New research by members of the Carnegie Institution of Washington and MITNAI teams is changing the way we understand the organic fossil record of Earth. A new study appearing in Geology shows that organisms evolved to use a structural material known as ‘chitin-protein complex’ much earlier than previously believed. Chitin fibers embedded in a matrix of protein make up the outer layer of exoskeletons in arthropods. Microorganisms quickly degrade this material when an organisms dies, so identifying the chitin-protein material in fossils from the early Paleozoic was a stunning find.