Understanding Fossils: Traces of the Past, Slides of Biology

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FOSSILS

Traces of the past…… Docsity.com

What happened before

 Fossils are traces of things that happened long ago

 Plants and animals can become fossils

 We have only discovered a small number of the plants and animals from the past

 Fossils are not the original, only a copy

 The most famous fossils are of dinosaurs  There are also fossils of sea creatures and mammals  Sometimes many fossils are found in one place because of a flood, earthquake, or other disaster

Animals

How fossils are found

 Fossils are often found by accident

 Paleontologists and geologists use clues in the rocks to find good places to hunt for fossils

 Excavating fossils is hard work, and must be done carefully

Clues to the past

 Many fossils give us an idea of what life was like long ago

 Plants give clues about the diet of animals

 Animals give clues about the availability of plants and the climate when they lived

 Many clues fit together to make a more complete picture of what the world was like long ago

Can we ever really know?

 No matter how many clues we have, we can never really know what life was like long ago

 We can make an educated guess, and fill in the gaps using what we know about life today

 It’s fun to imagine what it was like when the dinosaurs lived. Try it next time you feel bored!