Bones and teeth after death

[beanieb]

We all know after an animal dies in a natural environment (eg the forest), the process of decomposition sets in and within 2 weeks to months, most of the flesh will be broken down and returned back to earth.

But what about the harder and more sturdy parts of the animal like its bones and teeth (even beaks of birds)?

If it takes a very longer time for it to decompose, and given that many animals die everyday, shouldn't we expect to find many of such parts piled up in the forest?

 

But the fact is we don't readily find them, so what happens to them?

[hypervalent_iodine]

You may want to have a read of this thread: http://www.scienceforums.net/topic/54045-bones-after-death-question

[beanieb]

thx iodine..

 

but that leads me to another thought.

It is mentioned most of such parts(bones) are degraded in moist acidic soils.

 

then what about areas like dry desserts, since it is better at preserving the bone/teeth remains?

[ewmon]

... an animal dies in a natural environment (eg the forest)

...what about the harder and more sturdy parts of the animal like its bones

... the fact is we don't readily find them, so what happens to them?

Carnivores ... can have a dramatic impact on bones [and] are agents of bone destruction because they break bones between their teeth in an effort to retrieve the fat and marrow within ... [favoring] the soft, trabecular portions of the bones.

 

... the gnawing [of rodents] can be just as destructive. Rodents ranging in size from mice to porcupines chew on bones [and] can move bones ... often carrying them over large distances to their dens, where they accumulate and modify them by chewing.

source: Human Osteology

 

rodents tend to gnaw at dry bone to obtain minerals and to sharpen and shorten their ever-growing incisors

source: Taphonomy

[hypervalent_iodine]

thx iodine..

 

but that leads me to another thought.

It is mentioned most of such parts(bones) are degraded in moist acidic soils.

 

then what about areas like dry desserts, since it is better at preserving the bone/teeth remains?

 

You get mummified remains under the right conditions (see: Tarim mummies), or alternatively I would guess that the constantly moving sand will erode the bones. You can get natural mummification in a variety of extreme conditions, such as the extreme cold and in extremely saline environments.

[Phi for All]

We all know after an animal dies in a natural environment (eg the forest), the process of decomposition sets in and within 2 weeks to months, most of the flesh will be broken down and returned back to earth.

But what about the harder and more sturdy parts of the animal like its bones and teeth (even beaks of birds)?

If it takes a very longer time for it to decompose, and given that many animals die everyday, shouldn't we expect to find many of such parts piled up in the forest?

 

But the fact is we don't readily find them, so what happens to them?

We all know that creationists want to find reasons to deny the fossil record, so I suspect many of them go around to forests and pick up animal bones so they can't possibly fossilize.