Scientists claimed that dinosaurs in the Yixian Formation, known as China’s Pompeii, did not die as a result of a volcanic eruption, contrary to popular belief, but due to more mundane reasons.

It was thought that dinosaurs died in a sudden volcanic eruption in this region known as the “Chinese Pompeii.” However, according to a study published in the peer-reviewed journal PNAS on Monday, November 4, these creatures may have died from much more mundane causes.

Dr. Paul Olsen argues that the fossils were preserved due to everyday reasons rather than sudden and violent events, and states that these deaths are “not miraculous, but the result of ordinary conditions.”



These new findings in the Yixian Formation show that ordinary events in the past may be based on simple causes rather than extraordinary events, and that fossil preservation methods can be explained by natural causes, not more complex ones.