Fossil record methods based on spectral synthesis techniques have matured during the past decade, and their application to integrated galaxy spectra has fostered substantial advances in the understanding of galaxies and their evolution. Yet, because of the lack of spatial resolution, these studies are limited to a global view, providing no information about the internal physics of galaxies. The results vividly illustrate the richness both of the combination of IFS data with spectral synthesis and of the insights on galaxy physics provided by the variety of diagnostics and semi-empirical constraints obtained. Additionally, they give a glimpse of what is to come from CALIFA and future IFS surveys.