"In decay experiments modern shrimps became partially mineralized
in amorphous calcium phosphate, preserving cellular details of
muscle tissue, particularly in a system closed to oxygen. The
source for the formation of calcium phosphate was the shrimp
itself. Mineralization, which was accompanied by a drop in pH,
commenced within 2 weeks and increased in extent for at least 4
to 8 weeks. This mechanism halts the normal loss of detail of
soft-tissue morphology before fossilization. Similar closed
conditions would prevail where organisms are rapidly overgrown by
microbial mats."~Derek E. G. Briggs and Amanda J.
Kear,"Fossilization of Soft Tissue in the Laboratory,"Science,
259(1993):1439-1442, p. 1439
"The preservation of soft tissue by mineralization depends on a
critical balance between decay and precipitation. Some decay is
required to drive the process; too much leads to a loss of
information. Subcellular details of the most labile tissues can
only be replicated with a high degree of fidelity where
mineralization is rapid relative to decay (the rate depending on
a range of controls including concentration and oxidation state
of the mineral ions, size and type of organic substrate, and
pH)."~D. E. G. Briggs et al, "Phosphatization of soft-tissue in
Experiments and Fossils," Journal of the Geological Society,
London, 150(1993):1035-1038, p. 1035
glenn
Adam, Apes, and Anthropology: Finding the Soul of Fossil Man
and
Foundation, Fall and Flood
http://www.isource.net/~grmorton/dmd.htm