What are fossils?
Fossils are the remains of plants and animals that lived a long time ago and have been preserved in rocks.
Fossils show us what things were like in the past.
They are dug up by people called archaeologists.
They can tell us how old the fossils are and what plant or animal they came from.
Watch: What do fossils show?
Learn about fossils in this song!
What do fossils show?
What many million years ago,
Strange creatures lived in the sea and on land,
And now in rocks they are found.
But it is rare,
To find skin or feathers there.
We just see the shape of their bones,
And work out what animals roamed.
Ohoh-oh, when they died and decomposed,
They left behind remains of their bones.
Sunk below mud and sand.
The sediment began to compact.
Bones dissolved by water in rocks,
And minerals then filled in the gaps.
Forming stones, we dig up.
The fossils then show us what it was,
What it was,
What it was,
It shows us what it was.
Many fossils survived to tell us of long ago times,
Like a T-rex’s size.
Some dino’s had feathery coats.
Huge dragonflies.
Brontomerus had massive thighs.
These rocks can teach us what is true,
From skulls to fossilized poo, ohoh-oh,
How’d we know, where to look?
Over time the fossils are lifted up
And how’d we know, it’s not just stone?
Cos fossils stick slightly on my tongue,
On my tongue, on my tongue,
Yeah - don’t try this at home…
Dinosaurs, sea creatures
They show us what it was
How are fossils formed?
Fossils form when bones are buried in the ground.
The bones then sink below mud and sand.
As they start to decompose, the sediment around them becomes more compact.
The water in the rock dissolves the bones and minerals fill the gaps.
This process is called fossilisation.
Horrible Science fact
Mary Anning was a fossil hunter.
She found her first dinosaur fossil on her local beach when she was 12 years old.
You can learn more about Mary Anning here.
Quiz: What it was
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