Before we look at any dinosaurs, we need to be able to identify rocks and understand how they form. You will need to refer back to these notes for several of the later labs. The depositional environment can be characterized by it's levels of oxygenation and energy.
Dinosaur bones are most likely to be found in clastic sediments.
If formed in the oceans, they typically contain remains of invertebrates. Biogenic material, specifically, organic carbon compounds, are the second largest reservoir of carbon in the Earth system after limestone. The three principal properties used in identifying sedimentary rocks are texture, composition and fabric . The texture refers to particle sizes and shapes, and is related both to the condition which prevailed when the sediment was deposited and to the source of the sediment. Composition refers to the mineralogy of the particles making up the rock, and of the cement.