Encyclopedia of Prehistory[]
Ornithopod dinosaur bones extracted from a bonebed.
Although modern-day Earth is undoubtedly an amazing mosaic of life and landforms, with spectacular habitats and wonderful creatures, it is estimated that over 98% of all life that has ever lived on Earth is extinct.
Let that sink in for a moment. 98% of all species that have ever lived on the planet are no longer with us today. This means that for every species of plant or animal alive today, there are forty-nine that are not, having been lost over the course of our planet's 4.5 billion year history.
This wiki is meant as an encyclopedia to document that ancient life, to describe what we know of the 98% of Earth's life that has been lost over time. Of course, even as a community, we cannot hope to cover every extinct animal or plant that has ever lived - it would take us years to even cover all of the 800-odd species of dinosaur. But with enough work - which you will hopefully contribute to - we can at least put together enough information to paint a detailed and beautiful picture of Earth's wonderful past. We will remain as up-to-date as possible with the latest scientific discoveries and new theories. We will cover the people behind those discoveries and theories, from fossil collectors to the greatest paleontologists, and we will see that their theories are not always in agreement. We will cover the fossil evidence itself, and the factors that shaped Earth's natural history. And along the way, we might just uncover a few surprises.
We also have room for paleoart, and will answer some commonly asked questions. So if you have an artistic sense, feel free to sit down, draw a dinosaur or other extinct animal, and add your artwork to the wiki. And if you want to learn more, go to one of the Frequently Asked Questions pages or ask one of our members. If you're still confused, or want to talk about prehistory in a more casual light, feel free to visit the central website of the community, Imperial Palace.
Welcome to the Encyclopedia of Prehistory.
Who are we?[]
We are a small community of around 20 members that was first established in December 2006 - although, just as the majority of Earth's life is now extinct, nearly all of the original members have left the community. Most of us are in our teens and twenties and while we each have our own hobbies and interests, we are united by our love of prehistory. Our central "hub" is the ZetaBoards forum "Imperial Palace", and this wiki is our first real expansion. We're generally a laid-back and happy group, although we don't tolerate trolls or spammers. If you want to join our community, a link to Imperial Palace will be provided below.
http://s4.zetaboards.com/Imperial_Home/index/
What is the purpose of this wiki?[]
The Encyclopedia of Prehistory is intended to be both an educational tool for new or inexperienced prehistory enthusiasts and a reference section for the community. One of our main policies is the AUU - (Accurate, Unbiased, and Up-to-date) information policy, but we balance the formal information we provide with room for creative artwork and with Imperial Palace, our casual general discussions board.
How can I contribute?[]
Before you dive straight into contributing, there are two crucial articles that you should read: our wiki rules, and our Manual of Style.
- Rules: Read the Wiki Rules here. Note that some of these are specific to the wiki. You can find our general community rules on Imperial Palace, but don't worry; most of them are very basic and we give plenty of warning before a block or ban is issued.
- Manual of Style: Read the Manual of Style here. These guidelines will not be formally enforced, but it is highly recommended that you follow them.
[]
We have implemented a new navigation system to our wiki, designed so that you can easily find lists of prehistoric animals that lived at a certain time and place. To see what a certain time in prehistory was like, just click here and browse through the links to find information on a particular period and location.
Coming soon[]
(For a list of the most recent edits click on "Wiki Activity")
At the moment we are racing to get the wiki onto a solid foundation of core articles. Expect most major animal groups to be covered within the duration fo the next weeks and the first more specific pages to start trickling in.
Upcoming articles:
- Aves
- Have pages for most stages of the Mesozoic and Cenozoic.
- More articles on dinosaurs.
- Pages for all major groups!
Vital articles[]
- Paleontology
- Timeline of Earth's geological history
- Fossil
- Dinosaur
- Prehistoric mammal
Featured article[]
(Coming soon)