Building a Dinosaur NMNH scientists are replicating dinosaur bones and modeling dinosaur movement. Paleobiology is the study of fossils as once living organisms, rather than simply prehistoric death assemblages.
Paleobiology includes several branches, of which two major ones are paleozoology and paleobotany.
Another branch of paleobiology, called paleoecology, seeks to reconstruct the conditions of the geologic past so one can understand the environment in which the prehistoric plants and animals lived. In short, except for excluding the study of humans, the Department of Paleobiology is a microcosm of all the other departments of the Museum. Paleobiologists at the National Museum of Natural History investigate, among other things, how long-term physical changes of ancient global geography and climate have affected the evolution of plants and animals, how ecosystems have responded to these changes, and how these responses have affected today's patterns of biodiversity. Research in the department ranges from the earliest record of life on Earth, at least 3.5 billion years ago, to the present. By studying prehistoric life and ancient environments, scientists in the Department of Paleobiology gain insight into the processes that control the evolution of species as well as ecosystems.