Death and Fossilization Flashcards
What is Taphonomy?
The study of natural processes following death, how it decays and how it is scavenged
What is the Bloat-and-Float phenomenon?
When an organism dies it fills with gas and floats up to the surface of the water to be floated down with the current
What factors can contribute to disarticulation after death?
Scavenging by carnivores, water currents, prolonged exposure to sunlight, erosion, random trampling and roots
What is disarticulation?
when the bones come apart from one another and move seperately
What is Plastic Deformation?
When excessive pressure changes the shape of an object permanently
What is the most common way for bones to be buried?
When sedimentary rock accumulates in running water
What are bones found in rivers and streams called?
Fluvial Deposits
What are lake deposits called?
Lacustrine deposits
What environment relies on wind to cover any bones?
Deserts, aeolian deposits
What are the three basic types of rock?
Sedimentary, Igneous, Metamorphic
What sedimentary rock is made from mud?
Mudstone
What sedimentary rock is made from silt?
Shale
What sedimentary rocks are made from sand?
Sandstone
What is Coal made of?
Compressed carbon remains from plants
Where does limestone originate?
From small shells and exoskeletons in shallow marine environments
What are the different styles of preservation?
Permineralization and replacement
What is permineralization?
empty internal spaces of bone are filled with minerals
What is replacement?
original bone decays and minerals fill the space that the bone used to occupy
Where are the best environments to find fossils?
Modern environments with lots of recent erosion, Badlands
What makes vegetation harmful to finding fossils?
It covers and holds the topsoil together preventing erosion
What is Overburden?
The rock that covers a fossil that must be removed before the full extent of the specimen can be judged
What is an indication that bones were transported by water?
Similar orientation of long bones
What can abrasion on bones tell us?
The distance the bones may have been transported before they were deposited under rock
What can tooth marks tell us taphonomically?
That the carcass may have been fed on by a predator prior to burial
