Paleogeologist knows a fossilization process only begins when an organism dies and immediately covers with mud or silt before it gets ruined by scavengers. After being covered under earth’s surface, minerals in the water replace the minerals in the organism’s tissues, and bones are the most common tissues for mineral replacements. Because the soft parts of the body usually decays and left with the hardest parts to be buried. After much time has passed the body of the organism will slowly turn into a sedimentary rock. This process would sometimes take up to millions of years; therefore fossils do not form easily.
However the fossil record is one of the strongest lines of evidence for evolution. It provides Paleogeologist a unique view into the history of life by showing the features of life in the past. Paleogeologist usually discovered fossils near the earth’s surface, “if a preserved fossil escapes destruction by geological forces, it may become exposed by erosion” (text book 103). Forbes Quarry Neanderthal may be brought to the earth surface by the forces that uplift segments of th...
In July of 2001, a group of archeologists discovered the skull and jaw bone of the oldest member of the human family. The skull is a new discovery and was found in the Djurab Desert of Northern Chad by a group of archeologists lead by Michel Brunet, and is thought to be six to seven million years old (Walton). The age of the skull and jaw bone were approximated through the association of the fauna that were found with the fossils (Brunet). The skull is a major find for archeologists because they now have a new piece of the puzzle that shows the evolution of humans from apes and it provides information to a period that scientists had very little knowledge about because of the lack of evidence (Whitfield).
As archeological discoveries of bone fragments and fossils continue to support the existence of homo-sapiens
Of course it was the movie Jurassic Park who seemed to coin the phrase “Dino DNA.” This movie gave the public the thought that, a) it is possible to find dinosaur DNA and b) we can clone dinosaurs from this DNA. This essay is not going to pick apart Jurassic Park’s scientific value, however it will share the current knowledge and information on dinosaur DNA. The discovery of DNA is important because it may uncover different bits of information. The idea of cloning dinosaurs, especially at this point is out of the question. It is really hard to clone living animals today, with full DNA and genome strands, we can’t even think about recreating animals millions of years ago.
While digging in the far reaches of the African outback, now know as the western part of Kenya, archaeologist Bozo excavated a site that revolutionized the thoughts of the scientific world. At this site they found many interesting artifacts and paintings that included proof of an early civilization. At this time scientists are calling this civilization “Pontu” after one of the paintings suggested that a pontoon was used for transportation across Lake Victoria, one of the adjacent lakes.
The Burgess Shale Fauna is a fauna that was constructed based on a group of fossils that were initially found, in the Burgess Shale area in the Canadian Rockies (Gould, 1989). They are a very important group of fossils as “modern multicellular animals make their first unprotected appearance in the fossil record some 570 million years ago” through this group (Gould, 1989, pp. 24). Moreover the Burgess Shales are known to have preserved the soft parts of animals enabling us to get a better understanding of life at the time.
The topic that I chose to research was “Geology: Understanding of Fossils.” As I was researching this topic, I ran across a small paragraph that talked about one of the early scientists named Nicholas Steno. “In the 17th century, Nicholas Steno shook the world of science, noting the similarity between shark teeth and the rocks commonly known as ‘tongue stones’. This was our first understanding that fossils were a record of past life.”(1) Another scientist by the name of Robert Hooke took Steno’s research and took it further. “Hooke went further by discussing the extinction and transmutation of species and the idea that fossils might provide a key to the chronology of natural events. On the origin of mountains, instead of limiting himself
Fossils can be divided into two categories, body fossils and trace fossils. Body fossils encompass preserved remains of an organism, such as bones, claws, teeth, skin, embryos, muscles, tendons, organs, and blood vessels (Col). Trace fossils are the indirect signs of life that give evidence of the organism’s presence, such as track ways, teeth marks, gizzard rocks, coprolites, burrows, and nests, which leave an impression behind after moving over a surface of soft sediment (Col). These fossil categories can then be broken down into the type of fossil found in the context of fossilization processes. Dinosaur body fossils can be broken down into replacement, permineralization, molds and casts, and chemical fossils. Replacement fossils take place when water dissolves the original hard parts of an animal and replaces them with mineral matter. The most common replacement minerals are calcite, silica, pyrite, and hematite. This chemical action usually takes place slowly, reproducing the microscopic structure of the original organism (Virtual). Bones, shells, and wood are the most common items preserved in this manner. When this process does not happen slowly, the original hard parts often lose all trace of their original structure, leaving the original shape, but no detail (Virtual). Permineralization is the most common form of fossilization of dinosaur skeletons. It occurs when the ground water carrying dissolved minerals permeates the pores and cavities in bone, wood, or shell (K). The minerals then produce stony fossils that still contain most of their original solid material. Bones, teeth, and marine organisms are preserved this way. Not only does this type of fossilization occur in hard tissues but also in soft tissues, which allow...
There are several theories about how the Cambrian Explosion started. There were major changes in marine environments and chemistry from the late Precambrian into the Cambrian, and these also may have impacted the rise of mineralized skeletons among previously soft-bodied organisms. One theory as to what happened is that oxygen in the atmosphere, with the contribution of photosy...
The many fossils discovered around the world have played a big role in general. Fossils have been able to tell us about many things. They taught us things like what animals were like before evolution. Also with fossils we made a better estimation of how old the earth is. They have showed us many different types of dinosaurs or animals. Fossils were just a very important thing in general.
Hard shells and bones are much more likely to be fossilized. That's why we only find dinosaur bones and not flesh. We sometimes find flesh, if it is frozen over or kept in something that doesn't spoil the tissue. But that is not very likely. Or at least not as likely as finding bones and shells that are hard and can withstand hundreds and thousands of years. Because they will be able to be buried under dirt and rocks and still not break. The dirt and rocks is also the thing that helps them preserve and helps them become fossils.
11.) Fossils - are the remains of plants or animals that have been preserved over centuries in the strata or layers.
Over the past century, the Burgess Shale has revealed important information about the development of earth’s history. The excavation of the Burgess Shale formation provided evidence for what was once just a theory in evolution. The taphonomic findings of the Burgess Shale have played a significant role in understanding the large diversity that resulted from the Cambrian explosion, advancing the study of evolutionary assemblages for Paleontologists worldwide.
I have always considered fossils a very important element to discover and understand how nature was or behaved millions of years ago. People always wonder how life was before they were born, even before the creation ancient civilizations like the Egyptians, so the discovery of fossils has allowed and helped us to make those discoveries by studying them and putting together prehistoric puzzles that have led to amazing and wonderful discoveries.
Some ways animals get fossilized are they get stuck in asphalt and get buried. It takes a lot of time to fossilize an animal. The bigger they are the longer it takes to fossilize. The different conditions affect fossilization, such as it will be different in a cold climate then in a tropical climate. If a fossil was created in a tropical area it was probably because the mammal fell in
Without evolution, and the constant ever changing environment, the complexity of living organisms would not be as it is. Evolution is defined as a process that results in heritable changes in a population spread over many generations (8).Scientists believe in the theory of evolution. This belief is based on scientific evidence that corroborates the theory of evolution. In Figure 1 the pictures of the skulls depict the sequence of the evolution of Homo-sapiens. As the figure shows, man has evolved from our common ancestor that is shared by homo-sapiens. The change of diet of homo-sapiens over time has thought to contribute to the change in jaw structure and overall skull shape.