ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Organic-rich sedimentary rocks

Alright kiddo, you know how all living things, like plants and animals, need to eat and drink to stay alive? Well after they die, their bodies turn into soil or sediment. Overtime, more and more sediment is piled on top and that creates pressure and heat which squishes everything together into rocks.

Organic-rich sedimentary rocks are special kinds of rocks made up of mostly dead plants or animals that have been buried under sediment for millions of years. These rocks are called "organic-rich" because they have a lot of carbon-based chemicals in them that came from the decaying plants or animals.

Now, the cool thing about organic-rich sedimentary rocks is that they can hold onto a lot of important clues from the past, like what kind of creatures were around long ago or how the climate looked like. That's why scientists study these rocks to better understand the history of our planet!