The ecology of fossils / Экология окаменелостей

Palaeontology is the study of fossils, the remains of past life preserved in old sediments. Throughout geological time, there have been marked changes in the dominant animal and plant groups, while the total range of physical environments has changed very little. 
In some instances, the changes in the fauna and flora are the result of progressive evolutionary changes in particular fossil lineages, but much more commonly the fossil record shows that many organisms become widespread soon after they first appear; they may then flourish for a while before they become extinct and are replaced by another form. This changing pattern of forms of life in similar habitats is the basis for this book. In a small village in western Newfoundland, I used to play cards with the schoolmaster's father in the evenings. I am sure he was the most intelligent man in the village. After I had been there for some time, he plucked up enough courage to ask me why I was not looking at the rocks up on the ridge where the old gold mines were. I told him I was not looking for gold, but (reaching into my bag and pulling out a slab of rock containing brachiopods) "I was looking for these". He studied the slab carefully and said, "Are these sea shells?" He had never seen a fossil before, nor even heard of fossils. This question reminded me of the best of the early eighteenth century palaeontologists. But my friend went on: '"Does that mean the sea was once up here?" When I had replied "Yes", he then asked: "How long ago would that be then?" He clearly had all the makings of a first-class scientist. I replied, with a perfectly straight face, "About 450 million years ago", but I was not at all prepared for his final remark, "You'll be an atheist then". <...>