That the first traces of color have been found in fossil bird feathers (First Trace of Color Found in Fossil Bird Feathers, Carl Zimmer in the New York Times) only adds to my fascination with fossils and sense of wonder at them. I picked up a fossil once whilst walking in a limestone area and to have held in my hand a creature 50 or so million years old that had probably not been found by anyone previously was a rare privilege.

This short clip captures some of the wonder of finding a fossil:

And so my position with fossils runs something like this. Fossils may well undermine a literal interpretation of some religious texts. But a literal interpretation of myth and poetry has never seemed very productive to me in any case. And fossils are awesome. They cause me to step back from the day to day. For me, they are religious in every sense.