I. Introduction to Fossils The word fossil means: a preserved impression, imprint, or trace of living organisms from the past. The Latin term Fossilis means to dig up. The first fossils were found in antiquity by the Romans and Greeks who thought the bones belonged to giants and dragons. The first recorded fossil was a Megalosaurus (a carnivorous dinosaur) found by Thomas Pennyston. Pennyston then gave it to Robert Plot in 1676. Plants and all kinds of animals can turn into fossils. But most don't, because other animals destroy the bones or the remains decay before the fossilization process can occur. There are two types of fossils. Trace fossils that are the trace of living beings from the past. Trace fossils are things like footprints, nests, burrows, and coprolites (feces). Body fossils are body parts or the entire body of living things. Body fossils are things like teeth, claws, bones, and insects.II. The Six Different Ways Fossils Form There are six different ways a fossil can form. Tarring, carbonization, permineralization, amber, drying, and freezing are the six different ways fossils can form. One of the ways a fossil forms is through tar pits. Tar pits form when crude oil seeps through the Earth's crust to form pools. The light oils are evaporated leaving the thick, sticky oil we call tar. So a plant or animal gets stuck in tar because they think it's water. Predators, such as Canis dirus (dire wolves) and Smilodon californicus (the best-known saber-toothed tigers) are attracted by the thought of a free lunch and go after their prey and end up getting stranded too. They are the two animals most commonly found in the La Brea tar pits in California (where over six hundred new species...... middle of paper ......lived at some time, so the fossils next to it comes from more or less the same period. Fossils allow us to learn many things. From fossils we now know what the Earth was like millions of years ago. Fossils have helped us learn about prehistoric organisms and how they lived Earth.IV.Conclusion In conclusion we learn that there are many different types of fossils such as index fossils, trace fossils and body fossils We also learn that there are many different ways fossils form and a wide range of how long they take to form. Each fossil tells a different story and new insights into the world of science. Fossils have taught us many things about the history of the Earth. Every time a new fossil is found it opens a window into the past in a new way. Fossils let the past live forever!