The preserved remains or traces of ancient plants and animals left in rocks.
From Latin 'fossilis' meaning 'dug up,' derived from 'fodere' (to dig). The term originally described anything dug from the earth, then became specific to ancient animal remains.
Fossils are like time capsules that let us read Earth's diary—a single fossil can tell us what the weather was like, what other creatures lived nearby, and exactly when an extinction event happened, all without written records!
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