Introduction to Fossils Poster

This poster begins by explaining what fossils are and how a few pioneering scientists eventually realized that they were the remains or traces of once-living organisms. Many people think fossils are petrified bones but bone-type fossils are actually rocks. They are the result of a process called mineralization in which minerals replace decaying tissue. This process is shown and explained.  The rarity of fossils is presented and strange things sometimes mistaken for fossils are identified. There is an especially helpful section on the relationship of fossils to geology. It covers the principal of original horizontality, the law of superimposition, the principle of faunal succession, geological time charts, index fossils, and both relative and absolute dating. This poster is a great aid to museum interpretive programs and beneficial in the study of both life and earth sciences.

Laminated, 24" x 36"