Fossils

By Matys Weiser                                                                             B-H    
​Before I became more aware of the surrounding world at the age of ten, I was part of the scout movement. Summer vacations were spent at a distant sleepaway camp on the dunes of the Baltic Sea. One of the scout activities involved tracking. Sometime in the middle of the night, our leaders would wake us up, divide us into two groups, and assign one group the task of running away while leaving marks on the path, while the second group had to find those marks and try to catch the first group.
 
On one occasion, I was part of the second group. We began to follow the marks, which were shaped like arrows pointing in the direction the first group had gone. Sometimes the marks were drawn in the dust of the path, and other times they were formed from three sticks or long cones. There was no scientific calculation or deep analysis involved; we instinctively knew that certain configurations on the path were not random, someone had deliberately arranged them.
 
Today, I live in a forested environment, and especially in winter, I can see every morning who has visited my backyard—whether it was deer, foxes, or even a coyote. The marks in the snow are clear. The fact that an animal left them is immediately apparent. Identifying which animal made the mark requires comparing it with our memory of animals and their footprints or some book on the topic.
 
That was a bit of philosophy, and now we will track animals that roamed the Earth some 4,100 years ago—the dinosaurs. Each page of this website begins with a picture of large animals leaving their footprints in the soft ground, which was later covered by another layer of sediment and solidified.

The initial series of photographs was captured along the renowned Paluxy River in Texas. The subsequent image, taken by the author, depicts the footprint of a large mammal, possibly a cat. According to the established evolutionary theory, mammals of this size were not present during the age of dinosaurs. Additionally, there is a well-documented controversy regarding human footprints found alongside dinosaur tracks in the same region. We will revisit this topic in a future essay.

​See more.

Dinosaur tracks - Warner Valley Utah

Dinosaur tracks - Denver Colorado
​Below - water ripples at the same location.

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Dinosaur tracks - Arches - Utah

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Without a doubt, the marks observed were created by various animals, some of which were larger than any species known today, while others resembled the size of a chicken. These footprints, along with numerous other trace fossils, can be found almost universally across our planet. Notably, some dinosaur footprints have been uncovered in Navajo sandstone, which is intriguing because evolutionary geologists assert that this formation is composed of desert sand, making it challenging for such large creatures to locate food. Furthermore, leaving footprints in desert sand is nearly impossible. Nevertheless, as is often the case, a solution emerged: in those specific areas where dinosaurs roamed, the sand was moist.
 
The process of leaving footprints is quite simple—the surface on which the animal walked must be wet. One theory regarding the preservation of these footprints suggests that after they were imprinted, the ground dried, and another layer of sediment covered the footprints, filling in the impressions. Subsequently, erosion revealed the original footprints embedded in the hard rock. It is also reasonable to accept that, akin to laminated water ripples discussed in a previous essay, a similar process occurred with dinosaurs and other animal footprints—they formed in a wet environment and were later covered by an additional layer of wet mud or sand. Due to the differing silica content of the lower layer, which was typically richer, the two layers did not blend, thereby preserving the footprints beneath the surface.
 
Thus far, we have examined ichnofossils, or trace fossils in simpler terms. In the next section of the essay, we will shift our focus to the fossils themselves.
 
How do once-living organisms transform into fossils? One specific type of fossilization—permineralization—has led to the majority of fossils currently displayed in museums and visitor centers in national and other parks. We will reference Wikipedia, as it articulates the process in the clearest and most comprehensive manner, and we encourage readers to consult the full article on fossils.
The following slideshow presents several contemporary ichnofossils, which are imprints of decayed organic material preserved within the travertine formation at Fossil Creek, Arizona.

How do living organisms transform into fossils? One notable method of fossilization, known as permineralization, accounts for the majority of fossils displayed in museums and visitor centers across national parks and other locations. To better understand this process, we recommend referring to the comprehensive explanation provided by Wikipedia in their article on fossils.
“Permineralization is a process of fossilization that occurs when an organism is buried. The
empty spaces within an organism (spaces filled with liquid or gas during life) become filled with mineral-rich groundwater. Minerals precipitate from the groundwater, occupying the empty spaces. This process can occur in very small spaces, such as within the cell wall of a plant cell.
Small scale permineralization can produce very detailed fossils. For permineralization to occur,
the organism must become covered by sediment soon after death, otherwise decay
commences. The degree to which the remains are decayed when covered determines the later
details of the fossil. Some fossils consist only of skeletal remains or teeth; other fossils contain traces of skin, feathers or even soft tissues.”
As we can see and can foresee, this type of fossilization can happen only in wet environments
and only when an organism is insulted from bacterial and other forms of decay.
We cannot observe or even imitate the process of fossilization in a laboratory, although it happens in some form in rich in minerals waters of geysers.

Fossilization primarily occurs in wet environments and requires that organisms are protected from bacterial decay and other forms of decomposition. While we cannot directly observe or replicate the fossilization process in a laboratory setting, it does occur in mineral-rich waters, such as those found in geysers.
We will present examples of once-living organisms that have been fossilized in the mud waves of the Mabul. We will then closely examine two specific cases where certain facts have been omitted from the textbooks of geology, paleontology, or paleobiology. In 2007, Professor Mary Schweitzer published her groundbreaking discovery of soft tissue in dinosaur bones. However, she faced skepticism from her colleagues in the academic community, as it was deemed impossible for collagen, red blood cells, and nearly 20 other types of soft tissue to survive for 65 million years encased in a fossilized T. rex bone. Here is a quotation from Wikipedia:
“Schweitzer was the first researcher to identify and isolate soft tissues from an ancient fossil bone. The soft tissues are collagen, a connective protein. Amino acid sequencing of several samples have shown matches with the known collagens of chickens, frogs, newts and other animals. Schweitzer has also isolated organic compounds and antigenic structures in sauropod egg shells. With respect to the significance of her work, Kevin Padian, Curator of Paleontology, University of California Museum of Paleontology, has stated – ‘Chemicals that might degrade in a laboratory over a short period need not do so in a protected natural chemical environment…it’s time to readjust our thinking.’
Schweitzer previously announced similar discoveries in 1993. Since then, the claim of discovering soft tissues in ancient fossils has been disputed by some molecular biologists. Later research by Kaye published in PLoS ONE on July 30, 2008, challenged the assertion that the material found was the soft tissue of a Tyrannosaurus. However, a more recent study published in PLoS ONE in October 2010 contradicts Kaye's conclusions and supports Schweitzer's original findings. Evidence for the extraction of short segments of ancient DNA from dinosaur fossils has been reported on two separate occasions. The extraction of proteins, soft tissues, remnant cells, and organelle-like structures from dinosaur fossils has been confirmed.
What is particularly fascinating about this case is that the prevailing dogma was upheld for much longer than just a few years; it persisted for over a decade. The first reports of biological material emerged in 1966, and since then, scientists from around the world have made over seventy reports of similar discoveries from various countries and locations. Here are some notable samples:
- Dinosaur bone collagen; vessels from the Cretaceous, Campanian Gobi Desert, Mongolia, 1966
- Megalosaurus eggshell protein from the Jurassic, Bathonian Rognacian Formation, Southern France, 1968
- Sauropod limb hydroxyproline from the Jurassic, Kimmeridgian Morrison Formation, Colorado, 1968
- Dinosaur proteins and polysaccharides from the Cretaceous, Maastrichtian, 1974
One could argue that there is no conspiracy to conceal this information from the public, given the numerous publications reporting such discoveries. However, these publications are often circulated among a small group of specialists and rarely make their way into popular scientific magazines or broader public discussions. Until Mary Schweitzer demonstrated the presence of biological material in fossils, these discoveries were largely dismissed as contradicting the widely accepted dogma.
Today, that controversy has largely dissipated, as the facts cannot be denied. However, to align with the official dogma of the evolutionary process and timeline, new explanations have been proposed. In simple terms, even if it seems impossible for soft tissue to survive over such an extended period, it has survived, likely due to the increased iron content that somehow preserved the biological material in the fossilized bone. As with any belief system, when one dogma is proven false, a new one is created.

Boneyard in Dinosaur National Monument Utah - Colorado

Previously, we mentioned the rock formation known as Navajo sandstone in the context of dinosaur footprints. Now, we will revisit this type of stone and once again quote from Wikipedia.
“The (Navajo) sandstone was deposited in an arid erg on the Western portion of the
Supercontinent Pangaea. This region was affected by annual monsoons that came about each winter when cooler winds and wind reversal occurred.”
​Monsoons might account for the footprints appearing in the wet sand; however, the region remains a desert, where finding any type of food would be quite challenging. During my hikes in the western deserts, I traversed mountains shaped by the erosion of Navajo sandstone. Here are my findings.

In the first image, a fossil resembling a shell is visible. It is important to note that when this shell is encased in limestone, its appearance differs significantly. In this instance, the shell is mixed with sand that contains minimal lime, primarily composed of quartz grains cemented by silica, resulting in less distinct contours of the fossil.

​Those second set of pictures shows a different type of shell.

On the third set of images we are observing sea grass leaves.

One image depicts a plank or piece of wood embedded in stone, prompting the question of how it arrived in the desert, detached from its original environment. The Navajo sandstone spans 102,300 square miles and reaches thicknesses of up to 2,300 feet in certain areas.
Below some other unidentified fossils found in the same in the same area. 

The final images showcase fossils of kelp, a type of oceanic growth typically found along the western U.S. beaches. 

This is how Kelp looks on the Californian beach.

We invite an explanation for which terrestrial plant, whether in the desert or elsewhere, resembles kelp so closely. Otherwise, we hope that all literature, brochures, displays, and other informational materials will revise the narrative regarding the origins of Navajo sandstone from arid to wet conditions.
 It is noteworthy that the Navajo sandstone and the Wingate formation, located just above it, are among the few formations claimed to have developed in a dry environment, while several others remain officially controversial. Below are a few images of both Navajo and Wingate sandstone.

​More about Navajo sandstone in following essay.