Ancient fossils

By Pete, Lucia and Jackson

What is a fossil?

• A fossil is the preserved remains of a once living organism.

How a fossil is formed

• Shortly after an organism dies it is covered by a layer of sediment which could be silt or volcanic ash. More layers of sediment cover the dead organism.

• Erosion such as sun, wind and rain slowly cut away the top layers of hardened sediment leaving the fossil for us to find.

• Movement of tectonic plates is another way to push the fossil closer to the surface.

What fossils can tell us

• Fossils tell us what lived long ago and what the climate was like and how the earth looked.