Fósil
Los fósiles (del latín fossile, lo que se extrae de la tierra) son los restos o señales de la actividad de organismos pretéritos. Dichos restos, conservados en las rocas sedimentarias, pueden haber sufrido transformaciones en su composición (pordiagénesis) o deformaciones (por metamorfismo dinámico) más o menos intensas. La ciencia que se ocupa del estudio de los fósiles es la Paleontología. Dentro de la Paleontología, la Paleobiología se ocupa de los organismos del pasado que dieron lugar a los fósiles, la Biocronología de cuándo vivieron dichos organismos y la Tafonomía de los procesos de fosilización.
In english, please
Fossils (from Latin fossus, literally "having been dug up") are the preserved remains or tracesof animals (also known as zoolites), plants, and other organisms from the remote past. The totality of fossils, both discovered and undiscovered, and their placement in fossiliferous(fossil-containing) rock formations and sedimentary layers (strata) is known as the fossil record.
The study of fossils across geological time, how they were formed, and the evolutionaryrelationships between taxa (phylogeny) are some of the most important functions of the science of paleontology. Such a preserved specimen is called a "fossil" if it is older than some minimum age, most often the arbitrary date of 10,000 years ago. Hence, fossils range in age from the youngest at the start of the Holocene Epoch to the oldest from theArchaean Eon, up to 3.4 billion years old. The observations that certain fossils were associated with certain rock strata led early geologists to recognize a geological timescale in the 19th century. The development of radiometric dating techniques in the early 20th century allowed geologists to determine the numerical or "absolute" age of the various strata and thereby the included fossils.
The study of fossils across geological time, how they were formed, and the evolutionaryrelationships between taxa (phylogeny) are some of the most important functions of the science of paleontology. Such a preserved specimen is called a "fossil" if it is older than some minimum age, most often the arbitrary date of 10,000 years ago. Hence, fossils range in age from the youngest at the start of the Holocene Epoch to the oldest from theArchaean Eon, up to 3.4 billion years old. The observations that certain fossils were associated with certain rock strata led early geologists to recognize a geological timescale in the 19th century. The development of radiometric dating techniques in the early 20th century allowed geologists to determine the numerical or "absolute" age of the various strata and thereby the included fossils.