Ice and peat fossils (EOE)

• Under certain conditions, fossils might not have been created
• Parts of organisms do not always decay because the conditions needed might be absent
• Organisms may be preserved in different ways such as in amber, peat bogs, tar pits, or in ice
• Amber is a substance formed from hardened tree sap or resin, allowing the whole organism to be seen clearly
• Peat bogs can preserve organisms well due to acidic, oxygen-free conditions
• Example: Lindow man, whose skin, hair, and many internal organs were well preserved
• Preservation in peat bogs is unusual compared to rock fossils
• Preservation of DNA in the Lindow man enables scientists to learn more about that era and human evolution
• Example of a body preserved in ice: Oetzi, a mummified ancient man found near the Austrian-Italian border in 1991
• Detailed analysis of Oetzi's body indicated he was approximately 5,000 years old
• Examinations of Oetzi's body included his gut bacteria and pollen on some clothes