ESSAY

Fossils are the preserved remains, or traces of remains, of ancient organisms. Fossils
are not the organism's remains. They are rocks. They, like the dinosaurs, formed body fossils
and trace fossils from the dinosaurs' remains and activities. Body fossils are bones, teeth,
and shells that have been preserved. The majority of dinosaur fossils are collections of body
fossils. Trace fossils are rocks that have preserved evidence of biological activity. They are
not fossilized remains, but rather the traces of organisms. A trace fossil is an imprint of an
ancient leaf or footprint. Burrows can also make impressions in soft rocks or mud, leaving a
trace fossil.
Technically, knowing the age of a fossil is critical in order to obtain the most
scientifically and practically useful information that a fossil can provide. These details can
give scientists a glimpse into what happened at the time of the source of the fossil's death,
such as the type of environment at the time, the prevailing weather conditions, or the type
of habitat it had before it died. It must also be identified so that it can be compared to other
fossil species from the same epoch. Understanding the ages of related fossil species aids
scientists in reconstructing an organism's evolutionary history.
Homo sapiens, the species to which all modern human beings belong. Researchers
claim to have discovered the oldest Homo sapiens remains ever discovered in an unlikely
location: Morocco. Finds of skull, face, and jaw bones identified as belonging to early
members of our species have been dated to around 315,000 years ago at an archaeological
site near the Atlantic coast. 
For millions of years, all humans, ancient and modern, had to forage for their own
food. They spent a significant amount of time each day gathering plants and hunting or
scavenging animals. Then, within the last 12,000 years, our species, Homo sapiens, evolved
to produce food and alter our surroundings. Modern humans, like early humans, gathered
and hunted for food. They evolved behaviors that assisted them in responding to survival
challenges. Modern humans began collecting and cooking shellfish around 164,000 years
ago. Modern humans exchanged resources over long distances by 130,000 years ago. By
90,000 years ago, modern humans had developed special fishing tools. Humans eventually
discovered that they could control the growth and breeding of certain plants and animals.
This discovery resulted in farming and animal herding, which transformed Earth's natural
landscapes—first locally, then globally. Humans became more settled as they invested more
time in food production. Villages grew into towns, and towns grew into cities. With more
food available, the human population began to increase significantly. Modern humans have
spread to every continent and numbered in the billions. Producing our own food, rather
than sourcing it on a daily basis, has allowed us to enrich our lives in a variety of ways. We
have changed the world in ways that have greatly benefited us. However, this
transformation has unintended consequences for both other species and ourselves, posing
new survival challenges. And that is how humans survived this long.
Citation:
https://www.nature.com/articles/nature.2017.22114
https://humanorigins.si.edu/human-characteristics/humans-change-world
https://humanorigins.si.edu/sites/default/files/HO_044_055_CHAP_3.pdf
https://www.nature.com/scitable/knowledge/library/dating-rocks-and-fossils-using-
geologic-methods-107924044/#:~:text=The%20age%20of%20the%20fossil,of%20a
%20group%20of%20organisms.