Digital Atlas of Ancient Life

Welcome!

The goal of the Digital Atlas of Ancient Life project is to help you identify fossils from particular regions and time periods, and better understand Earth's ancient life. Several Digital Atlas websites are now online:

We are also creating a free online "textbook" about paleontology. It is called the Digital Encyclopedia of Ancient Life (D.E.A.L.).

Chapters are being shared as they are completed and currently include:

• Nature of the Fossil Record
• Geological Time
• Systematics
• Class Gastropoda
• Class Cephalopoda
• Order Rugosa (rugose corals)
• Order Tabulata (tabulate corals)
• Intro to Embryophytes: Land Plant Life Cycle
• Angiosperms: flowers ← New
• Angiosperms: pollination

Virtual Collections and Exhibits

We are developing online Virtual Collections and Virtual Exhibits based on the specimen holdings and exhibit displays of the Paleontological Research Institution and its Museum of the Earth. These feature interactive 3D models of fossil specimens, all of which can be freely viewed and downloaded from our SketchFab page.

Virtual Collections: Explore, learn, and use for teaching.

Virtual Exhibits: Discover Earth's natural history.

Resources for Teachers

As part of the Digital Atlas of Ancient Life project, we have developed a number of lesson plans, activities, and associated materials that you may wish to use in your classroom.

Each lesson plan relates to either the Neogene or Ordovician Atlas. Most of the plans align with Next Generation Science Standards and are designed for elementary, middle school, or college-level students.

All of these resources may be freely accessed and downloaded from the Digital Atlas Teaching Page.