How Do Fossils Form
Summary
There are several chemical and physical processes which lead to the formation of fossils. Commonly, complete fossils may dry, freeze or encase in substances such as tar and resin. In other cases, however, when the organism is exposed to heat and pressure from sedimentary rock, the soft tissues are destroyed, and the hard tissues like the bones remain. The standard form of fossil formation is petrification, also known as permineralization. In this process, water seeps into the tissue’s spaces, and the minerals in the water crystalize inside the tissue, which gets trapped in sedimentary rocks. Replacements are another process in which water completely dissolves the organism, and minerals in groundwater replace the bodily remained. Fossils can also completely dissolve in sedimentary rocks and leave behind casts and molds.
Reflection
Matter, especially from organisms, is highly perishable and would decay and be destroyed if left under unfavorable conditions. However, when kept well, it would be maintained. The process of preservation is what fossilization does. The significance of these processes is that it enables historians and anthropologists to study the past. Through the means of fossilization, for example, exposure to heat and pressure, the organists release hydrogen and oxygen, which are the basic units of their bodies. What is left behind is carbon, which is the essential material for studying the future. The process also yields other significant minerals like old, which for over millions of years. It is easier to preserve the bones for most of the organisms and trunks for trees since they take longer to decay than softer tissues that quickly decay. The fossils are then buried deep into layers of rock, mostly the sedimentary rocks.