“Good morning,” Cutter began the class, holding his usual cup of coffee, Connor was still busy with work with Prospero so he was standing in front of the class by himself “this week we’re going to be doing an overview of what a fossil is,” he explained, “a fossil is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes and objects preserved in amber, hair, petrified wood and DNA remnants. The totality of fossils is known as the fossil record. Though the fossil record is incomplete, numerous studies have demonstrated that there is enough information available to give a good understanding of the pattern of diversification of life on Earth,” he continued.

“Paleontology includes the study of fossils: their age, method of formation, and evolutionary significance, Specimens are sometimes considered to be fossils if they are over 10,000 years old the oldest fossils are around 3.48 billion years to 4.1 billion years old. The observation in the 19th century that certain fossils were associated with certain rock strata led to the recognition of a geological timescale and the relative ages of different fossils. The development of radiometric dating techniques in the early 20th century allowed scientists to quantitatively measure the absolute ages of rocks and the fossils they host.”

“Fossils vary in size from one-micrometer bacteria to dinosaurs and trees many meters long and weighing many tons. A fossil normally preserves only a portion of the deceased organism, usually that portion that was partially mineralised during life such as the bones and teeth of verterbrates or the chitinous or calcareous exoskeletons of invertebrates,” Fossils may also consist of the marks left behind by the organism while it was alive, such as animal tracks or feaces. These types of fossils are called Trace Fossils or ichnofossils, as opposed to body fossils.,” Cutter finished.

“For the rest of today’s class I would like you to make your own impression fossils from the moddable supplies available,” he said, “if you have any questions I’ll be available to help,”