在漫长的地质年代里，地球上曾经生活过无数的生物，这些生物死亡之后的遗体或是生活时遗留下来的痕迹被称为化石。通过研究化石，我们可以逐渐认识过去生物的形态、结构、类别，推测出亿万年来生物起源、演化及发展的过程，恢复漫长的地质历史时期各个阶段地球的生态环境。因此，化石是地球生命的忠实记录者。

In the long geological age, countless creatures lived on the earth. After their death, the remains of these creatures or the traces left are called fossils. By researching fossils, we can get to know the biomorph, structure and category of the creatures lived long ago. And then we can speculate the origin, evolution and development of creatures during billions years, and to infer the ecological environment of the earth in various stages of the long period of geological history. Therefore, fossils are faithful recorders of life on earth.