Fossils of the Carpathian region / Ископаемые Карпатского региона

The Earth is more than four billion years old. Its history is documented by the rocks that form the Earth’s crust, which lies beneath our feet and can be structurally complex in some places. The time that has elapsed since the formation of our planet is infinitely long when compared to the age of the human lineage, and several methods make it possible for us to measure geological time. The study of fossils—the remains of animals and plants preserved in sedimentary rocks—allows us to recognize the order of events that have formed the Earth.

Indeed, for almost a century, the study of fossils was the only way to determine relative geological ages. This method, known as biostratigraphy (stratigraphy is the study of the temporal and spatial relationships of rock bodies), is founded on the irreversible nature of biotic evolution. First, the fossil contents of isolated localities were studied and later, following much debate and many mistakes, it became possible to arrange fossil occurrences according to their geological ages. By about the mid-nineteenth century the relative temporal distribution of most of the important plant and animal groups had been more or less established. This knowledge resulted in a comparative scale that—because it is continuously being developed—has become more and more applicable around the world <...>