The preservation at Ozette is remarkable, but it requires accurate description.

The mudslide created a specific preservation environment, not a uniform one.

When a large mass of waterlogged, fine-grained sediment covers a structure rapidly, several things happen simultaneously.

The structure is compressed, potentially structurally compromised.

Organic materials within the structure are abruptly cut off from atmospheric oxygen.

The waterlogged condition of the covering sediment is critical: in dry environments, mummification can preserve organic material, but the specific preservation at Ozette worked through the absence of oxygen rather than through desiccation.

Bacteria and fungi that decompose organic material require oxygen to function efficiently.