user-1: I figured I'd want to ask fossil-related stuff, but I'm not sure if this would be within the purview of this SE site. Can I ask questions about, say, dinosaurs or pre-Holocene mammals?

user28022: It depends
It really depends on what you are asking. A question about dinosaur anatomy, mammoth embryology, or hominid evolution would fit pretty solidly in biology.
A question about carbon-dating methods, fossil preservation, or fossil bearing formations in would be pretty firmly in geology, and not biology.
Paleontology is a science that ignores our flawed attempts to classify science into discrete categories.

user25: In private beta and early public, I'd be fairly liberal with scope.  They aren't clearly off-topic, so there's no real reason to actively exclude them.  If they draw more expert eyes to the site, all the better.

user137: I cannot see how paleontology would not fall under the scope of biology unless the question dealt narrowly with a methodology that might be better for another site (e.g., radioisotope dating -> physics or specific statistical models -> stats)

-1: <p>I figured I'd want to ask fossil-related stuff, but I'm not sure if this would be within the purview of this SE site. Can I ask questions about, say, dinosaurs or pre-Holocene mammals?</p>
 28022: <p>It depends</p>
<p>It really depends on what you are asking. A question about dinosaur anatomy, mammoth embryology, or hominid evolution would fit pretty solidly in biology.</p>
<p>A question about carbon-dating methods, fossil preservation, or fossil bearing formations in would be pretty firmly in geology, and not biology.</p>
<p>Paleontology is a science that ignores our flawed attempts to classify science into discrete categories.</p>
 25: <p>In private beta and early public, I'd be fairly liberal with scope.  They aren't clearly off-topic, so there's no real reason to actively exclude them.  If they draw more expert eyes to the site, all the better.</p>
 137: <p>I cannot see how paleontology would not fall under the scope of biology unless the question dealt narrowly with a methodology that might be better for another site (e.g., radioisotope dating -> physics or specific statistical models -> stats)</p>
