> Fossilization <
A) Inclusion: in amber, ice, permafrost or bitumen. The animal or plant trapped in this material is preserved virtually intact.
B) Mineral filling: the voids in the original material (bone pores, for example) are filled with mineral substances from the surrounding rock. This is the first stage of fossilization, which mainly concerns recent fossils.
C) Carbonization: applies mainly to plants. This phenomenon is at the origin of coal formation.
D) External molding: the animal remains are completely dissolved. They disappear, and the fossil appears only as a hollow.
E) Internal molding: following the previous stage, the hollow (mold) is filled with a mineral substance that may be different from the gangue - such as flint, pyrite... The result is a preserved form of the extinct plant or animal.
F) Impression and counter-impression: similar to the mold/molding system: the animal or plant has left only a more or less deep trace in the soft soil that has now become hard rock.