Fossils

Jessica Harwood
Douglas Wilkin, Ph.D.

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AUTHORS
Jessica Harwood
Douglas Wilkin, Ph.D.
EDITOR
Douglas Wilkin, Ph.D.

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C HAPTER

Chapter 1. Fossils

Fossils

Define fossil.
Explain radiometric dating.
Discuss the significance of the fossil record as evidence for evolution.

Whats on this rock?

This rock contains a portion of a fossilized tree fern. Scientists study fossils of plants, animals, and other organisms
in order to better understand what life was like on Earth many years ago and how it has changed over time. Fossils
are important evidence for the theory of evolution.
The Fossil Record

Fossils are the preserved remains of animals, plants, and other organisms from the distant past. Examples of fossils
include bones, teeth, and impressions. By studying fossils, evidence for evolution is revealed. Paleontologists are
scientists who study fossils to learn about life in the past. Paleontologists compare the features of species from
different periods in history. With this information, they try to understand how species have evolved over millions of
years ( Figure below).
Until recently, fossils were the main source of evidence for evolution ( Figure below). Through studying fossils, we
now know that todays organisms look much different in many cases than those that were alive in the past. Scientists
have also shown that organisms were spread out differently across the planet. Earthquakes, volcanoes, shifting seas,
and other movements of the continents have all affected where organisms live and how they adapted to their changing
environments.
Rock Layers and the Age of Fossils

There are many layers of rock in the Earths surface. Newer layers form on top of the older layers. Therefore, you
can tell how old a fossil is by observing in which layer of rock it was found. The fossils and the order in which
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FIGURE 1.1
Evolution of the horse.

Fossil evi-

dence, depicted by the skeletal fragments, demonstrates evolutionary milestones in this process.

Notice the 57

million year evolution of the horse leg

bones and teeth. Especially obvious is
the transformation of the leg bones from
having four distinct digits to that of todays
horse.

fossils appear is called the fossil record. The fossil record provides evidence for when organisms lived on Earth,
how species evolved, and how some species have gone extinct. Geologists use a method called radiometric dating
to determine the exact age of rocks and fossils in each layer of rock. This technique measures how much of the
radioactive materials in each rock layer have broken down ( Figure 1.3).
Radiometric dating has been used to determine that the oldest known rocks on Earth are between 4 and 5 billion
years old. The oldest fossils are between 3 and 4 billion years old. Remember that during Darwins time, people
believed the Earth was just about 6,000 years old. The fossil record proves that Earth is much older than people once
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Chapter 1. Fossils

FIGURE 1.2
About 25 to 40 million years ago these insects were trapped in a gooey
substance, called resin, that comes from trees. The fossils in the movie
Jurassic Park were trapped in resin.

FIGURE 1.3
This device, called a spectrophotometer,
can be used to measure the level of
radioactive decay of certain elements in
rocks and fossils to determine their age.

thought.
Summary

Fossils, or preserved parts of organisms from the distant past, have shown that species change over time.
Radiometric dating can be used to determine the age of fossils by measuring the how much of the radioactive
materials in each rock layer have broken down.
Explore More

Use the resources below to answer the questions that follow.

Explore More I

James Hagadorn, Paleontologist: Traces of Early Animal Life at http://shapeoflife.org/video/scientist/j

ames-hagadorn-paleontologist-traces-early-animal-life (6:11)

MEDIA
Click image to the left or use the URL below.
URL: http://www.ck12.org/flx/render/embeddedobject/57326

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1. Why is it believed the first animals left no fossilized bones?
2. What do paleontologists look for when they search for evidence of early organisms?
3. How old are the geologic deposits Dr. Hagadorn is searching? How old is the evidence he has found for the
first mobile organisms?
4. What does the ability to hunt others do to the fossil record? Why?
Explore More II

Jenny Clack, Paleontologist: The First Vertebrate Walks on Land at http://shapeoflife.org/video/scienti

st/jenny-clack-paleontologist-first-vertebrate-walks-land (7:04)

MEDIA
Click image to the left or use the URL below.
URL: http://www.ck12.org/flx/render/embeddedobject/57483

1. What is a "tetrapod"? What question do paleontologists hope they can answer by studying them?
2. What is special about "Boris"?
Explore More III

Richard Dawkins: Show me the intermediate fossils! at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o92x6AvxCFg

(2:34)
1. What evidence is there that modern whales once had hindlimbs?
2. Pakicetus and Rodhocetus are considered to be ancestors of modern whales. Scientists still argue about how
aquatic Pakicetus was, but Rodhocetus is considered to be a largely aquatic animal.
a. Where is the nostril located on Pakicetus?
b. Where is the nostril located on Rodhocetus?
c. What is the relationship in time between these two species?
3. What modern animal is most closely related to modern whales? What is the evidence? In what kind of
environment does this modern relation live?
Review

1.
2.
3.
4.

What is a fossil? Give three examples.

What has the fossil record revealed about life on Earth?
How does radioactive dating work?
What is radioactive dating used for?

References
1. LadyofHats. The evolution of the horse . CC BY-NC 3.0
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Chapter 1. Fossils

2. Image copyright Baciu, 2014. Insects trapped in tree resin, or amber . Used under license from Shutterstock.com
3. Tim Vickers. Image of a spectrophotometer . Public Domain