Teaching article
A fossil identification needs more than a convincing shape
Distinguish a documented fossil from an ordinary object or invented replica.
A mark may resemble a leaf or footprint without that resemblance establishing its origin. Use museum-labelled images and retain the identification context, allowing children to separate visible description from an expert account of the specimen.
Use the museum's identification rather than making a visual guess. A fossil's significance depends on context as well as its appearance.
Read the identification alongside the evidence
A museum caption can identify a trace fossil that resembles a mark.
Read the identification. Describe visible evidence. Note the source interpretation.
Appearance alone does not prove fossil status.
What supports the identification? Use annotated images.
Resources
- Fossil Clue Partner Game — Use the paper clues as a classroom evidence model.
Further reading
Read next
- Body fossil or trace fossil: what evidence is preserved?
- Prehistoric does not mean dinosaur
- Two dinosaur reconstructions may differ for understandable reasons
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