text: Black shales are organic rich, microlaminated sedimentary rocks often associated with bottom water anoxia. This is because anoxia slows the degradation of organic matter, allowing for greater burial in the sediments. Other evidence for anoxic burial of black shale includes the lack of bioturbation, meaning that there were no organisms burrowing into the sediment because there was no oxygen for respiration. There must also be a source of organic matter for burial, generally from production near the oxic surface. Many papers discussing ancient euxinic events use the presence of black shale as a preliminary proxy for anoxic bottom waters, but their presence does not in and of itself indicate euxinia or even strong anoxia. Generally geochemical testing is needed to provide better evidence for conditions.