Experimental Investigation of the Processes of Fossilization

Abstract

Investigation of the early, preburial phases of the taphonomic (fossilization) process leads to an enhanced understanding of the fossil record. The simple laboratory experiment described herein demonstrates the relative rates of decay and disarticulation of hard-parts, nonmineralized skeletal parts, and internal soft-parts of animals, plants, and fungi. Experimental conditions involving marine and fresh water, oxic and anoxic water, and protected and unprotected subaerial (terrestrial) depositional settings mimic a broad spectrum of depositional environments. Results from the experiment, which are in good agreement with preservational patterns in the fossil record as a whole, help students understand what organisms and body parts are preserved under ordinary depositional conditions. They also help students interpret some of the major controls on the extraordinary preservation of organisms in such units as the Burgess Shale (Cambrian), the Chengjiang Lagerstätte (Cambrian), the Mazon Creek Lagerstätte (Pennsylvanian), and the Solnhofen Limestone (Jurassic).