Fossils are the preserved remains, impressions, or traces of ancient organisms. They can be the remains of animals, plants, or other life forms that lived in the past and are now extinct. Fossils are not the remains of the organism itself, but rather the preserved evidence of the body parts of ancient animals, plants, and other life forms. There are two main types of fossils: body fossils and trace fossils. Body fossils represent all or part of the organisms body, such as bones, shells, or exoskeletons. Trace fossils are the evidence left by organisms in sediment, such as footprints, burrows, and plant roots.
Fossils are useful in the exploration for minerals and mineral fuels, as they can indicate the stratigraphic position of coal seams and provide information about the subsurface stratigraphy of oil and natural gas deposits. Fossils also provide important evidence for evolution and the adaptation of plants and animals to their environments. 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 can be used to determine the relative age of two or more layers of rock, or strata, that are in different places within the same country or somewhere else in the world.
Fossil collection as performed by paleontologists, geologists, and other scientists typically involves a rigorous excavation and documentation process. Unearthing the specimen from the rock is often painstaking work that includes labeling each part of the specimen and cataloging the location of each part within the rock. Those fossils slated for removal from the rock are slowly and carefully excavated using techniques designed to prevent or minimize damage to the specimen. Such fossils often become part of museum or university collections.
