What Do You Know About Fossils And Fossilization?

The remains of ancient seashells encased in rocks are fossils as are the bones and the teeth of primitive mammals. Even the footprints of dinosaurs that lumbered across and are now vanished are considered as fossils.

The oldest Known fossils are traces of microscopic algae and bacteria that lived more than 3 billion years ago. Among the youngest are the frozen carcasses of mammoths that roamed the Arctic tundra within the past few thousand years. All that we know of the amazing variety of plants and animals that flourished on earth in the intervening millennia has been learned from fossils.

Although the fleshy parts of the buried creatures quickly rot away, the hard parts such as bones or shell remain. In some cases these hard structures survive virtually intact. But more often, their pores and open spaces are partially or entirely impregnated with mineral deposits from seeping ground water, and structures are turned to stone.

In some time, the original structure completely dissolves away, leaving an opening or natural mould in the rock. The mould retains and exact shape of the original. Sometimes other materials infiltrate the mould, producing a copy of the original. Moulds of leaves and other very thin structures are known as imprints.

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