Archaeology

Yesterday's big reptiles can help us figure out how the human era is shaping up By Mary H. Schweitzer

Mongolia's Gobi Desert contains one of the richest assemblages of dinosaur remains ever found. Paleontologists are uncovering much of the region's history

The American West once harbored multiple communities of dinosaurs simultaneously—a revelation that has scientists scrambling to understand how the land could have supported so many behemoths

Modern birds, long thought to have arisen only after the dinosaurs perished, turn out to have lived alongside them

By analyzing previously overlooked fossils and by taking a second look at some old finds, paleontologists are providing the first glimpses of the actual behavior of the tyrannosaurs

Mounting evidence from dinosaur bones shows that, contrary to common belief, organic materials can sometimes survive in fossils for millions of years

Books and recommendations from Scientific American

Luck has played a big part in many of the world's great fossil discoveries. New models predict where the bones are and put serendipity in the backseat

New technique helps paleontologists narrow their search for ancient bones

English mud captures an ancestral stroll

Kids searching for fossils using SharkFinder kits at Scientific American’s booth at the USA Science & Engineering Festival. Credit: Jason Osborne Jason Osborne was trying to grab a quick lunch away from the crowds when his wife called his cellphone.