Evidence About Earth’s Past (Book)

What Are Fossils?

Fossils are preserved remains or traces of organisms that lived in the past. Most preserved remains are hard parts, such as teeth, bones, or shells. Examples of these kinds of fossils are pictured in Figure below. Preserved traces can include footprints, burrows, or even wastes. Examples of trace fossils are also shown in Figure below.

A variety of fossil types are pictured here. Preserved Remains: (A) teeth of a cow, (B) nearly complete dinosaur skeleton embedded in rock, (C) sea shell preserved in a rock. Preserved Traces: (D) dinosaur tracks in mud, (E) fossil animal burrow in rock, (F) fossil feces from a meat-eating dinosaur in Canada.