ABSTRACT
It is easy to think of gold and oil as natural resources, but fossils are a kind of natural resource as well. Not only do we crush fossiliferous limestone into powder to make cement, and use blocks of limestone full of fossils for building stone, but California’s fossils have other implications as well. They tell us about the history of life on this planet, and about the strange and amazing ways animals and plants have adapted and changed. They tell us how life has evolved through time, and give us clues about ancient environments. As we saw in previous chapters, certain fossils tell us how far exotic terranes have traveled across the Pacific to reach California. In many cases, fossils have been important for museums to create a sense of wonder and excitement about the world and the prehistoric past. Hollywood has made millions with movies about prehistoric life, especially the Jurassic Park and Jurassic World series. Last but not least, fossils are the key to establishing the age of rocks, and correlating them over long distances.
