GEOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -Preserved remains become fossils if they reach an age of about 10, 000 years. Fossils can come from the Archaeaean Eon (which began almost four billion years ago) all the way up to the Holocene Epoch (which continues today). The fossilized teeth of wooly mammoths are some of our most “recent” fossils.

Detailed explanation-2: -David says, ‘It can take millions of years, but gradually fossils become exposed at the surface where we can find them. ‘Because of how they form, fossils occur in sedimentary rocks.

Detailed explanation-3: -Fossils are the preserved remains of plants and animals whose bodies were buried in sediments, such as sand and mud, under ancient seas, lakes and rivers. Fossils also include any preserved trace of life that is typically more than 10 000 years old.

Detailed explanation-4: -Buried bone and shell contain tiny air spaces into which water can seep, depositing minerals. Reinforced by these mineral deposits, bone and shell can survive for millions of years. Even if the bone or shell dissolves, the mineral deposits in the shape of the body structure remain.

Detailed explanation-5: -After an animal dies, the soft parts of its body decompose leaving the hard parts, like the skeleton, behind. This becomes buried by small particles of rock called sediment. As more layers of sediment build up on top, the sediment around the skeleton begins to compact and turn to rock.