In this one time class we will take a trip back over 600 million years to examine some of the earliest complex life on our planet. We will start with Ediacaran, before life developed hard parts, then transition into the Cambrian period, looking at the explosion of diversity, and lastly into the Ordovician where life starts to look a little less alien. For each of these time periods, we will discuss the major animal and plant groups, fossil localities, and shifts we see in the fossil record. We will look at how various ecosystems changed over this period of almost 200 million years and the evidence we see of this change in the fossil record. Lastly we will focus on one of the most enigmatic groups of animals from this time: the Trilobites, and look at some of the ecosystem level changes through their eyes.

No experience, knowledge, or previous classes are required for this course, but a love of prehistoric creatures is encouraged, and my other classes on rocks, fossils, and geology may provide further background.