kauffy Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 Hey Everyone. After talking with a few other members about fossils, we got into the discussion about what excactly is a fossil, how do you define it? We all have an interest in them, we all pick them up, look at them and study them...but when excactly is a fossil not a fossil. If a fossil is defined as evidence of past life, then when an animal dies is it said to be a fossil no....if a fossil is only a fossil after 10 000yrs....what about the last mammoths that died only 4000 years ago? Is a fossil something that has been ultered over time by the earth? well i guess it could be but what about shells that started off as calcium and ended up as calcium...or what about wood from a bog pit? or mammoth hair? i would define these things as fossils but then how excactly do you define fossils overall? Though this would be a great topic to discuss as it involves all us fossil nuts!!! oh and dont let this become an argument, theres no need to turn this thread into a pit of raging dogs gone crazy with rabies and biting the snarge outta anything to try and win!! theres no need for that kinda behavior...mmm kay pumpkin? hahaha Cheers Chris "Turn the fear of the unknown into the excitment of possibility!"We dont stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest N.AL.hunter Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 A fossil is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you'll get. Ok, serious now. A fossil is any evidence of past life that was alive before the year 8000 BC, or 10 000 yrs BP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kauffy Posted January 28, 2008 Author Share Posted January 28, 2008 what about the last living mammoths? if you found one of their bones, you wouldnt consider it a fossil? "Turn the fear of the unknown into the excitment of possibility!"We dont stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest solius symbiosus Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 It is probably easier to define what a fossil isn't, but generally, the inorganic remains of a plant or critter that is found in strata that has undergone diagenisis. There is always exceptions (e.g.,original material) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gatorman Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 I agree Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geofossil Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 A fossil can be a wide range of things. Paleontolgy has two principal scientific streams....geology and biology. The majority of paleontology is geology related. Fossils themselves can be the object of study but more commonly fossils are a tool to present a larger picture of an area at a particular time in the past (biostratigraphy, mineral resources, etc.) Fossils are evidence of the past and it includes both organic and inorganic evidence. Sea floor ripples, aeolian dunes an so on are 'fossils' as much ammonites or shark teeth. In generl biologists approach paleontology from a narrower organic perspective. The 'purpose' of the study is often to portray the ecosystem itself and organisms in it. Life is the end product of the research. Of course, geology and biology aren't exclusive and they overlap more than they don't. The word 'fossil' isn't used much in research and words like 'evidence' or 'specimen' are more the norm. NALHunter above is more or less correct and a definition of 'fossil' is like a box of chocolates. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Nicholas Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 I tend to agree with everyone on this topic. This is something which I feel Geologists and Biologists probably debate from time to time with no set rule or answer. I think we're probably better off defining what a fossil isn't. I think there will be exceptions to any set rules of geology or biology. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest solius symbiosus Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 Sea floor ripples, aeolian dunes an so on are 'fossils' as much ammonites or shark teeth. Wouldn't those more properly be called sedimentological structures? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geofossil Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 Wouldn't those more properly be called sedimentological structures? A sedimentological structure can be a fossil just as an organic structure can be a fossil. They are not exclusive terms. In the real world of research I've never heard any one discuss what a fossil is or isn't. A definition is more likely to tackled in the pre-amble to a general book on fossils for the public or students rather than in any recognized scientific publication. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest solius symbiosus Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 I think I recall this same discussion in a Paleo class years ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geofossil Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 I think I recall this same discussion in a Paleo class years ago. in In science the actual definition is less important than 'consistency' in using a term. I still recall red circles and big question marks around words in my first year term papers . As the prof would instill in us, never assume that what you mean by a term is what someone else means by that term. More importantly, how does someone picking up the publication a hundred years from now interpret the term. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Posted January 29, 2008 Share Posted January 29, 2008 One facinating fossils is the banded ironstone from the pre-cambrian. Now this is totally inorganic in origin but the banding has been caused by the algae at the time producing oxygen in the summer thus causing the rusting of the iron dissolved in the seas. Thus the ironstone shows 'evidence of past life'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rain1950 Posted February 10, 2008 Share Posted February 10, 2008 The day you get that first AARP invite . .you are one! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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