ARCH 131 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Paleoanthropology, Australopithecus Anamensis, Lake Turkana

• School: Simon Fraser University
• Department: Archaeology
• Course: ARCH 131
• Professor: Dennis Sandgathe

Document Summary

When an animal dies in its natural environment, think of all the factors that play a role in whether or not its remains will end up being a fossil. Imagine all the natural processes that can affect an animal"s remains when they are lying out in the open and imagine what sorts of geological processes might eventually cover them up before they are completely scattered or destroyed. Feel free to do some brief research on this question - the scientific term for the process that affect the survival of fossils is taphonomy. To become a fossil, part of the organism must be preserved by burial - this interrupts the biological phase of decomposition, and it also prevents scavengers from destroying the body. Once buried, skeletal remains may absorb minerals from the surrounding soil or ground water, which eventually replace the organism"s own inorganic tissues. The result is petrifaction, the process of being turned to stone.