The word fossil initially related to something being dug out of the ground and originated from the Latin fossilis. The first uses of the word fossil in English therefore described materials being extracted from mines.
In relation to animals or plants being petrified, the word fossil first appeared in print in 1707. In his Curiosities of nature and art in husbandry and gardening, William Fleetwood wrote: “when a plant petrifies, it degenerates by degrading itself to the rank of fossils”. Fleetwood was actually a bishop, with an interest in translation, particularly of French texts. In his translation of the Curiosities, Fleetwood describes nature as God’s work, with the farmer acting as a link between heaven and earth.
Fleetwood was considered an excellent preacher, presumably because he also dealt well with earthly topics relevant to his listeners, such as finances. It is therefore no surprise that Fleetwood’s major claim to fame is asking the question about the comparative value of money: “How much would five pounds buy today?” Fleetwood calculated that food, clothes and books bought in 1440 would have cost almost 6 times the amount 300 years later. This early attempt to calculate purchasing power was actually for the benefit of a friend who had to demonstrate he was poor enough to get a scholarship.
Not much later Peter Collinson, an English botanist who was a friend of Hans Sloane and Benjamin Franklin, helped to popularize the term by frequently referring to fossils in letters to friends and acquaintances. For him, fossils were “marks and effects of Almighty power” which he collected from such different locations as Florida and Ireland.
It was not until the rise of Darwinism that fossils were placed in the larger context of the natural history of the world. The scientific study of fossils and their chemical makeup eventually led to the realisation that fossils could be used as energy sources. Ironically enough a plant degraded to the rank of fossils now had a completely different value as a fuel source. More of that tomorrow in the description of fossil fuels.
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