We learn more about the features of Earth - Part 12 Fossils - Information for kids
You know that millions of years ago, there were dinosaurs walking the Earth? How do we know this? The archaeologists and paleontologists found fossils.
Fossils are bones from animals from long ago or it can also be prints of leaves or insects on rocks or even footprints that will give us information of life from many years back.
A fossil is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons
Archaeologist will find and study remains of objects left behind by humans through the ages, like artifacts and buildings. Paleontologists will study the fossils found.
The only direct way we have of learning about dinosaurs is by studying fossils. Fossils are the remains of ancient animals and plants, the traces or impressions of living things from past geologic ages, or the traces of their activities. Fossils have been found on every continent on Earth.
The original word in Latin is 'fossili' which means 'dug up' and that is how they have named remains 'fossils'. Fossils are dug up or excavated from sedimentary rocks which are sediment (pieces of soil and sand and shells) that have been pressed together over the years and formed rocks. In these rocks they will find the actual fossils or the prints.
The fossilized object has the same shape as the original like for instance a bone, but it is not bone anymore now, but more rock.
But how do fossils form?
- Where are fossils found?
- What is a fossil?
- What is a trace fossil?
- When is a mold fossil formed?
- When will you have a resin fossil?
- Which people study fossils?
- How did the dinosaur's skeleton turn into fossils? (try and explain this in your own words)
- How does a paleontologist remove a fossil from the ground?
Not all animals that die fossilize, most just decay which mean they break up into smaller parts and become part of the soil. We can only have records of animals and humans we have actually found fossils of and could give us certain information.
Would you like to become a paleontologist?
