Unraveling the Mystery of China's Dinosaur 'Pompeii'

Recent research has revised the understanding of fossil preservation in China's Yixian Formation, suggesting that the well-preserved dinosaur fossils were not the result of volcanic activity, as previously thought, but rather due to natural sediment processes like burrow collapses and rainy periods. This challenges the "Chinese Pompeii" theory and highlights the role of ordinary events in fossilization. The study used advanced dating techniques to determine that these fossils were preserved over a period of less than 93,000 years, during which sedimentation rapidly buried the remains in oxygen-free environments.