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{{subpages}} {{dambigbox|the process in [[palaeontology]]|Fossilization}} '''Fossilization''' is the process that preserves evidence of life in earth's rock record. This evidence of past life is called a [[fossil]]. The word "fossil" is derived from the Latin ''fossilis'', something dug up.<ref name="MacRae">MacRae, C.S. 1999. ''Life Etched in Stone: Fossils of South Africa''. The Geological Society of South Africa, Johannesburg.</ref> During the [[Middle Ages]], the term "fossil" was used for any sample recovered from the earth, including [[Rock (geology)|rocks]] and [[minerals]].<ref name="MacRae"/> Today, the use of "fossil" is limited to the record of ancient [[life]]. Fossilization can preserve actual remnants of an organism, or evidence of their presence in an ecosystem.<ref name="MacRae"/> {{Image|Mesosaurus - McCarthy & Rubidge.jpg|left|400px|Fossil of ''Mesosaurus tenuidens'', a swimming reptile from the Whitehill Formation near Kimberley, South Africa.}} Understanding the process of fossilization, and the different means through which it can occur, is used by [[Taphonomy|taphonomists]], [[Paleontology|paleontologists]], and [[Geology|geologists]] to understand the lives of past organisms and the ancient environments in which they lived. The fossil record, however, is not a representative sample of past life, because certain organisms, and particular elements of those organisms, are more likely to be preserved than others. In addition certain environments are more suitable for fossilization than others, and some environments will yield no fossil remains through time. [[Taphonomy]] is the study of what has happened to an organism from the moment of death until it is found as a fossil.<ref name="Shipman"/> Exploring the process of fossilization from a taphonomic perspective allows placement of individual fossils into a wider context. Consequently, researchers reconstruct not only the morphology of organisms, but under the right conditions, their behavior, life history and palaeoenvironment as well. {{TOC|right}}

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