Most paleontologists do not use chemistry
to identify something as a fossil. They do not use any chemical elements or
molecules to identify something as a fossil. Instead, they use images to
visually identify fossils. For example, the authors of the article mentioned
below identified tissue fossils with images only: Quote from an article abstract (note 1):
“Exceptionally detailed soft tissues have
been identified within the fossilized feces of a large Cretaceous
tyrannosaurid. Microscopic cord-like structures in the coprolitic ground mass
are visible in thin section and with scanning electron microscopy. The
morphology, organization, and context of these structures indicate that they
are the fossilized remains of undigested muscle tissue.”
So, morphology, organization and context
are enough for identification of the said fossils.
Note 1: quoted from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12866547
Read more at http://wretchfossil.blogspot.tw