The study of * fossils. The branch dealing with the study of plant fossils is termed palaeobotany, which includes palaeoethnobotany, the study of fruit and seed remains found in archaeological sites. Palaeontology requires a knowledge of the way in which fossilization takes place and of the type of rock in which the fossil is found, a knowledge of the environmental conditions that prevailed when the rock was laid down, and an appreciation of the geological time scale so that the fossil can be dated. |
