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[Dino and Coop singing]

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In the wonderful world of archaeology, scientists

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use something called “trace fossils” to learn about the world that came before us. [Scientist holding up a trace fossil]

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Because unfortunately, those cool ancient cats weren't updating their Facebook statuses all the time. [Dinosaur on the floor as a meteor is in the sky]

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Trace fossils are the “evidence” of the archaeology world, but what exactly are trace fossils? [Coop pointing at a blackboard]

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In the simplest of terms, a trace fossil is anything found in the world that tells us

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more about the things that lived before us.

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Okay, yeah, that isn't really all that specific." [Students in class looking confused]

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A much better way to understand what trace fossils are is to check out a few examples!

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Some examples of trace fossils include...

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Footprints… [Teacher holding up a trace fossil]

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Feeding marks…

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Holes burrowed by animals…

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Egg shells and nests…

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And even evidence of, well... stuff you probably don't want to get your hands in. [Dinosaur poops]

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Yuck.

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All of these examples are evidence of animal life from the past. [Dino pointing at a blackboard]

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But perhaps the most important thing to understand is that trace fossils are not typical “fossils,”

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and by that, we mean they're not body fossils.

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Body fossils are the actual remains of a body or body part – while trace fossils are everything

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that shows “traces” of life, without the actual body to show for it.

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So as you might imagine, when scientists study trace fossils, it's a little bit different

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than when they study body fossils.

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When you have a body fossil, it's easy to say, “look, it has big and strong legs, [A body fossil in a museum]

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so this animal probably ran a lot.”

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But without a body, scientists have to get a bit more creative.

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By examining movement patterns through footprints, looking at how and possibly why they dug holes, [Dinosaur sticks its head out the hole]

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or even examining the size and shape of their... uh…leftover meals... scientists can attempt

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to better understand how animals lived way back when.

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Between the tracks, the nests, and everything in between, animals have thankfully left plenty [Pictures of the different trace fossils]

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of trace fossils for us to study and learn from.

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They're all over the place if you know where to look.

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Just think about all the traces you leave on a daily basis – whether it's the footprints [Girl leaves footprints as she walks to the school bus]

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on your walk across your front lawn, or all the dirt you kick up playing soccer at recess.

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Anything else jump to mind? [Kid kicks a ball]

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Nope, no toilet humor.

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We've already mentioned poop twice, a turd time would be too much. [Stop sign appears over picture of a toilet]

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…Alright, scat's it, we promise. [Kid looks bored]

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Heh.

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