Remnants of Ancient Life: The New Science of Old Fossils

by Dale E. Greenwalt

The revolution in science that is transforming our understanding of extinct life

We used to think of fossils as being composed of nothing but rock and minerals, all molecular traces of life having vanished long ago. We were wrong. Remnants of Ancient Life reveals how the new science of ancient biomolecules―pigments, proteins, and DNA that once functioned in living organisms tens of millions of years ago―is opening a new window onto the evolution of life on Earth.

Paleobiologists are now uncovering these ancient remnants in the fossil record with increasing frequency, shedding vital new light on long-extinct creatures and the lost world they inhabited. Dale Greenwalt is your guide to these astonishing breakthroughs. He explains how ancient biomolecules hold the secrets to how mammoths dealt with the bitter cold, what colors dinosaurs exhibited in mating displays, how ancient viruses evolved to become more dangerous, and much more. Each chapter discusses different types of biomolecules and the insights they provide about the physiology, behavior, and evolution of extinct organisms, many of which existed long before the age of dinosaurs.

A marvelous adventure of discovery, Remnants of Ancient Life offers an unparalleled look at an emerging science that is transforming our picture of the remote past. You will never think of fossils in the same way again.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Palaeontology, Biology, Geology, History, Audiobook

288 pages, Hardcover

First published January 17, 2023

Reviews

[Tim Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting, up to date (copyright 2022), and very accessible though sometimes a bit technical popular science review of the study of ancient biomolecules, substances like chlorophyll, hemoglobin, myosin, melanin, collagen, cutin, cellulose, and lignin as well as ancient DNA, and how their presence either in fossils themselves or in ancient sediments are being used more and more to answer questions in taxonomy, discern the appeareance of ancient organisms, reveal important aspects of evolution, and even reveal a great deal about ancient environments. The author looked at the use of ancient biomolecules and biomarkers (the latter not actual fossils but substances in rocks that indicate that life once existed there) and how they have been used in study of subjects from the earliest days of life on Earth in the Precambrian through the famed Burgess Shale fauna to the age of dinosaurs to Pleistocene mammoths all the way to being used in archaeology in studying such subjects as Ötzi (the Copper Age mummy from about 3300 BC, found in the Alps in 1991) and Tutankhamun.

I enjoyed how on the one hand author Dale E. Greenwalt kind of let the reader (or in this case listener) down gently on the subject of finding ancient viable cells or DNA or resurrecting extinct species, showing how unlikely if not impossible this is, and on the other hand lifted the reader up by showing how study of ancient biomolecules and what fragments of DNA that can be found are revealing about ancient life, how ancient biomolecules reveal such things as the taxonomy of mysterious Paleozoic organisms like the Tully monster (Tullimonstrum, long a mystery), the coloration and patterns of dinosaur feathers, of C02 levels and temperatures thanks to study of ancient leaves, of the cold weather adaptations of mammoths, and of the distribution of and genetic traits of ancient hominids like the Denisovans and Neanderthals.

I was surprised that even some of the very oldest multicellular fossils known aren’t completely mineralized, with even some Burgess Shale fossils (at around 508 million years old) still have biomolecules that can be used by paleontologists in studying these organisms. Later fossils may have even have a great deal of original biomolecules, such as the fossil trees of Axel Heiberg Island in the Canadian Arctic, 40 million year old Eocene epoch age Metasequoia that to the horror of paleobotanists, have been burned in campfires by visiting researchers and are essentially still wood.

A fantastic introduction to phylogenetics, chemotaxonomy, paleochemotaxonomy, good coverage of the heated controversy over whether or not Mary Schweitzer discovered the remains of blood cells and soft tissue in Tyrannosaur rex specimens, the amber inclusion DNA fiasco, the science that inspired Jurassic Park and whether or not Jurassic Park is even possible, some interesting coverage of the discovery and study of Gigantopithecus blacki, and introduction and tour of many amazing fossils sites like the 309 million year old Carboniferous period Mazon Creek fossil beds of Illinois, the Miocene age fossiliferous Calvert Cliffs of Maryland, the abundant plant fossils of the Fossil Bowl at Clarkia, Idaho (also Miocene age), and the Snowmass, Colorado fossils site that contained numerous Ice Age animals like mammoths.

[Peter Tillman · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the sort of book that I generally like: a working scientist writing about his area of expertise. And I did like the book, mostly. But there were enough rough spots to keep me from giving it top marks. Starting with the cover, which is colorized to suggest a pigment that could have been there (but wasn't). Why do that? Grump, grump.

And there's a long chapter about a lady who thinks she has found ancient proteins -- perhaps even red-blood cells -- in dinosaur bones, that are far older than any other known preserved proteins. Maybe she's right, but the current scientific consensus is against her. Greenwalt reports 'results' from a "Creation Scientist" who found lots of well-preserved soft tissues in dinosaurs -- including live bacteria. I suppose this was intended as a joke, but I found it in poor taste.

The rest of the book is far better, and I cautiously recommend it for those interested in current chemical research on fossils. For me, this was a 3.3 star book. A bit of sharp editing would have brought it up to 4 stars.


The review that led me to read the book:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/remnants...
Excerpt:
“Remnants of Ancient Life” is written largely in the first person, taking us to the author’s primary field site in northwest Montana, where rockslides, twisted ankles and dicey stream crossings make for some 21st-century adventure. Among the notable insights provided by these current exploits are how biomarkers identified in long-gone microbes provide what is essentially a time-lapse thermometer showing precisely how Earth’s temperature changed after that dinosaur-killing asteroid created the Chicxulub crater, and how long it took the biosphere to recover. . . ."

[Nicole Simovski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cool book on modern techniques used to study ancient life including proteins, dna, and molecules. A bit technical of a read, as is typical of Princeton University Press but very interesting read.

[Flora · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. Most of the chapters (particularly the ones focused on pigments, biometals, and proteins) were engaging, super informative, and I feel I took away a lot of new knowledge and interest in subjects that weren't on my radar before.

The one caveat to my recommendation is that there are a couple of chapters near the middle of the book that really dragged for me. They seemed much more haphazardly written, less focused on any particular subject, and I got way less out of them. One of my personal pet peeves came up at one point - the author expressing something along the lines of "[this thing we've been discussing] is not accepted by the majority of scientists. But who knows, there have been [overly simplified unrelated situation(s) where something was rejected by scientists then later accepted], so who knows, maybe they're wrong about this too?" It just feels like a waste of time, shrugging and saying, "anything could be true, right?"

The book picks up again after this and I enjoyed it thoroughly all the way to the end. Overall it's exactly the kind of nonfiction written for general audiences I love and seek out, and even though it lost me a bit in the middle, I'd definitely pick up anything else this author publishes.

[Savi Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book was fantastic. i really appreciate Greenwalt’s writing style. the message he intended to send was 100% received; everyone should become molecular paleontologists. and i believe it, especially for invertebrate paleontologists! also his critique of George Church (the founder of Colossal Biosciences) at the end made me so happy. i was surprised because this was published before Church founded Colossal. all in all, this book made me excited and to learn, which i think is great.

[Jonas Gehrlein · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very solid short book on all the different ways that modern paleontology is finding ways to identify ancient biomolecules and what these biomolecules allow us to say about ancient life in a very approachable style.

[Anshuman Swain · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite an interesting and informative read about the use of molecular fossils in understanding different aspects of Paleobiology.

[Redmar Huisman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Een heel goed boek dat een uitgebreid overzicht geeft over de rol die bio moleculen spelen in de moderne paleontologie.

[Penny Bankston · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fascinating read about the many ways scientists are learning to glean better understanding of evolution and ancient life on earth, through the study of biomolecules left behind. Surprisingly, to me, biomolecules are being retrieved from fossils hundreds of millions of years old. Ancient DNA gets all the headlines, but chitin and cholesterol-like molecules from ~500 million years ago have been documented. Pigments, as well as fossilized color receptors in the eyes of long-extinct creatures, dating back 300 million years, tell us color vision has been around at least that long. The gradual, evolutionary changes in biomolecules provide molecular clocks, helping to flesh out the details of evolutionary trees. Conversely, scientists are modeling these evolutionary changes in reverse to predict what biomolecules, and the creatures they were part of, may have looked like in the far distant past.

Here’s a fascinating bit (probably common knowledge to biologist, but news to me): Hemoglobin - essential for animal life - is chemically identical to chlorophyll - essential for plant life - save for the metal ion being chelated by this complex structure. Hemoglobin contains iron and chlorophyll contains magnesium. Who could know this and not be convinced we evolved from a common life form?

Greenwalt does an excellent job in setting the stage for his discussion of each class of biomolecule, providing the reader with the necessary context, background, and the key elements of relevant analytical techniques, then walks the reader through the recent findings and their implications.

One or two sections got a bit confusing. For example, after a long discussion of the revelations from analyses of ancient proteins, Greenwalt then pivots to compelling arguments for why proteins (being reactive and thermally unstable) would never be able to survive that long, and so all the results he has just discussing are probably bogus.

All in all, though, I found the book fascinating, and recommend it to anyone with even a passing interest in paleontology.

[Troy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would probably give this 3.5 stars if I could. I think one would need to be previously invested in paleontology to truly get into this book. I am an amateur fossil hunter so I found it interesting yet I still noticed my mind wandering often while reading (maybe just my short attention span). Nevertheless, it was quite fascinating to learn about how the study of ancient biomolecules is evolving, especially since my interest in fossils stems mostly from the morphology of my finds. The author also did a good job emphasizing where debates and uncertainties existed within these newer methods of identification.

[Yui Nguyen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dale Greenwalt presents an unexpectedly nerdy, humorous exploration of state-of-the-art laboratories. His writing style is not just rock solid; it's fossil solid, approachable, and engaging, successfully broadening the appeal of complex geological and biochemical topics. Initially, one might fear being lost in the sediment of academic jargon, but Greenwalt skillfully navigates the reader through a meticulously detailed microscopic universe, inducing a daydream akin to a journey through Jurassic Park.

[Julie Taylor Rivenbark · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting exploration of biomolecules and paleontology. My only issues were that several of the cited studies have subsequently been invalidated or questioned by the scientific community, which the author often references. This makes it difficult to be on board with some of the chapters. Also, several of the chapters or chapter sections got pretty off topic. However, this was still a very interesting book that I plan to incorporate into my class next year.

[Ron Welch · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book provides a thorough introduction to how ancient molecules found in fossils and other artifacts have provided a wealth of information about the evolution of life, and also the specific behaviors of animals that couldn't be revealed from fossils alone.

This book is best read by folks already basically familiar with the history of life on earth and those with some scientific background.

[Matt Easton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very very thorough discussion of fossils, and how they can be used to understand modern ecology. This book was very scientific and I honestly would recommend brushing up on some bio and chem basics while reading it (which I did not do) but it’s also pretty user friendly despite that.
Would recommend to anyone who wants to learn about how far technology has come in understanding fossils.

[Henry Gee · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is more to fossils than bones and stones. Very rarely. soft tissue is preserved too, and Dale Greenwalt reviews what we can and cannot know about ancient life from the occasional scrap of chitin, cellulose, protein or DNA that niggardly posterity chances to leave behind. DISCLAIMER: I read a proof copy sent to me by a publication for whom I wrote a longer review.

[The Inquisitive Biologist · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ancient proteins, pigments, and DNA as fossil evidence? Remnants of Ancient Life puts a completely fresh gloss on the topic of palaeontology. Read my full review at https://inquisitivebiologist.com/2023...

[Jeremy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This had some new stuff in it for me, talking about paleobiologists and biomolecules and ancient proteins. Some interesting discussion, but ultimately completely forgettable for me, no real takeaways.

[Eric Sullenberger · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little too detailed and technical. Also, relied a descent amount on anecdotes. It is clear that the field is young and there's lots of debate in the field about peer reviewed research that is debated or not supported by other research. Unfortunately this uncertainty made it inconclusive.

[Alley]

okay so i'm gonna be honest... i have no idea how to rate this book. i did not enjoy it, it was pretty boring & not what i was expecting 😭 but also, i'm NOT a science person. it was generally well-written, just not my vibe or forte, so i don't feel like giving it a rating LOL

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really cool little book about fossils. Unfortunately I didn’t take bio or chem in college so some of it was over my head, but I was still able to get a clear picture of the goings-on.

[Daniel Farabaugh · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting read as it shed light on a lot of new science without getting overly technical. The science was in depth but the larger benefits to fossil analysis was clear and interesting.

[Douglas Perry, PhD · Rating 4 out of 5]

Paleochemistry meets paleobiology: a fascinating read.

[Jeff Rudisel · Rating 5 out of 5]

The cutting edge of fossil research.

Fossils as you've never even imagined were possible.
Looking further and further back in time through the retrieval of ancient biomolecules from past eons.

[George Crofts · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating book. Sequencing of ancient DNA have revolutionized our understanding of the development of ancient life. The author calls this the science of archeological bio-chemistry.