple of years later, Gideon Mantell found the teeth of an iguana. Upon
closer examination, he realized that these teeth were exactly like the ones he had
discovered a couple of years earlier, though the iguana’s teeth were smaller. He then
realized that the first set of teeth did not belong to a mammal but a reptile. A giant reptile
that he named iguanadon, or “iguana-tooth.” He was the first person to discover a
“terrifying lizard”, or as we know it, a dinosaur (Asimov pars.1-3). However, the story
doesn’t end there. Since the dinosaur had teeth like an iguana and was named iguanadon,
it is supposed to look like an iguana, right? Not necessarily, but that is what people
thought. There is the problem with the “horn,” though. Iguanas do not have horns yet
the bones that Mantell found included a “horn.” As a result, artists went back to Cuvier’s
theory of a “rhinoceroslike” creature. When they sketched the animal as it might have
looked, they added a horn to a giant iguana. Little did they know that this “horn” would
turn out to be iguanadon’s thumb. Many dinosaurs were inaccurately portrayed in the
early years of paleontology. This is due to the fact that all paleontologists had to base
their information on was a few bones and an overactive imagination. Only when
complete skeletons were found did early paleontologists reconstruct the dinosaurs as best
as they could. Computers have helped in reconstructing the past, thus helping the field
of paleontology immensely.
Going Medieval
I am going to “go medieval” for a second. What does the medieval period have to
do with paleontology? Did I not say that paleontology has been around since the early
1800’s? Yes, I did say that. I was not talking about the whole medieval period, just the
order systembased on rank. If a king, some knights, and serfs were at a table, the king
would sit down first and at the head of the table. So, I will talk about the king of
dinosaurs first. Naturally, I am talking about Tyrannosaurus rex, “tyrant lizard king.” T.
rex, I will be referring to him/her as thus from here on out, was not necessarily the
biggest of the carnivorous dinosaurs, but s/he was the first big carnivore discovered.
Therefore, it was crowned king of the dinosaurs. T. rex is a theropod, “a bipedal, flesheating dinosaur.” The largest theropods are called carnosaurs. T. rex falls into this
category.
Only about six complete T. Rex skeletons have ever been discovered. When the
first one was found and assembled, the paleontologist wanted to put him/her in an agile
bird-like position with his/her tail in the air and back parallel to the ground. However, it
is extremely difficult to support two tons of bone in this manner. So, the paleontologists
had to stand him/her upright with his/her tail dragging on the ground. Unfortunately, this
is how the world first saw T. rex and this is how s/he would be depicted for decades. T.
rex, along with all of the other dinosaurs, was thought to be cold-blooded since s/he was a
reptile. Also, the “fact” that he stood upright was another factor in determining his coldblooded nature. Since his/her tail dragged on the ground, s/he obviously didn’t have the
strength or energy to support it. This led scientists to the conclusion that T. rex depended
on the sun for his/her body heat. Animals that depend on the sun for body heat, coldblooded animals, only have the energy to do so many things for so long. Apparently,
holding his/her tail up was not one of those things. So, T. rex was dubbed cold-blooded.
This view changed in the late 1960’s, when a young paleontologist named Robert
Bakker stunned the dinosaur world when stated that dinosaurs were not cold-blooded,
they were warm-blooded. Bakker says that dinosaurs were swift, bird-like creatures that
took care of their families. Bakker has been quoted as saying, “Tyrannosaurus rex should
never be called a five-ton lizard. T. rex was, in fact, a 10,000-pound turkey with a really
bad attitude.” Transforming T. rex into a bird-like, reptilian animal has encountered
controversy. For decades, s/he has been portrayed as a stiff, upright lizard. Computers
have aided this transition. Using his/her footprints that s/he left behind at an ancient
water hole, paleontologists are able to calculate how fast T. rex ran. Applying these
calculations to an agile, bird-like T. rex, scientists can determine whether or not T. rex
would be able to run in that position. They utilize computer modeling to simulate T.
rex’s movements. Also, three-dimensional modeling allows anybody to manipulate a
two-ton skeleton. It makes building skeletons and moving the extremely large bones
around easy. Determining how fast T. rex ran can tell paleontologists whether or not T.
rex was able to keep running at high speeds for extended periods of time. If s/he was,
then s/he was probably not cold-blooded. Also, if T. rex ran at high rates of speed, then
that proves that s/he did not stand upright with his/her tail dragging the ground. Since
they cannot ask a skeleton to run and see how it moves, scientists use computers, as I
mentioned above, to make T. rex run. That may not seem that important to the average
person, but it might prove very beneficial to the ongoing debate of whether or not
dinosaurs were warm-blooded.
CAT Scan anyone?
Since its development in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s, the CAT scanner has
been used primarily on humans. Now, even dinosaurs have received a CAT scan.
Computerized axial tomography, CAT, is an advanced form of X-ray imaging.
Paleontologists use this technology to view the inner cavities of dinosaur skulls. Almost
everything in the skull, from the nasal passages to eye sockets to ear canals, have been
studied using the CAT scan. Continuing on my talk about the T. rex, how big was his/her
line of sight? Kent Stevens decided to find out what it was.