Taphonomy
Taphonomy is the study of how organisms decay and become fossilized or preserved in the paleontological record.
Wikipedia
The Term FOSSIL;
Depending on who you talk to, the term “Fossil” can mean different things. To some the term can only be used regarding an ancient or prehistoric artifact. But I would argue that even the ancient fossils were once alive and well before they were buried, so at some point they too were new fossils. So for research purposes, PaleoGenesis will be making “New Fossils” in order to study how “Old Fossils” were made and for the purposes of this website and the experiments documented here, we will just lump them all together and call them “Fossils”.
Why Taphonomy? Why PaleoGenesis?
All my life I have read about fossils, collected a few, and have been awed by them at the museums. Many textbooks and articles have documented numerous theories on how they wound up in the layers where they were eventually found. But until fairly recently, I never thought that anyone could use the scientific method to recreate and test these theories. It wasn’t until I started making fossils as a hobby that I realized that I could build test equipment and fixtures that could recreate the conditions that have long been hypothesized and theorized about.
Why PaleoGenesis? Paleontology means, ”the branch of science concerned with fossil animals and plants” and Genesis simply means, “the origin or mode of formation of something"….. and I really liked the way it sounds.
I realize there are many differing thoughts, feelings and views out there regarding fossils and rock layers, and many of them come with very emotional strings attached, but on this website I will do my very best to only present the experiment and the resulting data and leave the pontifications and debates to my guests. I truly hope you all enjoy the adventure.