History of Fossil in Timeline

By Popular Timelines Editorial Team · Updated: November 25, 2025

A fossil is any preserved remain, impression, or trace of a once-living organism from a past geological age. Common examples include bones, shells, imprints, and objects preserved in amber. The totality of fossils forms the fossil record. While incomplete, the fossil record provides a good understanding of the diversification of life on Earth. It can also predict discoveries, as demonstrated by the discovery of Tiktaalik.

1971: Publication of punctuated equilibrium paper

In 1971, Stephen Jay Gould and Niles Eldredge published their seminal paper on punctuated equilibrium, based partly on Eldredge's interpretation of the Phacops fossil record.

2009: Discovery of microbial stromatolites

In 2009, strong evidence was found of microbial stromatolites dating back 3.45 billion years ago.

January 2014: NASA's Mars rover missions search for ancient life

On 24 January 2014, NASA reported that the Curiosity and Opportunity rovers on Mars would begin searching for evidence of ancient life, including a biosphere based on autotrophic, chemotrophic and/or chemolithoautotrophic microorganisms, as well as ancient water. The search for evidence of habitability, taphonomy, and organic carbon on Mars became a primary NASA objective.

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2014: Report on iron particles associated with soft tissues recovered from dinosaur fossils

In 2014, Mary Schweitzer and her colleagues reported the presence of iron particles (goethite-aFeO(OH)) associated with soft tissues recovered from dinosaur fossils. They proposed that solution hypoxia coupled with iron chelation enhances the stability and preservation of soft tissue.