Page 67 - The Restless Earth Fossils

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Finding and

Excavating Fossils

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POPPING OPEN A ROCK TO REVEAL THE FOSSILIZED REMAINS OF
another living thing can forge an electrifying connection to the
deep past. The surprise and wonder of field discovery adds an
element of treasure hunting that often makes paleontology an
addictive career or pastime. Nevertheless, fossil hunting is hard
work. But where prison convicts are forced to smash rocks under
a blazing sun as punishment, paleontologists do it for fun—for
limited grant money or teacher’s pay. Paleo volunteers labor for
free, excited by what they might discover in the next layer of
rock. Fossils only form under special conditions, but those condi-
tions occur often enough that fossils are not especially hard to
find. A person simply needs to know how to find those places
where nature or humans have uncovered long undisturbed burial
grounds that have been compressed and hardened into stone.

discovering e-Worlds rich With Fossils

Wind and water erode rock. Humans often help nature along. A
budding paleontologist may find his or her first fossil by accident
when a backhoe turns ground for a new subdivision or ball field.

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