The Cretaceous Period: The History and Legacy of the Geologic Era that Ended with the Extinction of Dinosaurs

Early societies were aware of fossils, but they had no conception of just how old they were; the ancient Chinese, for example, classified many fossils as the bones of dragons. It wasn't until 1822 that a new word was coined, “paleontology,” and it was used to describe the emerging science of using the fossil record to understand what the world was like in the far distant past.

Gradually, a better understanding emerged of the different periods through which the Earth had passed and a realiz...