Taphonomy
Taphonomy studies what happens to organisms and their remains from death through burial, preservation, fossilization, and discovery.
Decomposition: The breakdown of organic matter through biological and chemical processes. Microbes and scavengers can destroy soft tissues before burial preserves them.
Fossil record: The preserved collection of fossils and their geological distribution through time. Taphonomic processes help determine which organisms enter this incomplete record.
Lagerstätte: A sedimentary deposit with exceptional preservation of fossils, often including soft tissues. These deposits reveal preservation conditions that ordinary fossil beds rarely retain.
Mazon Creek fossils: Carboniferous fossils from Illinois preserved within ironstone concretions. Rapid concretion formation preserved delicate organisms in a distinctive geological setting.
Biostratinomy: The study of processes affecting remains between death and final burial. It covers early changes such as decay, transport, and exposure.
Sedimentology: The study of sediment, its formation, transport, deposition, and composition. Sediment properties influence burial speed, oxygen exposure, and preservation.
Bonebed: A sedimentary concentration of fossil bones formed through biological, geological, or both kinds of processes. Bone arrangement and damage can disclose transport, accumulation, and burial history.
Burgess Shale: A Cambrian fossil deposit in British Columbia known for exceptional preservation of soft-bodied organisms. Its fossils show how unusual conditions can preserve tissues normally lost to decay.
Diagenesis: Physical and chemical changes sediments undergo after deposition, including changes to buried remains. Mineral alteration after burial can transform or erase fossil tissues.
Paleontology: The scientific study of ancient life through fossils and related evidence. Taphonomy supplies essential context for interpreting paleontological evidence.