How to Spot the Fossils Hiding in Plain Sight" by Jessica Leigh Hester, 23 February 2018, Atlas Obscura Fossils provide important evidence for evolution and the adaptation of plants and animals to their environments. Fossil evidence provides a record of how creatures evolved and how this process can be represented by a ‘tree of life’, showing that all species are related to each other.

More scientific views of fossils emerged during the Renaissance. Leonardo da Vinci concurred with Aristotle's view that fossils were the remains of ancient life. [91] :361 For example, Leonardo noticed discrepancies with the biblical flood narrative as an explanation for fossil origins: Edward B. Daeschler, Neil H. Shubin and Farish A. Jenkins Jr. (6 April 2006). "A Devonian tetrapod-like fish and the evolution of the tetrapod body plan" (PDF). Nature. 440 (7085): 757–763. Bibcode: 2006Natur.440..757D. doi: 10.1038/nature04639. PMID 16598249. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 December 2022 . Retrieved 15 December 2022. Georges Cuvier came to believe that most if not all the animal fossils he examined were remains of extinct species. This led Cuvier to become an active proponent of the geological school of thought called catastrophism. Near the end of his 1796 paper on living and fossil elephants he said: Riding R (March 2006). "Microbial carbonate abundance compared with fluctuations in metazoan diversity over geological time" (PDF). Sedimentary Geology. 185 (3–4): 229–38. Bibcode: 2006SedG..185..229R. doi: 10.1016/j.sedgeo.2005.12.015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 April 2012 . Retrieved 9 December 2011. a b Allwood, Abigail C.; Grotzinger, John P.; Knoll, Andrew H.; Burch, Ian W.; Anderson, Mark S.; Coleman, Max L.; Kanik, Isik (2009). "Controls on development and diversity of Early Archean stromatolites". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 106 (24): 9548–9555. Bibcode: 2009PNAS..106.9548A. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0903323106. PMC 2700989. PMID 19515817.Palmer, T. J.; Wilson, MA (1988). "Parasitism of Ordovician bryozoans and the origin of pseudoborings". Palaeontology. 31: 939–949. Eiting, T.P.; Gunnell, G.G (2009). "Global Completeness of the Bat Fossil Record". Journal of Mammalian Evolution. 16 (3): 151–173. doi: 10.1007/s10914-009-9118-x. S2CID 5923450. It has been suggested that biominerals could be important indicators of extraterrestrial life and thus could play an important role in the search for past or present life on the planet Mars. Furthermore, organic components ( biosignatures) that are often associated with biominerals are believed to play crucial roles in both pre-biotic and biotic reactions. [65] Peterson, Joseph E.; Lenczewski, Melissa E.; Scherer, Reed P. (October 2010). Stepanova, Anna (ed.). "Influence of Microbial Biofilms on the Preservation of Primary Soft Tissue in Fossil and Extant Archosaurs". PLOS ONE. 5 (10): 13A. Bibcode: 2010PLoSO...513334P. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0013334. PMC 2953520. PMID 20967227.

a b Borenstein, Seth (19 October 2015). "Hints of life on what was thought to be desolate early Earth". Excite. Yonkers, NY: Mindspark Interactive Network. Associated Press. Archived from the original on 23 October 2015 . Retrieved 20 October 2015. Chan, Alan Kam-leung and Gregory K. Clancey, Hui-Chieh Loy (2002). Historical Perspectives on East Asian Science, Technology and Medicine. Singapore: Singapore University Press. p. 15. ISBN 9971-69-259-7.Sivin, Nathan (1995). Science in Ancient China: Researches and Reflections. Brookfield, Vermont: VARIORUM, Ashgate Publishing. III, p. 23 Mayor, Adrienne (24 October 2013). Fossil Legends of the First Americans. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-1-4008-4931-4. Archived from the original on 17 March 2023 . Retrieved 18 October 2019– via Google Books.

Ancient Egyptians Collected Fossils". 5 September 2016. Archived from the original on 10 February 2019 . Retrieved 9 February 2019. Gathering fossils dates at least to the beginning of recorded history. The fossils themselves are referred to as the fossil record. The fossil record was one of the early sources of data underlying the study of evolution and continues to be relevant to the history of life on Earth. Paleontologists examine the fossil record to understand the process of evolution and the way particular species have evolved. Further information: Ghost lineage, Signor–Lipps effect, and Biostratigraphy Some of the most remarkable gaps in the fossil record (as of October 2013) show slanting toward organisms with hard parts. A fossil (from Classical Latin fossilis, lit. 'obtained by digging') [1] 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, objects preserved in amber, hair, petrified wood and DNA remnants. The totality of fossils is known as the fossil record.Fossils appear to have directly contributed to the mythology of many civilizations, including the ancient Greeks. Classical Greek historian Herodotos wrote of an area near Hyperborea where gryphons protected golden treasure. There was indeed gold mining in that approximate region, where beaked Protoceratops skulls were common as fossils.

Replacement Fossils form when water dissolves the original hard matter and replaces bones with mineral matter. They look like bones but are not made from the same matter.The Virtual Fossil Museum – Fossils Across Geological Time and Evolution". Archived from the original on 8 March 2007 . Retrieved 4 March 2007. theNAT:: San Diego Natural History Museum:: Your Nature Connection in Balboa Park:: Frequently Asked Questions". Sdnhm.org. Archived from the original on 10 May 2012 . Retrieved 5 November 2012.