Piecing together the puzzle of geologic time to create and analyze historical maps of the Earth is known as

The correct answer is D, paleogeography. Paleogeography is the study of the Earth's geography in the geological past, and its main product is a set of maps showing where continents, oceans, mountains and shorelines lay at different times. To draw these maps, scientists combine evidence from rocks, fossils, ancient magnetism recorded in rocks and plate movements. Maps of Pangaea, the supercontinent of about 300 to 200 million years ago, and of its break-up into Laurasia and Gondwanaland are well-known paleogeographic reconstructions, and they support the theories of continental drift and plate tectonics. Option A is wrong because paleoclimatology studies past climates, using evidence such as ice cores, tree rings and sediments, rather than mapping land and sea. Option B is wrong because paleogeomorphology studies ancient landforms and old erosion surfaces, not whole maps of the planet. Option C is wrong because paleolithology refers to the study of the rock types of past periods. Exam tip: paleogeography = past maps (Pangaea, Gondwana); paleoclimatology = past climate; paleontology = fossils.