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What do fossils tell us about living things in the past?
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How do fossils show how living things have changed?
How long has life been in existence?
Do fossils tell us about extinct life?
Apr 16, 2018 · How do we look into Earth’s past climate? It takes a little creativity to reconstruct Earth’s past incarnations. Fortunately, scientists know the main natural factors that shape climate.
- The Secrets of Earth's History May Be in Its Caves
An example Edwards likes to cite comes from a stalagmite...
- The Secrets of Earth's History May Be in Its Caves
- What Is A Fossil?
- Why Do We Study Fossils?
- How Do Fossils form?
- Petrification
- Compression
- Moulds and Casts
- Preserved Remains
Fossils are the preserved remains of plants and animals whose bodies were buried in sediments, such as sand and mud, under ancient seas, lakes and rivers. Fossils also include any preserved trace of life that is typically more than 10 000 years old. Soft body parts decay soon after death, but the hard parts, such as bones, shells and teeth can be r...
Fossils give us a useful insight into the history of life on Earth. They can teach us where life and humans came from, show us how the Earth and our environment have changed through geological time, and how continents, now widely separated, were once connected. Fossils provide important evidence for evolution and the adaptation of plants and animal...
Fossils are typically found in sedimentary rocks and occasionally some fine-grained, low-grade metamorphic rocks. Sometimes the fossils have been removed, leaving moulds in the surrounding rock, or the moulds may have later been filled by other materials, forming casts of the original fossils. Rapid burial by sediments that were previously suspende...
The most common method of fossilisation is petrification through a process called permineralisation. After a shell, bone or tooth is buried in sediment, it may be exposed to mineral-rich fluids moving through the porous rock material and becomes filled with preserving minerals such as calcium carbonate or silica. Eventually, the minerals entirely r...
Some fossils form when their remains are compressed at depth. A dark imprint of the fossil is produced as a result of high-pressure forces exerted by the weight of overlying sediments and perhaps sea water.
In cases where the original shell or bone is dissolved away it may leave behind a space in the shape of the original material called a mould. At some point in the future, sediments may fill the space to form a matching cast. Soft-bodied sea creatures such as snails are commonly found as moulds and casts because their shells dissolve easily. A cast ...
The rarest form of fossilisation is the preservation of original skeletons and soft body parts. Insects that have been trapped and preserved perfectly in amber (fossilised tree resin) are examples of preserved remains.
By studying the fossil record, we can tell how long life has existed on Earth. Palaeontologists use the fossils they find to propose theories about living things from the past. Theories about prehistoric living things change over time as we gather more evidence.
For scientists who love and study them, fossils are more than mere curiosities; they help piece together mysteries from the deep past, and allow researchers to better understand life on Earth. Below, is what three Smithsonian researchers have to say about the importance of fossils.
Feb 25, 2014 · One of the key lessons from Earth history is climate sensitivity. Climate sensitivity can be expressed in various ways, but in its simplest sense it is a measure of how much warmer the Earth...
- Richard Pancost
Fossils can tell us all about living things in the past and how they have changed over time. Find out more in this Bitesize Primary KS2 Science guide.
Fossils provide our only direct evidence for when life appeared on Earth. They are found in sedimentary rock, which is rock formed when fine particles of mud, sand, or dust entombed an organism before it can be eaten by other organisms.
