{"id":2569,"date":"2021-10-13T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-10-13T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gooroo.com\/blog\/?p=2569"},"modified":"2021-10-13T09:38:46","modified_gmt":"2021-10-13T13:38:46","slug":"fossil","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gooroo.com\/blog\/fossil\/","title":{"rendered":"Fossil Formation and Uncovering the Ancient Past"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"709\" height=\"472\" src=\"https:\/\/gooroo-blog.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/2021\/10\/13064231\/david-clode-L7CI8_VzqfE-unsplash.jpg\" alt=\"fossil\" class=\"wp-image-2570\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gooroo-blog.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/2021\/10\/13064231\/david-clode-L7CI8_VzqfE-unsplash.jpg 709w, https:\/\/gooroo-blog.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/2021\/10\/13064231\/david-clode-L7CI8_VzqfE-unsplash-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 709px) 100vw, 709px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>How do we know that <a href=\"https:\/\/courses.gooroo.com\/courses\/dinosaur-adventures-a-magic-tree-house-story-and-dino-activities\/66\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">dinosaurs<\/a> existed? Well, it\u2019s not just from looking at their evolutionary descendant the chicken. Instead, the truth about ancient history and its dwellers lie in the discovery of a fossil. But, what is this scientific capsule? In today\u2019s blog, we uncover the formation of these records. Plus, disclose how they reveal the history of the world.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"h-what-is-a-fossil-and-how-does-it-form\">What is a Fossil and How Does it Form?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;A fossil is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>bones&nbsp;<\/li><li>shells&nbsp;<\/li><li>exoskeletons&nbsp;<\/li><li>stone imprints of animals of microbes<\/li><li>objects preserved in amber, hair, petrified wood, oil, coal, and DNA remnants<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Specimens are fossils if they are over 10,000 years old. In fact, the oldest dates to around 3.48 -4.1 billion years old. The process of dating these ages has evolved over the centuries thanks to advancements in technology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"709\" height=\"472\" src=\"https:\/\/gooroo-blog.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/2021\/10\/13064249\/ashleigh-joy-photography-uyRku9KF2N8-unsplash.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2571\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gooroo-blog.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/2021\/10\/13064249\/ashleigh-joy-photography-uyRku9KF2N8-unsplash.jpg 709w, https:\/\/gooroo-blog.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/2021\/10\/13064249\/ashleigh-joy-photography-uyRku9KF2N8-unsplash-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 709px) 100vw, 709px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h4 id=\"h-the-fossilisation-process\">The Fossilisation Process<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>The transformation varies according to tissue type and external factors.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><strong>Permineralisation<\/strong> occurs when an organism is buried. The empty space within an organism fill with mineral-rich ground water. This allow for some specimens to contain traces of skin, feathers, or even soft tissues.\u00a0<\/li><li><strong>Casts and moulds<\/strong> occur when the original remains completely dissolve or are otherwise destroyed. But, in it\u2019s place, it leaves an organism-shape hole. Often, this void fills with a sediment to create a cast resembling what the organism looked like.\u00a0<\/li><li><strong>Replacement <\/strong>occurs when another mineral replaces the shell, bone, or another tissue. <strong>Recrystallisation<\/strong> is when the original skeletal compounds are still present, but in a different crystal form.\u00a0<\/li><li><strong>Compression<\/strong> is a result of the chemical reduction of the complex organic molecules. In many cases, compressions and impressions occur together.\u00a0<\/li><li><strong>Preservation<\/strong> depends on the arrangement of certain fibres and molecules. For example, tight packing favours good preservation. Additionally, the alternation of an organism\u2019s tissues by chemical reduction must have occurred.\u00a0<\/li><li><strong>Carbonisation<\/strong> consists of the reduce organic remains to the chemical element carbon. It shows a think film which forms a silhouette of the original organism.\u00a0<\/li><li><strong>Bioimmuration <\/strong>occurs when a skeletal organism overgrows and preserves another organism.\u00a0<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"709\" height=\"580\" src=\"https:\/\/gooroo-blog.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/2021\/10\/13064304\/lisa-yount-As7pYysRyWg-unsplash.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2572\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gooroo-blog.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/2021\/10\/13064304\/lisa-yount-As7pYysRyWg-unsplash.jpg 709w, https:\/\/gooroo-blog.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/2021\/10\/13064304\/lisa-yount-As7pYysRyWg-unsplash-300x245.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 709px) 100vw, 709px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"h-what-they-tell-us-about-history\">What They Tell Us About History<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>We now know how a fossil comes to be. But, how do scientists (specifically known as palaeontologists) use them to uncover the ancient past?&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 id=\"h-types-of-fossils\">Types of Fossils<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>As we\u2019ve discovered, a fossil appears in many different forms. But, what\u2019s more, they also belong to different categories that reveal different information.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><strong>Index. <\/strong>These specimens define and identify geologic periods. They work on the premise of spotting the same species of fossil despite the process of fossilisation.<\/li><li><strong>Trace.<\/strong> These specimens represent animal behaviours. They consist mainly of tracks and burrows, but also include marks left by feeding.\u00a0<\/li><li><strong>Transitional. <\/strong>These reminds exhibit traits common to both an ancestral group and its derived descendant group.\u00a0<\/li><li><strong>Microfossils.<\/strong> This terms applies to fossilised plants and animals who are no visible to the naked eye.\u00a0<\/li><li><strong>Resin.<\/strong> Colloquially called amber, the hardening of this natural polymer traps bacteria, fungi, other plants, and animals for thousands and thousands of years.\u00a0<\/li><li><strong>Subfossil.<\/strong> This type refers to remains whose process is not complete. They are often found in caves or another shelters because this allows them to be preserved for thousands of years. What\u2019s more, these specimens contain organic material perfect for radiocarbon dating.\u00a0<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h4 id=\"h-dating\">Dating<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>So, how do we go from a fossil discovered today to knowing when the fossilisation process occurred? Whilst radiometric dating is very exact, it cannot work on fossil beds that lack the necessary <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gooroo.com\/blog\/radio-waves\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">radioactive element<\/a>s.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Instead, a process called stratigraphy reveals the age of the layers the specimen lies in. Thus, if a scientist knows the age of the two layers an organism lies in, then we know the specimen\u2019s age lies between these two know ages.&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>How do we know that dinosaurs existed? Well, it\u2019s not just from looking at their evolutionary descendant the chicken. Instead, the truth about ancient history and its dwellers lie in the discovery of a fossil. But, what is this scientific capsule? In today\u2019s blog, we uncover the formation of these records. Plus, disclose how they [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":2570,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2535],"tags":[2698,2699,2696,2697],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v16.1.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"How do scientists uncover and comprehend the ancient past? 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