There and Back: Twelve of the Great Routes of Human History

Abstract

A key concept in this chapter is that amber does not simply protect the entrapped insect but that “. . . there must be some chemical interaction with the embedding medium” (p. 125); in other words, the chemistry and physics of the amber itself are integral to the process. What is commonly called “petrified wood” also gets some long-overdue attention in this book. Chapter 6 (Experimental Silicification of Wood in the Lab and Field) reveals that the process can be surprisingly rapid and that nanolevel changes in the structure of wood cells have now been observed; more experimental research is proving very promising. This segues into Chapter 7 (The Structure and Chemistry of Silica in Mineralized Wood), which addresses not only the process of silicification but also suggests that it may help us better reconstruct plant evolution in the geological past (p. 159). Chapter 8 (Exceptional Fossilization of Ecological Interactions) is groundbreaking as fossils can tell us much about the dynamic between insect populations and plant responses to them. Although it is tempting to think of fossils as unique objects, they are far more, revealing much about past environmental dynamics as well. Chapter 9 (Color in Living and Fossil Plants) notes that present-day plants occur in a riot of colors but that fossils are largely browns and blacks due geological processes – exceptions being green Cenozoic leaves and pink-colored Jurassic alga. However, new analytical techniques will potentially expand our understanding of color in the past. Chapter 10 (The Future of Fossilization) builds on the premise that developments in chemical analyses and imaging technology are permitting an interpretation of fossils as “living organisms, within a biological framework” (p. 249). As apparent throughout this book, interdisciplinary study is essential in advancing not only the field of taphonomy but also our understanding of life itself. In summary, although this is one of the most technical books ever reviewed in this journal, it is one that beautifully elucidates the interdependent processes involved in discovery.