Video narration
How can a hard rock show us an animal that lived long ago? Think about a footprint in wet mud or sand. An animal steps there, leaving a mark. More mud covers it. Over a very long time, the layers become hard, and the mark stays protected inside the rock. Now the mark is no longer only a footprint in mud. After burial and hardening, it becomes a fossil-a preserved clue from long ago. A fossil can be a footprint, bone, or shell. It is a preserved remain or trace of a living thing. Fossils help us learn about plants and animals from the past. They give us clues, even when the living thing is gone. So, how can a hard rock show us an animal from long ago? Because a fossil is a preserved clue-a bone, shell, or footprint-left by a living thing long ago.