1Solving the World's Oldest Mystery
Every time a scientist finds a fossil, they are looking at a snapshot of history that is millions of years old! While we often think of huge dinosaur skeletons, the smallest clues can tell the biggest stories. Imagine finding a prehistoric mosquito trapped in sticky tree sap called amber, or a 200-million-year-old leaf print pressed into a stone. These fossils help us understand that our planet was a very different place long before humans arrived, filled with strange plants and incredible creatures that have long since vanished.
2How Nature Makes a Time Capsule
Turning into a fossil isn't easy—it is actually quite rare! When an animal or plant dies, it usually disappears, but if it is covered by layers of wet mud or volcanic ash very quickly, the oxygen is blocked out. Over thousands of years, water carries minerals into the tiny spaces of the bones or shells. Eventually, those minerals turn into solid stone, creating a heavy, rock-hard copy of the original organism. This is why we can still see the sharp teeth of a T-Rex or the delicate patterns of an ancient seashell today.
3More Than Just Old Bones
Palaeontologists don't just look for skeletons; they look for "trace fossils" too. These are things like footprints, burrows, or even fossilized poop, which scientists call coprolites! These clues tell us how fast dinosaurs ran, what they ate for lunch, and even if they lived in big families. By putting these pieces together, we can map out the entire history of life on Earth. It is like being a nature detective, using rocks as our magnifying glass to see deep into the past and solve the puzzles of our planet.
