Hintergrundartikel zum Thema "Studium der Paläontologie", mit Genehmigung des Autors publiziert.
Webseiten der Paläontologischen Gesellschaft, Rubrik Paläontologie studieren.
Ein Beitrag zu www.palaeo.de/palges
Jean-Claude Gall
Université Louis Pasteur de Strasbourg
At the request of the EPA Council, I accepted the challenge of presenting a talk on ´ the teaching of Palaeontology ª at the Leiden Congress (21-24 November 2001). This was not an easy task, as every teacher has his/her own approach to talking about fossils. The following represents my own personal views, my experience and how I present palaeontology to my students.
I hope they will give rise to reactions.
First of all, we must acknowledge a dilema. Our lecture rooms are emptying,of students while, at the same time, the infatuation of the general public with fossils is increasing.
Why is this happening ?
What do we mean by teaching ? Teaching involves both conveying a message and awaking a desire for further knowledge. Both teachers and researchers hope to understand the world around us, convey the information to others and -at the same time- ´ charm ª the audience.
In short, we have to change the present unappealing image of palaeontology (dusty laboratories, uninteresting slabs of rock, boring scientists, etc) and convince everyone that we are not only preoccupied with the drawing and description of fossils.
Let’s be attractive : Palaeontology is marvellous.
What is the core of the palaeontological message ?
Palaeontology is defined firstly as a biological science with ´ life ª as an important focus. Secondly it is a historical science that is concerned with ´ time ª and how the natural archives of the Earth can be analysed. Thirdly, palaeontology is a cornerstone of the Earth Sciences, dealing with the complex interactions (through time) of the biosphere and the geosphere.
How can we pass on this message ?
We must always remember that teaching is never a neutral activity. Each teacher conveys his/her charisma, enthusiasm and knowledge to all who listen, whether student or member of the public. How the recipient learns or develops an interest in the subject is also highly personal and subject to many external influences.
Nevertheless there are three steps involved in the conveying of this knowledge from teacher to student :
1) the fossil record
2) the interpretation of that record
3) the place of this archive in the "wider world"
We must, however, remember that some of the data are unchallengeable and not open for "negotiation". The discovery of a fossil in a geological stratum is a concrete reality which needs an interpretation. That interpretation is based on the existing state of knowledge and subject to the personal views of the individual palaeontologist. As the database is large and the systems complex, it is not surprising that the models we develop are essentially shaky and often (when viewed from a few years in the future) proved to be incorrect. It was the case, for example, to ascribe black shale depositional environments to the ´ Black Sea model ª, although we now appreciate that this cannot explain every example we find in the geological record.
1) The fossil record :
Within this heading we must describe the diversity of past life on Earth, mineralisation of hard parts, the preservation of soft tissue and traces of life (ichnofossils) as well as bio-geochemical markers. We must show how the fossil record has been created by life, death, taphonomy and other processes and indicate how assemblages collected today reflect the earlier biocoenosis. The importance of Fossillagerstätten must be explained and laid against local case studies.
2) The interpretation of the archives :
We must explain how fossils can be considered a product of evolution and develop an interest in evolutionary processes (speciation, rates of evolution, phylogenetic analysis, cladistics, ribosomal DNA, etc). A good opportunity to rehabilitate taxonomy. It is also important to consider the environment and the ecology/palaeoecology link to the living organism and its morphology and physiology.
The adaptations represent answers to requests from the environment and it is interesting to discuss what a living organism is able to do and what it cannot do given its morphological and physiological constraints.
A good illustration would be the link between the mammalian jaw joint and the acquisition of endothermy which can be considered as an adaptation that frees the animal from climatic control. Unlike that of a reptile the lower jaw of a mammal carries a differentiated dentition and is formed entirely by the dentary that provides the rapid delivery of food energy that is required to sustain endothermy.
3) The place of fossils in the wider world :
Using palaeontological data we must develop an understanding of past ecosystems and demonstrate the geosphere-shaping activities of biological communities through time (the contribution of microbial communities to the geosphere-shaping, the reef environments, the plant/insect interactions, etc). Geoscientists, climatologists and oceanographers must appreciate how the biosphere and the geosphere interact both today, in the past, and even in the future. Understanding mass extinction events (and the recoveries) in the past develops an appreciation of the ´ current ª mass extinction and the damage that we are inflicting on the whole biosphere. This allows us to link palaeontology to society and present-day social responsibility.
???Finally, is Palaeontology only a science of the past ?
Certainly not. An appreciation of the past makes the present understandable and allows us to foresee the future. As indicated above, palaeontologists (and their students) are in a unique position to understand, and communicate, the current biodiversity crisis. Issues such as global climate change, sea level rise and the greenhouse/icehouse world are all part of the debate with the wider public, appearing as they do on the news bulletins of the world on a regular basis.
We have also to become aware that mankind is but one component of the biosphere. We interact necessarily and permanently with our environnement, consuming both materials and energy. We have a major, and damaging, impact on the hydrological cycle, the carbon cycle and all the other biogeochemical cycles that are a part of the natural rhythmicity of the planet.
In conclusion, what do we want to teach ? PALAEONTOLOGY to the few or GEOBIOLOGY to the many ?
Acknowledgments : Many thanks to Malcolm HART and to Dave FERGUSON for rereading the manuscript and for their helpful comments.
Jean-Claude GALL
Professeur de Géologie
Université Louis Pasteur
EOST-Institut de Géologie
1, rue Blessig
F-67084 Strasbourg Cedex
Tél+FAX: 33 (0)3 90 24 04 27
© J.-C. Gall and Paläontologische Gesellschaft, letzte Änderung