Thank you!

We have emailed you a PDF version of the article you requested.

Can't find the email?

Please check your spam or junk folder

IFLScience Home
IFLScience logo

IFLScience The Big Questions: What Will The Fossils Of The Future Look Like?

Complete the form below to listen to the audio version of this article

You can unsubscribe at any time. View ourprivacy policy and terms below.

IFLScience needs the contact information you provide to us to contact you about our products and services. You may unsubscribe from these communications at any time.

For information on how to unsubscribe, as well as our privacy practices and commitment to protecting your privacy, check out ourPrivacy Policy

Ad

humans-iconHumans
clock-iconPUBLISHEDAugust 28, 2025

IFLScience The Big Questions: What Will The Fossils Of The Future Look Like?

And what will they say about humanity long after we’re gone?

Dr. Russell Moul headshot

Dr. Russell Moul

Dr. Russell Moul headshot

Dr. Russell Moul

Science Writer

Russell has a PhD in the history of medicine, violence, and colonialism. His research has explored topics including ethics, science governance, and medical involvement in violent contexts.

BookView full profile

BookRead IFLScience Editorial Policy

Science Writer

Russell has a PhD in the history of medicine, violence, and colonialism. His research has explored topics including ethics, science governance, and medical involvement in violent contexts.View full profile

Russell has a PhD in the history of medicine, violence, and colonialism. His research has explored topics including ethics, science governance, and medical involvement in violent contexts.

View full profile
The Big Questions: What Will The Fossils Of The Future Look Like?

One person's trash could be a future person's fossil.

Image credit: Tom Meaker/Shutterstock.com; modified by IFLScience

Today’s rubbish may well be the fossils of tomorrow. Plastic bags, old pens, cheap clothing, or even chicken bones are all examples of possible “technofossils”, rapidly accumulating debris and detritus that may come to represent the story of humanity in the geological record long after we’re gone.

The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign in or subscribe to access the full content.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. Host Dr Russell Moul speaks to Professors Sarah Gabbott and Jan Zalasiewicz of the University of Leicester, authors of Discarded: How Technofossils Will be Our Ultimate Legacy, about the fascinating processes involved in turning our trash into fossils, but also how interest in these processes may help us change them.

You can listen to this episode and subscribe to the podcast on all your favorite podcast apps: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podbean, Amazon Music, and more.

clock-icon
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHEDAugust 28, 2025

Written by Dr. Russell Moul

Add us as a Google preferred source to see more of our
trusted coverage in Search


humans-icon

More Humans Stories

link to article

77 Headless Skeletons Found In An Ancient Mass Grave Raise The Question, What On Earth Went On Here?Uncovering and recovering such a find is a special challenge for the archaeologists.
humans-iconarchaeology

77 Headless Skeletons Found In An Ancient Mass Grave Raise The Question, What On Earth Went On Here?

clock-icon20 hours ago

link to article

Microbes From Ötzi the Iceman Are Still Showing Signs Of Life, The World’s Largest Scorpion Was 1 Meter Long, And Much More This WeekAll the biggest science news stories of the week.
humans-iconHumans

Microbes From Ötzi the Iceman Are Still Showing Signs Of Life, The World’s Largest Scorpion Was 1 Meter Long, And Much More This Week

clock-icon3 days ago

link to article

Neanderthals Ate Maggots And Mosquitoes, But Prehistoric European Humans Couldn’t Stomach BugsFried grasshoppers
humans-iconancient ancestors

Neanderthals Ate Maggots And Mosquitoes, But Prehistoric European Humans Couldn’t Stomach Bugs

clock-icon4 days ago
comments icon11