Are you one of those who, as a child, came back from a field day full of “treasures”? Collections of rocks with strange shapes or eye-catching colors have been our travel companions on more than one occasion. Have you ever stopped to think about the origin of these rocks?

This question has indeed been a fundamental question throughout the history of science. Rocks contain information about our planet. In fact, space missions to Mars or the Moon study rock samples to understand more about the universe.

These “treasures” of our childhood not only keep emotional memories, each of these rocks holds its own history. Throughout time, there have been several theories that have tried to answer the question of the origin of the rocks.

Listen to our podcast “Historias de la Prehistoria” on Spotify to find out more!

William Buckland was an exceptional pioneer in the world of palaeontology. Did you know that he was the first to discover a Palaeolithic burial site and to describe the fossil remains of a dinosaur? Incredible! Buckland was fortunate enough to study both human and dinosaur fossils, an extraordinary combination for his time.

Would you like to know more about these exciting discoveries and how they impacted our understanding of prehistory? Join us on this journey into the past! Listen to our podcast “Historias de la Prehistoria” in Spotify.

You have probably seen a necklace with the fossil tooth of a shark or a domestic collection of small treasures with this type of objects. The fascination for these curious fossils dates back to ancient times, but at that time, their origin was unknown. They used to be attributed magical or supernatural powers and there were different legends and hypotheses that speculated about their origin. Did you know that they played a crucial role in the history of geology?

When Nicolas Steno revealed the mystery of its origin by analysing the head of a shark, he revolutionised what was previously known about the history of the earth. Why, you may ask? In this post we tell you the details.

If you want to keep exploring the exciting world of prehistory with us, you can listen to our podcast “Historias de la Prehistoria“on Spotify.

In the Renaissance, royalty, nobles and middle class created these “wonder-rooms” to treasure extraordinary objects. In the 18th century, these spaces were opened to the public, democratising the knowledge of natural history at a period when not everyone had access to such knowledge. In 1788 the skeleton of Megatherium americanum, an extinct giant sloth, arrived at the National Museum of Natural Sciences (Madrid).

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Did you know that, despite all her scientific achievements, Mary Anning was never allowed to be part of the scientific community? She was sentenced to invisibility and silenced by her peers.

The “Matilda Effect” condemns this phenomenon of invisibility of women in science and STEM degrees, in part promoted by the lack of female references to inspire scientific vocation in girls and women. This effect has deprived many female scientists from appearing in books.

Don’t forget her name: Mary Anning ♥

In order to learn more about these and other curiosities of palaeontology, you can listen to the first episode of our podcast “Historias de la Prehistoria” on Spotify.

Thinking outside the box. That is what Georges Cuvier did in the 18th century. His innovative method of comparative anatomy made possible to decode fossil mysteries, such as the Megatherium, and to know their evolutionary histories. He was a pioneer in introducing the idea of extinction, challenging previous beliefs and paving the way for evolutionary ideas.

Are you passionate about paleontology? You can listen to our podcast “Historias de la Prehistoria“on Spotify in order to learn more about this science.