Fossils are the remains or evidence of ancient plants or animals that have been preserved in the rocks of the earth’s crust. Most fossils represent the preservable hard parts of some prehistoric organism that once lived in the area in which the remains were collected.

The word fossil is derived from the Latin word fossilis, meaning “dug up,” and for many years any unusual object dug out of the ground was considered to be a “fossil.” For this reason some of the earlier books dealing with fossils include discussions of rocks, minerals, and other inorganic objects.

There is much evidence to indicate that man has been interested in fossils since the very earliest times, and fossil shells, bones, and teeth have been found associated with the remains of primitive and prehistoric men. It is quite possible that the owners of these objects believed that they possessed supernatural powers, such as healing properties or the ability to remove curses.

During the earliest periods of recorded history, certain Greek scholars found the remains of fish and sea shells in desert and mountainous regions. These men were greatly puzzled by the occurrence of these objects at such great distances from the sea, and some of them devoted considerable time to an explanation of their presence.

In 450 B.C., Herodotus noticed fossils in the Egyptian desert and correctly concluded that the Mediterranean Sea had once been in that area.

Aristotle in 400 B.C. stated that fossils were organic in origin but that they were embedded in the rocks as a result of mysterious plastic forces at work within the earth. One of his students, Theophrastus (about 350 B.C.), also believed that fossils represented some form of life but thought that they had developed from seeds or eggs that had been planted in the rocks.

Strabo (about 63 B.C. to A.D. 20) was another important Greek scholar who attempted to explain the presence of fossils. He noted the occurrence of marine fossils well above sea level and correctly inferred that the rocks containing them had been subjected to considerable elevation.

During the “Dark Ages” fossils were alternately explained as freaks of nature, the remains of attempts at special creation, and devices of the devil which had been placed in the rocks to lead men astray. These superstitious beliefs and the opposition from religious authorities hindered the study of fossils for hundreds of years.

In approximately the middle of the fifteenth century the true origin of fossils was generally accepted, and they were considered to be the remains of prehistoric organisms which had been preserved in the earth’s crust. With the definite recognition of fossils as organic remains, many of the more primitive theories were discarded for one just as impractical—these remains were considered remnants of the Great Flood as recorded in the Scriptures. The resulting controversy between scientists and theologians lasted for about 300 years.

During the Renaissance several of the early natural scientists concerned themselves with investigations of fossils. Noteworthy among these was Leonardo da Vinci, the famous Italian artist, naturalist, and engineer. Leonardo insisted that the Flood could not be responsible for all fossils nor for their occurrence in the highest mountains. He reaffirmed the belief that fossils were indisputable evidence of ancient life, and that the sea had once covered northern Italy. Leonardo explained that the remains of the animals that had inhabited this ancient body of water were buried in the sediments of the sea floor, and that at some later date in earth history this ocean bottom was elevated well above sea level to form the Italian peninsula.

In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries the study of fossils became firmly established as a science, and since that time fossils have become increasingly important to the geologist.