Unit 5 week 5 & 6 wonders assessment

Mary Anning: First Fossil Hunter

Smack! Smash! Splash! In 1799, Mary Anning was born to

the sound of ocean waves crashing against the cliffs of Lyme

Regis, England. When Mary was just a few years old, she would

go to the town’s seashore with her father. Her older brother,

Joseph, would come along too. Here Mary’s father taught his

children how to hunt for fossils in the rocks and cliffs. At this

time, scientists were just beginning to understand fossils. Fossils

are the remains of plants and animals that lived long, long ago.

Wealthy visitors would come to Lyme Regis to vacation. The

Anning family had little money. So they would sell the small

fossils they found to these tourists.

Mary was a quiet girl. Some might say that in Mary’s case

still waters run deep because she was also bright, curious, and a

hard worker. Mary spent long days on the beach looking for

fossils. She needed to help her family survive. Life was hard and

when it rains, it pours. Soon, Mary’s father died. Although she

was only ten, Mary was forced to quit school. Now she needed to

work even harder to find fossils to sell. Because of unstable cliffs,

battering waves, and sudden storms, Mary had to be bold and

daring. It was dangerous work.

But one day, something happened to show that every cloud

has a silver lining. When Mary was about twelve, Joseph made a

fantastic find. He found a large fossil skull that had a long nose

and many teeth.

First, Mary planned how to uncover the rest of the creature.

Then, over several months, she unearthed each part of the fossil.

Since haste makes waste, Mary did not want to hurry and damage

the fossil. She chiseled and chipped slowly. She tapped and

brushed carefully. Finally, Mary uncovered an almost complete

skeleton of a prehistoric creature. A wealthy neighbor bought

the fossil. Later, scientists named the creature, ichthyosaur, or

fish-lizard.

The discovery of the ichthyosaur called attention to Mary

as a fossil hunter. But her family was still poor. Mary continued

to uncover fossils to sell. Even though she had little formal

schooling, Mary knew how to read and write. During her teenage

years, Mary taught herself about rocks, animals, fish, and the

earth. She wrote letters to well-known scientists. Some scientists

came to visit her in Lyme Regis.

About eleven years after finding ichthyosaur, Mary made

another astonishing discovery. She dug out another reptile that had

lived in the sea. It was the first complete plesiosaur. The plesiosaur

was nine feet long with a lizard’s head and crocodile teeth.

Scientists called the long-necked plesiosaur the sea dragon. This

was followed by her discovery of the rare fossil of the flying

dragon, pterodactyl.

With each discovery, Mary’s fame grew. Visitors followed

her on fossil hunts, and scientists combed the beach with her.

Throughout her life, Mary looked for fossils. She was one of the

first persons to make a living as a fossil hunter. Mary helped solve

the puzzle of what life was like long ago.

After her death in 1847, Mary was honored with a stained-

glass window in the church of Lyme Regis. Many of the fossils

Mary Anning uncovered are still studied and displayed in museums

Science in Your Bones

What was Earth like a long time ago? What kinds of plants

lived on Earth? What kinds of animals were here? There are

professionals whose job is to answer questions like these. They are

called paleontologists.

Paleo is a Greek word that means “old.” Logy also comes

from Greek. It means “study.” So paleontology means “the study

of old things.”

The “old things” that these scientists study are fossils.

Fossils are the remains of plants or animals left behind in rocks.

Some fossils are shells, leaves, or bones. Some are tracks that

were left by animals as they passed by. It is said that there’s

nothing new in things as old as the hills. But you can learn from

an old fossil!

How did the fossils get into the rocks? The rocks were

formed millions of years ago. At that time, the animals and plants

were alive. Then the animals and plants died and were buried in the

rocks. Over time, the rocks piled up. The shape of the plant or the

animal’s bones became part of the rock. By studying fossils,

paleontologists can determine what the animal or plant looked like.

The oldest fossils found so far are the remains of bacteria.

Scientists think these bacteria lived over 3 billion years ago. These

microscopic fossils are not large enough to be seen without the aid

of a microscope.

Fossils have been found all over the United States. But

scientists believe these fossils represent just a small fraction of the

animals and plants that have lived on Earth. After all, looking for a

particular fossil is like looking for a needle in a haystack!

Scientists also believe that many living things vanished from the

planet without leaving a single fossil behind.

Paleontologists learn many things from fossils. It takes a lot

of painstaking work to gain a small amount of knowledge.

However, good things come to those who wait! One thing they

learn is what kinds of animals roamed the planet long before there

were people. They also learn whether rocks were formed on land

or in the sea. Most rocks that have fossils of sea creatures were

formed in water. Most rocks that have fossils of land creatures

were formed on land. Knowing where rocks were formed tells us

what Earth may have looked like millions of years ago.

Like other kinds of science, paleontology can be very

exciting. Think about the first paleontologists who stumbled upon

a dinosaur fossil. Imagine what they felt like when they inspected

the fossil and realized what they had found. As some

paleontologists might say, “Leave no stone unturned!