Editing Taphonomy (section)

{{Short description|Study of decomposition and fossilization of organisms}}
[[File:Fossilization process.jpg|thumb|350px|Fossilization process of a pair of [[sauropod]] dinosaurs, illustrating their preservation into [[fossil]]s]]
{{Paleontology}}
'''Taphonomy''' is the study of how [[organism]]s decay and become [[fossil]]ized or preserved in the paleontological record. The term ''taphonomy'' (from [[Greek language|Greek]] {{transliteration|grc|táphos}}, {{lang|grc|τάφος}} 'burial' and {{transliteration|grc|nomos}}, {{lang|grc|νόμος}} 'law') was introduced to [[paleontology]] in 1940<ref name="Lyman 1–162">{{Cite journal|last=Lyman|first=R. Lee|date=2010-01-01|title=What Taphonomy Is, What it Isn't, and Why Taphonomists Should Care about the Difference|url=http://faculty.missouri.edu/~lymanr/pdfs/2010%20what%20taph%20is.pdf|journal=Journal of Taphonomy|volume=8|issue=1|pages=1–16|access-date=2021-04-20|archive-date=2021-07-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210702174549/http://faculty.missouri.edu/~lymanr/pdfs/2010%20what%20taph%20is.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> by Soviet scientist [[Ivan Yefremov|Ivan Efremov]] to describe the study of the transition of remains, parts, or products of [[organism]]s from the [[biosphere]] to the [[lithosphere]].<ref name="Efremov85">{{cite journal|last1=Efremov|first1=I. A.|year=1940|title=Taphonomy: a new branch of paleontology|url=http://www.astro.spbu.ru/staff/serg/interests/literature/efremov/tapharticle1.html|journal=Pan-American Geology|volume=74|pages=81–93|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080403220835/http://www.astro.spbu.ru/staff/serg/interests/literature/efremov/tapharticle1.html|archive-date=2008-04-03}}</ref><ref>Martin, Ronald E. [https://books.google.com/books?id=1CPJBZYBhlsC&pg=PA1&lpg=PA1 (1999) "1.1 The foundations of taphonomy" ''Taphonomy: A Process Approach''] Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, England, p. 1, {{ISBN|0-521-59833-8}}</ref>

The term '''taphomorph''' is used to describe fossil structures that represent poorly-preserved, deteriorated remains of a mixture of [[Taxon|taxonomic groups]], rather than of a single one.