ichnology(palichnology) A subdiscipline of palaeontology or, more specifically, of palaeoecology, which is concerned with the study of trace fossils and their value in the analysis of sedimentary sequences and the morphology and behaviour of ancient organisms.

ichnology The study of the tracks, burrows, and other traces made by living organisms on and within a substrate. If the traces are recent and made by organisms that are still living, the study is called neoichnology. If the organisms are long disappeared and evidence of their presence is preserved as trace fossils, the study is called palaeoichnology.