Here's how it works:
* Original organism: A plant or animal dies and gets buried in sediment.
* Mineral-rich water: Water carrying dissolved minerals seeps through the sediment.
* Mineral replacement: The minerals slowly replace the organic material in the organism's tissues, cell by cell.
* Fossil formation: Over time, the organism's original shape and structure are preserved in a rock-like form, made of minerals.
Permineralization is one of the most common ways fossils are formed.
