Why are fossils important
Fossils are a record of the history of life on earth
What are fossils
They are the remains of ancient plants and animals preserved in rock
How are fossils formed?
When an animal or plant does it falls to the ground. The body is covered by a layer of sediment. More layers form over time. The layers of sediment become heavy and are squashed to become sedimentary rocks
What forms body fossils
The hard parts of plants animals, including teeth, bones,shells,stems and leaves
What do we learn from fossilised teeth?
Whether the animal was a herbivore or carnivore
What do learn from fossilised bones?
Bones help scientists to reconstruct the shape and size of the animal, and a model is created
What fossils are commonly found?
Shells. They are almost always found in the sedimentary rocks
What does petrified mean
Organic matter turns to stone
How are plants fossilised?
The stems and seeds are petrified, and the softer parts like leaves are trapped in the rock layers or in resin. The resin becomes hard and forms Amber
Give 4 examples of trace fossils
Footprints
Eggs
Nests
Droppings
What do footprint fossils tell us?
They give information about the speed, length of stride, the bone structure of the foot, and whether the animal walked on 2 or 4 legs
What do fossil eggs tell us?
Eggs contain parts of an embryo, which helps scientists to match the egg with a species
What do fossil nests tell us?
They tell us about the nurturing behaviour of the animal
What do fossilised droppings tell us?
What the animal ate
Complete:
The .…… structures of many animals are found in ……
These fossils are .…… to many of the bones of …… animals
Skeleton
Fossils
Similar
Modern
What is the coelacanth
A type of lung fish. It was thought to have died millions of years ago but in 1938 a live fish was found off the coast of South Africa
What is the massospondylus?
A dinosaur found in Africa
Where is the cradle of humankind?
In sterkfontein near Johannesburg
Why is the cradle of humankind important?
Important humankind fossils have been found here
What was found at the cradle of humankind in 2010?
The remains of 2 hominids that lived nearly 2 million years ago
When was mrs ples found?
1947
What is tuang child
A fossil skull discovered in 1924
