After seven years of intensive research, Northwest University has unraveled the preservation mechanisms of Cambrian small shelly fossils unearthed in Henan, Jiangsu, and Shandong. The study reveals multiple preservation pathways—including phosphatization, dolomitization, and glauconitization—and explains why phosphatization did not dominate in late Cambrian fossil preservation. This breakthrough offers a new perspective for interpreting early life fossils and will significantly advance research on skeletal mineralization mechanisms and early evolutionary processes.