What are two different ways that an organism can become a fossil?

1 Answer
Jan 3, 2018

One way is to be encased in tree sap and become amber, another is to be quickly buried in salt water containing calcium carbonate.

Explanation:

To become a fossil the organism has to be protected from bacteria and scavengers that would consume the remains of the organisms.
The organism then has to be preserved in some manner.

Insects have become fossilized by getting trapped in tree snap. The tree sap prevents the bacteria from decomposing the organisms. If the tree sap is buried it can be turned into amber which creates a fossil.

Animals like elephants, wolves, sabertooth tigers, and others have been trapped in the tar pits. The oil in the tar pits prevented the decomposition of the organisms.

Massive floods, bury the organisms. If the sand and mud that buries the organisms contains enough calcium carbonate from dissolved sea shells to form a type of natural cement. The burial prevents the decomposition of the organisms and the calcium carbonate preserves the material.

The types of fossils that can be preserve in these manners are trace fossils, like footprints, casts, molds, mineralized or petrified materials, actual materials,( {possibly blood tissues in dinosaur bones}, insects, frozen elephants in Alaska.)

There are more than two ways organisms can become fossils. Several examples, are being frozen, trapped in material, turned to stone, turned into a mold, or cast, leaving footprints,