Talk: Digging the dirt on some of the world’s oldest fossils
This event is part of the Royal Society's Summer Science Exhibition 2025.
Fossils have long helped us trace the history of life on Earth, from primitive trilobites, to dinosaurs, woolly mammoths, and eventually us. But most fossils only preserve the hard parts of organisms, like bones, shells or teeth. Soft tissues, like skin, muscles and organs are rarely preserved in the fossil record, so how on (prehistoric) Earth are we meant to understand the history of life before skeletons evolved?
Step back in time, 500 million years ago, with palaeontologist Dr Ross Anderson, Royal Society University Research Fellow, to explore how antibacterial clay-rich rocks may hold the answer. Discover how the exceptionally preserved fossils within illuminate life on Earth before skeletons or shells appeared, shedding light on the earliest multicellular life.
Attending the event
This talk will be held in the Dining room on Sunday 6 July 2025, 11am – 11.30am.
- Free to attend, no ticket required
- The room has limited capacity, so we recommend that visitors arrive at least 10-15 minutes before the talk. We operate a first-come, first-served policy
- This talk will take place in person at the Royal Society and will also be livestreamed on the Royal Society YouTube channel
- Live subtitles will be available in-person and virtually
- Suitable for everyone
- Travel and accessibility information and details on planning your visit - contact us directly to arrange any specific accessibility requirements
- Food and drink will be available for purchase at our onsite café
For all enquiries, please email us.