A fossil are the preserved remains or traces of animals, or plants, from past geological ages. Fossils are formed when an animal or plant is buried by layers of sediment very quickly so decomposition does not have time to start. If the animal is buried slowly, not much of it will be preserved as a fossil due to decomposition. Over millions of years, the ever increasing layers of sediment compresses to become rock. The organic material is dissolved and replaced by minerals in the groundwater to form a fossil.
The mineral replacement occurs on the molecular level. If you looked at a fossil bone under a microscope, the cells would look the same as if it were alive.

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