How do we know that the tyrannosaurus rex once roamed the earth?
How do we study a mosquito that is 46 million years old?
The answer is fossils. Fossils are the remains of once-living organisms.
Let’s take a look at five different types of fossils.
Up first, mineralization. Mineralization occurs when an organism dies and is buried under sand and other sediments. The minerals in the water begin to replace the organisms' original material. The object may harden and almost become a rock. For example, petrified wood is an example of mineralization.
Carbonization occurs when an organism dies and is compressed over time and eventually all that
remains is a carbon outline of the original organism.
Molds and Casts
Sometimes an organism will die and you may have a bone or a tooth and it will make an impression and then this impression hardens so you have a permanent record of the tooth or bone. On the other hand, this impression can then fill up and create a caste which is a copy of the impression.
Trace Fossils
Sometimes you don't even have a record of the original organism but you have evidence of their behavior. You may find a footprint or tracks This type of fossil is called a trace fossil.
Finally, you get a copy of the original material. What may happen is you may have a tiger that falls in a tar pit and is preserved for thousands of years. An insect may fall into amber and it will remain in this amber for a very long time.
There you go five different types of fossils which are remains of once-living organisms.
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