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fossils

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Fossils are the remains of past life on Earth, for example: bones, shells, or leaves.  Tracks, dung, burrows, and other evidence of past life can also be preserved in the fossil record.  Scientists who study fossils are called paleontologists. (Paleo= ancient)

EON	ERA	PERIOD	EPOCH
Phanerozoic	Cenozoic	Quaternary	Holocene Pleistocene
		Tertiary	Pliocene Miocene Oligocene Eocene Paleocene
	Mesozoic	Cretaceous	Late Early
		Jurassic	Late Middle Early
		Triassic	Late Early
	Paleozoic	Permian	Late Early
		Pennsylvanian	Late Middle Early
		Mississippian	Late Early
		Devonian	Late Middle Early
		Silurian	Late Middle Early
		Ordovician	Late Middle Early
		Cambrian	Late Middle Early