Question

5. Why do we find fossils from some places and times and not from others? Explain.

Answer 1

ANS :A fossil is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age.

It is very likely that any organism on Earth will be either eaten by scavengers or decomposed by microorganisms after it dies. Most environments exposed to the open air are in contact with plenty of oxygen, so the soft tissues of dead organisms, whether plants or animals, decay quickly. Many, if not most, underwater environments also have a lot of oxygen, since water can dissolve oxygen from the atmosphere.This can happen if the organism either lives within or is moved to a place where it can be buried and kept from decaying.

There are many examples of paleolithic stone knives in Europe, with fossil echinoderms set precisely at the hand grip, going all the way back to Homo heidelbergensis and neanderthals.

Ancient civilizations

The ancient Egyptians gathered fossils of species that resembled the bones of modern species they worshipped. The god Set was associated with the hippopotamus, therefore fossilized bones of hippo-like species were kept in that deity's temples. Five-rayed fossil sea urchin shells were associated with the deity Sopdu, the Morning Star, equivalent of Venus in Roman mythology.Fossils appear to have directly contributed to the mythology of many civilizations, including the ancient Greeks. Classical Greek historian Herodotos wrote of an area near Hyperborea where gryphons protected golden treasure. There was indeed gold mining in that approximate region, where beaked Protoceratops skulls were common as fossils.

Early modern explanations

More scientific views of fossils emerged during the Renaissance. Leonardo da Vinci concurred with Aristotle's view that fossils were the remains of ancient life.For example, da Vinci noticed discrepancies with the biblical flood narrative as an explanation for fossil origins:.