ABSTRACT
In order to understand dinosaurs from the fossil record, it is important that we also understand the processes that lead to them becoming part of the fossil record. This chapter covers the processes of both taphonomy and fossilization. It begins with defining a fossil and outlining the steps that would lead to an organism becoming part of the fossil record. The next three sections are devoted to a discussion of taphonomy, including sections on the taphonomic phases of biostratinomy and diagenesis. This is followed up with a discussion of the different modes of preservation and types of fossils. The chapter ends with a case study on the preservation of blood vessels in a 65-million-year-old T. rex bone.
