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這是 Economist Espresso 欄目的第51篇精選文章：
Something rotten: understanding fossils
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Something rotten: understanding fossils
Palaeontology is rightly associated with long days spent excavating bones in blistering heat. Yet studying how animals decompose and become preserved after death is also important. Since it is impossible to watch a dinosaur decay, palaeontologists do the next best thing and monitor modern dead animals. This grim work is vital to understanding what an animal’s final resting position says about the life it led and the ecosystem it lived in.
A new paper in Palaeontology argues that such stinky experiments need more focus. The researchers point out that while there is some merit in watching what happens to a carcass dumped in a field, it is more valuable to study what happens when the environmental conditions are intentionally manipulated. They argue that there is still much to learn by studying how corpses decay, mineralise and potentially fossilise in a wide variety of conditions.
The palaeontologist’s job looks set to get even yuckier.
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