Evolution and Plants of the Past pp 1-15 | Cite as
Plants, Their Fossilization, and Techniques of Fossil Study
Abstract
If you have ever watched moving water carry sand grains, silt particles, twigs, seeds, leaves, or in flood time large logs and even houses, you have watched what may be a preliminary stage in the formation of fossils. When the stream slows down as it meets a body of standing water, such as a pond, lake, or sea, its load begins to be dropped or to sediment out. The heavier particles are dropped first, closer to shore, and the lighter particles are dropped farther from shore. Changes in the rate of flow of the moving water produce variations in the size and type of particles deposited over any particular area. In this way a delta is built up (Fig. 1-1). A vertical section through the deltaic deposits may reveal layers of varying thickness and constitution, some sandy, some muddy, some with otherwise mixed particles. Fig. 1-2 shows rock strata that were built up in this way.
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Suggestions for Further Reading
- Andrews, Henry N., Jr., Studies in Paleobotany (New York: John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1961). A good introductory textbook of paleobotany.Google Scholar
- Eicher, Don L., Geologic Time (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1968). Contains methods of estimating the age of rock strata, correlation of rock strata, naming of rock sections, paleogeographic maps, continental drift, and correlations by fossil zones.Google Scholar
- Kummel, Bernhard, and David Raup, Handbook of Paleontological Techniques (San Francisco, Calif.: W. H. Freeman and Co., 1965). A compendium of techniques used in studying fossils.Google Scholar
- McAlester, A. Lee., The History of Life (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1968). A concise, highly readable account of the origin and diversification of animal groups throughout geologic time.Google Scholar
- Schuchert, C. E., Atlas of Paleogeographic Maps of North America (New York: John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1955 ). Contains maps showing the distribution of land and water in Northern America through geologic time.Google Scholar