Department of Paleontology

Research in this department focuses on developments to ecosystem and climate over the last 50 million or so years. Microfossils from core samples and geological profiles play a key role in this endeavor. As all organisms make characteristic demands on the environment, it is possible to reconstruct changes to ecosystems and climate by examining changes in the occurrence and frequency of microfossils. Following examination, samples are incorporated into the micropaleontological collection. The collection of animal and plant remains in amber play a special role in research. These help researchers investigate the biodiversity of various past ecosystems and the evolution of organisms. Over the past several years, researchers at CeNak have made important findings, for example, on the evolution of the honeybee. Among the amber collection’s most spectacular objects is one of the world’s oldest fleas. Further areas of significance in the Department are the glacial eratics collection and the colllection of cephalopod fossils.