Fossils Reveal Ancient Environments
Understand that fossils tell us not only about ancient animals but also about ancient environments — for example, marine fossils found on a mountaintop show that area was once underwater
What a learner can do afterwards
- Give an example of a fossil that reveals a past environment different from today's
- Explain that finding marine fossils inland means that area was once covered by sea
- State that plant fossils can show whether an area was once a forest, desert, or swamp
The lesson
You already know fossils are the remains of ancient living things. But a fossil can tell you something more: what that place used to look like, long before anyone was around to see it.
Imagine finding seashell fossils on top of a tall mountain, far from any ocean. That sounds strange, until you realize the mountain was once under the sea. Over millions of years, the land slowly pushed upward, carrying those old sea creatures with it.
In some deserts, scientists find fossils of ferns and swamp plants in rock. That tells them the desert used to be a wet swamp, long before it dried out.
Fossils are clues left behind. Fish and shell fossils point to water. Tree and fern fossils point to a forest or swamp. Look at the fossil, then ask: where would that living thing need to be?
A fossil is a clue not just about the animal or plant, but about the whole ancient place it lived in.
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Where it sits
Learn first
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Where this leads
Jobs that lean on this skill. Follow one to see everything it is built on.
8 questions wait behind this lesson, each with its answer explained. Every answer feeds the sky: stars light as they are learned, and dim when it is time to come back.