If not for fossilization, would we know dinosaurs existed?

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If not for fossilization, would we know dinosaurs existed?

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9 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

We wouldn’t, even the information about animals that we know is very scarce. It’s almost a miracle that and individual is preserved to modern time.

Some animals existed for millions of years and were really abundant but we only found a few specimens. It’s entirely possible that no human fossil would be found in 50 million years.

Anonymous 0 Comments

I think [cladistics](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cladistics) could get us close. You can start with every species that you can find today, and work backwards to find common ancestors. Genetics can also be used to an extent.

Anonymous 0 Comments

You should read about the Silurian Hypothesis. Basically says that there may have even been intelligent dinosaurs in the way that we consider ourselves intelligent but if they existed and had industry for the same amount of time we’ve had so far and then we’re wiped out there would be no trace of them in the fossil record. There will probably also be no trace of us if we’re wiped out in a similar way.

Before people come at me, I’m summarizing this from what I remember, so relax.

Anonymous 0 Comments

There would be some teeth that survived like T.Rex teeth along with insects trapped in amber, which is technically fossilized tree resin. https://youtu.be/Ga1RuTTKnHQ

Anonymous 0 Comments

Part of this comes down to how broadly you’d like to define the term fossils.

If we just lost the fossilized bones, we’d still have footprints and other impressions from being buried in mud or ash. You wouldn’t really be able to piece together what it was from a footprint, but you’d know there used to be something really big, and really weird around that we don’t see anymore.

Anonymous 0 Comments

Trace fossils, e.g., foot and tail prints

But would have difficulty identifying what made them.

Anonymous 0 Comments

Not really, no. We might find a few fossilized footprints and wonder what could have made them… but again, that’s a type of fossil.

In fact, it’s likely that only have a tiny fraction of the actual critters that lived even fossilized. Most of the life that came before us will forever remain lost to the mists of time.

Anonymous 0 Comments

We would have found footprints, but we wouldn’t know much about what made them. We would be able to tell they were avian or reptilian, bi and quadrupedal, and approximations of weight, height, and length of some species. I’m pretty sure though that is about it.

Anonymous 0 Comments

It is amazing that we find fossils from the dinosaur era. Plate tectonics, erosion, oceans, ice, volcanoes and wind should scrub away all traces. Amazing