What can taphonomy tell scientists about fossils? (site 1)

Taphonomy is the study of the process of fossilization, from the death of the organism to the moment of the fossil's discovery and everything in between. Fossilization is the process by which a plant or animal becomes a fossil, the process is extremely rare and only a small fraction of the plants and animals that have lived in the past 600 million years are preserved as fossils. Taphonomy entails the study of what happens in plants and animals after they die, including the processes of decay and fossilization.