An in-depth look at the latest breakthroughs in our understanding of the material record that deep time leaves behind. Understanding the complex interplay of physical and chemical processes leading to fossilization is crucial to elucidating the 3800 million years of life on earth. And yet, the process of fossilization also leads to the loss of pivotal biological information, placing constraints on the very same understanding of ancient life it preserves. Over the last decade, however, remarkable advances in approaches, techniques, tools, and instrumentation have helped scientists to transcend these constraints by enabling high-resolution analysis of fossil material—even down to the nanoscale. Fossilization provides a critical look at these cutting-edge innovations in the science of fossil preservation and provides a road map for future research. Drawing from the fields of paleontology, organic and inorganic chemistry, microbiology, and high-resolution imaging and analysis, and spanning the diversity of life from plants to vertebrates and invertebrates, this resource details expert findings on • fossilization of hard and soft part tissues in dinosaurs • high-resolution chemical analysis of organic and inorganic tissues • arthropods preserved in amber • experimental silicification of wood • chemical defenses and color in fossil plants • confocal Raman spectroscopy • microprobe analysis • radioisotopic studies • and much more A true interdisciplinary undertaking, the book is authored by paleontologists, mineralogists, geochemists, organic chemists, microbiologists, and materials scientists who have worked together to investigate questions around substance fossilization and the limits of the fossil record. A special color section contains SEM, Raman, and other striking images of vertebrates, invertebrates, and plants. Fossilization is a trailblazing reference book for research scientists and specialists in related fields, as well as for advanced undergraduates and graduate students interested in fossilization, emerging research techniques, and fresh approaches in the analysis of plant and animal fossils. Contributors: H. Jonas Barthel, Aurore Canoville, Carole T. Gee, Thorsten Geisler, Jens Götze, Conrad C. Labandeira, Sashima Läbe, Moritz Liesegang, Victoria E. McCoy, Martina Menneken, Jes Rust, P. Martin Sander, Frank Tomaschek, Torsten Wappler, Kayleigh Wiersma, Tzu-Ruei Yang

The subject of Fossil Botany or Palæophytology has formed a part of the Course of Botany in the University of Edinburgh for the last twenty-five years, and the amount of time devoted to the exposition of it has increased. The recent foundation of a Chair of Geology and of a Falconer Palæontological Fellowship in the University seems to require from the Professors of Zoology and Botany special attention to the bearings of their departments of science on the structure of the animals and plants of former epochs of the Earth's history. No one can be competent to give a correct decision in regard to Fossils, unless he has studied thoroughly the present Fauna and Flora of the globe. To give a well-founded opinion in regard to extinct beings, it is essential that the observer should be conversant with the conformation and development of the living ones now on the earth; with their habits, modes of existence and reproduction, the microscopic structure of their tissues, their distribution, and their relation to soil, the atmosphere, temperature, and climate...

Plant remains can preserve a critical part of history of life on Earth. While telling the fascinating evolutionary story of plants and vegetation across the last 500 million years, this book also crucially offers non-specialists a practical guide to studying, dealing with and interpreting plant fossils. It shows how various techniques can be used to reveal the secrets of plant fossils and how to identify common types, such as compressions and impressions. Incorporating the concepts of evolutionary floras, this second edition includes revised data on all main plant groups, the latest approaches to naming plant fossils using fossil-taxa and techniques such as tomography. With extensive illustrations of plant fossils and living plants, the book encourages readers to think of fossils as once-living organisms. It is written for students on introductory or intermediate courses in palaeobotany, palaeontology, plant evolutionary biology and plant science, and for amateurs interested in studying plant fossils.

Often regarded as the 'Cinderella' of palaeontological studies, palaeobotany has a history that contains some fascinating insights into scientific endeavour, especially by palaeontologists who were perusing a personal interest rather than a career. The problems of maintaining research facilities in universities, especially in the modern era, are described and reveal a noticeable absence of a national UK strategy to preserve centres of excellence in an avowedly specialist area. Accounts of some of the pioneers demonstrate the importance of collaboration between taxonomists and illustrators. The importance of palaeobotany in the rise of geoconservation is outlined, as well as the significant and influential role of women in the discipline. Although this volume has a predominantly UK focus, two very interesting studies outline the history of palaeobotanical work in Argentina and China.