Field Palaeontology III

This theoretical and practical course provides a basis for an in-depth understanding of the techniques and steps involved in the search, survey, excavation, preparation, curation and management of invertebrate and vertebrate fossils and sites. South Australia is fortunate in having a fossil record covering four of the most significant periods the evolution of life in our continent: the Ediacaran sites of the Flinders Ranges, the Cambrian sites of Kangaroo Island, the Cretaceous opalised marine faunas of Coober Pedy and the Quaternary vertebrate remains (including megafauna) of the UNESCO World Heritage site of Naracoorte Caves Fossils. Students will have to cover part of the expenses and will spend 11 consecutive nights away from Adelaide. This is a two-week course taught in intensive mode in Term 4 (after the End-of-year Exams), and takes place at Naracoorte Caves National Park. It will consist of a combination of fieldwork, lectures, practicals (lab work) and small-group oral presentations. The lectures will touch upon animal classification and systematics, fossil record of principal animal groups, taphonomy, palaeoenvironments, fossil and heritage legislation and paleo-tourism, specifically focused on the Ediacaran, Cambrian, Miocene and Quaternary. This course integrates concepts of evolution, zoology, systematics, sedimentology, stratigraphy, and builds upon prior student learning, thus developing an in-depth understanding of the drivers of extinction and evolution.