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The Importance of Scotland’s Fossils in both Science And Education

Scotland’s fossils are of great scientific and educational value. They provide an insight into prehistoric life and allow the reconstruction of environmental conditions that existed millions of years ago, as Scotland drifted across the face of the Earth. They enable us to piece together past life and its evolution to the present day.

This is the science of palaeontology. Fossils are also crucially important for dating rocks and comparing rock sequences regionally, nationally and internationally (the science of stratigraphy). The role of fossils is vital in the search for oil, gas and coal, all essential for our day to day existence.

Fossils are also an essential component in educating and training geology students, by helping to aid an appreciation of biological evolution and geological processes in general.

Permian age sandstone - dating from around 250 million years ago, this bedding surface, from the Elgin area, illustrates the trackways and tail drag marks (trace fossils) made by animals that inhabited an ancient desert environment when Scotland was located just north of the Equator. © Scottish Natural Heritage.