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Hello, everyone! I went hunting along the North Sulphur River yesterday (before today’s nasty weather), and I found some fossils and what I am almost positive is an artifact. Could someone please help with IDs, if possible? Pictures #1 and #2 are of the same bone; I found the circular striations in the 2nd picture particularly intriguing. #7 (the artifact) is broken at the base and is fairly thick at the point where it is broken.

I recently collected quite a few artifacts from a privately owned piece of property located in the Debeque Colorado area. I beleive most of the pieces (knives, drills, hand axes, projectile points, ect.) to be of late Paleo Indian Age. Specifically, Foothills Mountain Complex. A significant portion of the artifacts were knapped from source material that contains the fossil type represented in the photo. I cannot identify the species. I find it very interesting that tool stone containing this particular fossil was apparently utilized over the same material without this fossil. Tool stone containing this fossil is very difficult to find. Stone with no fossil is easily obtained. This could indicate they wanted their tools to have this fossil within them. Why? I would love it if someone could tell me what this thing is. The Geologic maps I can find online indicate the entire area could be the DeBeque\Wasatch Formation. Any information would be more than appreciated. I have numerous additional photos but this one is by far the most detailed. Thank You.

I live in Parker County. Per my brief research, the land I'm on was part of a shallow sea during the cretaceous period. I find countless fossils of ammonites and other small ocean based animals embedded in the rocks. Nothing that is particularly amazing or show worthy IMO, but I still enjoy looking at them. Last night I did find something that I thought was kind of unique. At first I thought it might be an Indian artifact with some etchings in it, but upon closer examination, I think the etchings are natural from small tube worms or something of that sort. (Scroll down for pics) Typical ammonite fossils I find (shared as an example) This is the one I found last night. It was just laying on top of an area that I had recently mowed. Rotated view. If you look at the lower right quadrant, there is a shape that looks a bit like an owl was etched into it--I initially wondered if it was some type of Indian artifact. After looking more closely this morning, I think all of the lines are tube worms or something similar. Any "shapes" are kind of like seeing shapes in clouds. If you are interested, I have more pictures in this shared album--just more of the items in this thread though. Now that I'm here, I'll pay more attention to things I find and share if I find anything interesting. https://www.icloud.com/sharedalbum/#B0vGY8gBYG7IpMB

Apologies for the dramatic title. I thought it sounded cool and stuck with it even though 90 + 80 + 80 is only 250 . Anyways... This past 30 days, I decided to make it a point to check out some new spots. I won't be living in Austin soon, so I thought it would be good to branch out and scout some new locations with potential. I've found lots of creek-worn mosasaur bits and pieces over the past year. I'm ready to find things in situ, and, one day, something articulated. It's a tall order, I know, but I feel like it's the next step and really the ultimate goal I've always had. So, the first step towards this objective was to find locations and, of course, take a look. This is what I saw! Location 1. Austin Chalk: In my usual Ozan stomping grounds, I've come across a variety of fossils ranging from the Eagle Ford to the Ozan itself. Included, was an assortment of spectacular Austin Chalk invertebrates along with the occasional and highly sought-after mosasaur vertebra. They can be readily distinguished from their Ozan counterparts by their yellow-orange preservation and lack of pyritic elements. Honestly, I come across them just as commonly as I do Ozan verts, so I took this to be a sign that the Austin Chalk could be a good bet. In Austin, it's a pretty wide formation with lots of members to look into. I did some research and found a place with some potential. When I arrived, it was a hot afternoon. I picked up my backpack and swapped my school notes out for a rock hammer and a couple of icy bottled waters. Walking down a little trail, I came across the first large exposure of Austin Chalk in what I believe to be the Dessau member. Literally within the first minute, I had to take a double-take at a white glint on the ground. "Surely there couldn't already be a shark tooth," I thought to myself as I kneeled for a closer inspection. Sure enough, it wasn't just a shiny piece of shell; it was indeed the enamel to a bleached tooth from the king shark of the Late Cretaceous seas, the infamous Cretoxyrhina mantelli! Thankfully, it popped out in one piece. A recreation of the tooth in situ and after extraction. I poked around the rest of the surrounding exposure. There were a couple of mangled echinoid bits and gastropods, but not much else, so I continued on to search the main creek. Unfortunately, the only apparent path forward was along a narrow and steeply banked feeder stream. Many of you will know that navigating through these can be a real pain. The brush was densely packed and smelly stagnant water had to be avoided with every step. There were thorny vines dangling from each limb and I was constantly tasked with picking off the burrs that snagged onto my clothing and in my hair. Last year, I was in a similar situation when I was suddenly attacked by a hive of wasps (don't worry, I managed to avoid getting stung too much). It's a fun story to tell friends now, but I must admit that the thought always crawls back into my mind when I am in a position that's a bit difficult to get out of in a hurry. Anyways, after about twenty minutes, I took the final hop over a fallen tree to get to the main creek. It was nice to breathe in the fresh, open air as I sat my backpack down and took a rest, of course, with my eyes perusing along the limestone bed. After the brief sit-down, I began to notice the beauty of the area I was in. The air was filled with the drip-drop of water leaking from the fern-covered bank and the reflection of the greenery was simply mesmerizing. I couldn't help but snap a quick photo. A beautiful, hidden place away from the city. Though, not too far... there's a shopping cart wedged in the gravel just out of frame. In terms of fossils, this place was loaded. Just about everywhere I stepped, I was standing over piles of clams and oysters along with the occasional baculites segment. I didn't bother taking any of these with me, however, as I have plenty already. I noticed there was a decent amount of chert as well, so artifacts were on my radar when I came across a preform. A little farther down the creek, I found a nice ammonite fragment. I didn't intend on keeping it, but sometimes it's nice to have something to hold so I took it along with me. By now, much of the afternoon had come and went. It was about time I turned around and faced the prospect of navigating my way through the dreaded feeder creek in reverse. As I was coming to a stop, I saw a girl walking along the slanted banks of the creek who almost certainly did not enter the way I did. I tried my best to get her attention without spooking her (keep in mind I look and smell like a swamp monster at the moment). She was nice enough to come close to the limestone ledge and introduce herself as I trudged my way through knee deep waters towards dry land. Turns out, she's a local who often hikes by the creek. We chatted for some time and I ended up giving her the preform and ammonite fragment, hopefully inspiring a future hobbyist. After explaining the situation I was in, she laughed and pointed out a trail that led back to the road. When I climbed out and exited the trail sore and tired, I kicked myself. My car was right in front of me. I could have taken this path from the beginning, but instead I took the road never traveled and boy did it make all the difference. Location 2. Ozan Formation: Although many of the mosasaur verts I come across are from the Austin Chalk, a significant portion are still from the good ole Ozan. With that in mind, I took a trip to a creek I usually don't hunt that had a decently-sized exposure. Something in a book tipped me off to this particular site, so I had high hopes. The trip from the road to the waterway wasn't as troublesome as the feeder creek from the week before, but it was still a challenge. I worked my way along the dirt bank to a place I could safely enter the waters when I saw what I was more so wary of. Across the lazy stream was a tent set up along a slope with a clothesline and shopping carts around it. On the initial drive to this spot, I did take notice of the pronounced homeless presence in the area. From the cover of the trees, I took a moment to scope out the tent and the surrounding area. The last thing I wanted was to have an unexpected encounter in a secluded place like this. Luckily, it seemed nobody was home, so I entered the creek, though making sure to have my rock hammer visibly in hand. When I approached the first gravel bar, I was greeted with tons of broken down blocks of Ozan shale and various Austin Chalk fossils. Curious, I started splitting the blocks open to see what the area had to offer. Each one was filled with heart urchin spines and plates! Most were fragmented and all were extremely fragile. Still, I took this to be a good sign. After hours of splitting the loose slabs, I finally found a complete irregular urchin. It's a definite upgrade from the half of one I had found a while back in the Ozan (though that one did have a nice red color). A compressed heart urchin. Looks to be Pliotoxaster/Hemiaster? It may appear round, but it is totally flat! The slab splitting continued with some compressed ammonites and enchodus teeth, but not much more, so it was time to move on to the main event. As I walked the rest of the gravel bar, however, I was forced to once again stop in my tracks. Lying in the mud right in front of me was, by far, the largest mosasaur vertebra I had ever seen in person. It had the preservation of what I assume to be Austin Chalk (of course as soon as I return to the Ozan). The underside of the vert was badly weathered, but it was, nevertheless, far heavier than any others in my collection. Plus, I only need one decent side to show in my picture . Gargantuan mosasaur vertebra. I wonder how long the whole lizard was. Welp, there's really no better motivator than something like that, so I took the short walk to the main exposure. A large expanse of creek bed was Ozan shale ripe for the picking. I got straight to working chiseling out every strange thing just poking out of the ground. Most of them were only oddly shaped pyritic accumulations, I'm guessing originally bivalves and poop. Now and then I would come across a Hamulus squamosus worm tube or piece of fish bone. The bed was a little difficult to see as the lack of recent rain meant that the detritus and algae had yet to be washed away. I didn't find much in the water. Thankfully, the dry parts of the bed were easy to probe. Eventually, I came upon something unmistakably bony. Before I could stop myself to snap a photo, I was already digging. It popped out easily and was instantly apparent of being mosasaur, the very thing I was seeking most. Frantically searching for a continuation of the vertebral column, I spotted what I thought was the head of the next vertebra behind. In my mind, I could see it all right in front of me. The ultimate prize was right there! Just some minor excavating and I'll have done it! Perhaps in theme with fool's gold, I was fooled by the imprint of the very fossil I had just pulled out . I was bummed out for a second, until I had time to realize that this was my first ever mosasaur vert found in situ! Out popped my first in situ mosasaur vert! Cleaned up, it is a real beauty. The color of the cuboidal pyrite outgrowths looks amazing when moved under the light. "Fool's gold" is a real disservice as far as names go. And with that, the sun was already starting to set. The finds of the day. 2 mosies, a flattened echinoid, a Hamulus squamosus tube, an Austin Chalk ammonite, and an Austin Chalk Exogyra tigrina. Location 3. Ozan Formation: After crossing such a major milestone, I had no choice but to head out for the Ozan again once a brief rain had passed. This new location was similar to number 2 in that it was a large expanse of Ozan creek bed. Unfortunately, the route to reach it from the road was a treacherous one. I didn't intend on swimming across a sudden deepening of the creek waters, so I had to search along the steep banks for ways to traverse the barrier. There was somewhat of a flattened trail along a slope with various obstacles that seemed the most doable to me. For the most part, I side-stepped my way across, hugging the dirt and tree limbs to avoid losing balance or putting too much weight on the unstable ground. Now and then, I'd have to cross through a bush that would replenish the population of burrs covering every part of me. By that point, I couldn't have complained too much as things were going relatively smoothly. That is until I made one misstep and had to quickly catch myself by snagging an exposed tree root. Regaining my composure, I heard the rustling and sliding of a plastic bag followed by a loud splash of water from underneath my feet. I usually carry my dirty pair of tennis shoes in a plastic bag since I swap between them and water shoes on my excursions. Now they were just a white shimmer far beyond reach. I hopped off the bank and landed on firm ground. Most of the bed was readily exposed to the air. There was a high density of deer and raccoon tracks. I was entertained most by the shale claw marks I saw at the bottom of shallow pools that I interpreted to be raccoons taking a refreshing swim. From way up the creek, I even caught a glimpse of a coyote jumping from out of the foliage. He sniffed around a bit before noticing me and darted off the other way. I settled down to catch my breath and inspected broken bits of Ozan shale nearby. Pretty soon I spotted the first regular echinoid I've seen in the Ozan. Unfortunately, it was too fragile and didn't survive the journey home. A regular echinoid and a mess of urchin spines surrounding. This portion of the Ozan is rich in echinoid material, though heavily compressed and often very fragile. Denture clams are the other most common find of which fragments can also be seen here. After some rehydration, I got up to start looking for bone. It took some time, but I eventually found a peculiar specimen sticking out of the shallows. It was too suspect to ignore, so I began excavating. Spongey thing as originally found. I was hoping it would be a rib or something, but it just didn't look right. The pores of the cancellous bone were much larger than what I was familiar with for reptiles and the thing didn't seem like fish at all. Typical for fossils in this layer, there was pyrite all over. However, there was an additional mineral I hadn't encountered before. Encrusting the entirety of the underside were selenite(?) crystals in prismatic shapes. As I dug deeper and deeper, the form continued on. The spongey thing was long and had curvature. There was another short one layered just underneath it intersecting close to the hammer. If it's vertebrate, I have no idea what bone it would be. I suspect it's invertebrate in nature. Revealing more of it showed that a separate, shorter piece was present just underneath. Both structures were flattened, fragile, and had to be removed in chunks. From what I could tell, their spongey structure remained consistent across the entirety of their lengths. Once extracted, I searched the surrounding space, but found no sign of continuation. Post extraction I was completely stumped by what I had found. All I could think was spongey, pores, spongey, pores. I am embarrassed to admit it took me way too long to cut off the "y" and realize that it's likely a sponge. Pore bearing (porifera) is about as accurate as you can get when describing it. So, I settled with that as my final guess for what this mystery structure could be. Though, this is still up for debate, so let me know if there are any opposing opinions. From there, I took a couple of paces before stumbling upon the next thing of interest. It was a robust black protrusion with some apparent symmetry. Okay, if the last thing was pseudo-bone, surely this had to be the real thing. As per usual, there was pyritic encrusting on it. From how it was positioned, it was hard to say how long it could be - if there was much more to try and dig out. I got to chiseling and it popped right out within the first few swings. Instantly, I knew I had once again fallen for some pseudo-bone. That being said, it was the first time I had found carbonized wood in the Ozan. I don't usually keep fossil wood, but this guy is interesting enough to warrant it. A pyritized deposit of coal, pretending to be a mosasaur rostral. The fossil wood with a pyritized denture clam and Serratolamna(?) tooth on top. A piece of an artifact and irregular urchin on top. The clam on the right is a cool optical illusion. It's only 3/4 of an inch tall. Here and there I made some other nice smaller finds. A fragment of an artifact, some shark teeth, and an even better flattened irregular urchin to name a few. Though, I had spent a lot of the recent weeks hammering away at things in creeks, so I thought it would be best to call it early and head home to have a nice meal and reflect on my prizes. No articulated mosasaur bits, but a great many lessons learned and special memories to reminisce upon in the future. I know I'm preaching to the choir with this one, but there are few things as magical as traveling alone and exploring a side of the outdoors you hadn't encountered before. It's hard to explain, but I love just parking somewhere and walking into a part of the brush where few people go, if ever. It's freeing in a sense. But for now, I've creek walked way too much. I'm gonna go hunt a roadcut or something

Help!? This looks like it's a carved figure. It was found in southern California in a very old area known to contain mammoth and ancient American Indian and mezo American finds. Last photos show area where it was dug and the site shows unnatural looking rock outlays. Could it be a Dino!!! Thanks for any insight on this find. I am completely new And hooked regardless.

H i live in KY and was wondering if someone could please tell me if this is a petrified human finger or just a rock? I found it in the dirt when I was replacing my waterline. It feels weird and when its wet, it feels even weirder.

Would an ancient (greater than 10,000 years old) human artifact (such as a tool) be considered a fossil?

With the end of the semester approaching, school has picked up and I have been too busy to embark on many adventures. When my schedule finally cleared up one afternoon following a brief rain in Austin, I jumped at the opportunity to do a bit of exploring. One of my goals right now is to check out new parts of the creek I hunt on. Scanning through my list of potential spots, I decided to try and be the first one out to a very promising location. Like my previous hunts, this place ran through the Ozan formation, so my expectations were set on some nice Cretaceous specimens as well as the usual native artifacts that Central Texas is so famous for. After I parked and carefully scaled my way down to the water's edge, I was immediately met with several pairs of shoes and jackets. Thinking I had been beaten to the punch, I decided I might as well head down the stream and meet whoever it was to discuss the location and fossils in general. Thankfully, the trip was saved when they turned out to be a kind group of fishermen. After a brief chat, I carried on to get the hunt started. The mud was an absolute nightmare. I had never been up to my knees in it until then. Somehow, I managed to trudge my way through without getting one of my water shoes sucked away into a different dimension. When I finally reached the first gravel bar, I was instantly rewarded with the nicest Ptychodus tooth (E) I have found yet. Scattered around the bar were tons of flakes and a couple of larger worked pieces (G, I) that were unfamiliar to me. Before moving on, I also stumbled upon what would've been the largest point I'd ever found (H). Unfortunately, it was pretty banged up. The previous rain wasn't that big in terms of flooding, so I spent the most time scouring the gravel still under water as I reasoned that the stuff on dry land was less likely to have been moved around in the storm. It was during this moment that I found my first mosasaur vertebra of the day (A). This one was exciting to me as I personally thought it very much resembled the verts that famously come out of the NSR's Ozan formation. Within a couple feet of it I found another half piece of mosasaur vertebra (B). With the close association of these two bones, I went into a bit of a frenzy. Nothing else came up, but I knew that there was a massive exposure just up ahead so I hurried on. Along the way I ran into a fragment of the smallest point I've come across (F). At its size, I wonder if the original piece would've been a true arrowhead. Once I reached the main exposure, I immediately got to probing around. I came across two more pieces of bone that I believe are both belonging to mosasaurs (C, D). They have bony structures, but they are also pretty beat up and may have come from a different formation in comparison to the other two verts I collected. With the day winding down I picked up a nice big Exogyra ponderosa for my dad's friend as well as a couple of preforms. I tried to look around in the exposure for any hints of mosasaur, but that shale is extremely difficult to get through. All in all, it was a great success. I think I've found my new go-to spot! With the addition of potentially 4 new mosasaur verts, that's a 400% increase in my total mosi collection! P.S. Does anyone else get "Tetris Syndrome" after scanning gravel bars for way too long? For hours after the trip, I literally could not stop seeing gravel and chert flakes every time I closed my eyes. An overview of the finds: Closeups for ID: A: First mosasaur vert of the day. To me, it strongly resembles those found in the NSR's Ozan formation. This one was covered in a clay-like matrix. B: The second vert of the day. Seems to be broken in half and from the same formation as A. Appears to have pyritization on some parts of it. C: Third vert which I believe is mosasaur. This one is beat up and seems to be of differing material from A and B. Could it be from the Austin Chalk which is present farther up the creek? D: The last "vert" of the day. This one I am least confident about. It appears to have a bony texture, but is very worn and has a confusing shape. It seems closer to C than A or B, but it also feels very distinct in it of itself. What do you guys think? I suppose it could be something else entirely! E: A nicely preserved Ptychodus tooth. I'm thinking anonymous or mammillaris, but my ID skills are pretty lackluster. F: "True" arrowhead fragment? G: Strange artifact. The angle seems too wide to be a point. I think it's too thin to be an adze. Obviously missing a huge chunk from that fresh curved break. What do you guys think? H: Fragment of a large point I: Another strange fragment. I think it may be an adze since it's a bit more robust. Fresh break on one edge. Let me know if you want any more close-ups. Thanks for reading!

Hey guys! As a new fossil hunter, I am terrible at keeping up with my trip reports, so instead of struggling to remember the little details, here's a compiled post on how the past three months went. I don't have professional photos of every find, but hopefully what I do have will scratch the itch for anyone interested in my escapades. Oh - I'll be in NJ this Saturday for another hunt with DVPS - any tips for shallow creek hunting would be appreciated! ~ January My first ever attempt at winter hunting. Armed with tips from you generous folks, I went solo! Due to high winds, low temps, and icy shores, my scant finds were all broken or small. Even so, I learned a lot and went home with tiny, worn ecphora. This trip was originally scheduled to be a CHAPTours trip, but Paul wisely cancelled due to the weather. I, however, had gotten myself a hotel room in the area and couldn't get a refund. Therefore, I made the...interesting choice to try hunting in 20-degree weather with 10-15mph winds. I posted in the forum to get some tips on winter hunting, adapted my plans accordingly, and when the date came, headed out. The signs pointed to "go the hell home, Samantha" rather early. When I arrived at Matoaka, the owners were out and I didn't have change with me for my ATM-obtained $20. I hope they used the extra $10 to feed that new pup of theirs! After I came to terms with this, I went down the cliff and started my hunt. Well, attempted to, anyway! The ice made hunting very, very difficult. The waves reminded me of a melting slushie (video!), building up more ice with every wash. I discovered quickly that walking on the ice was a no-go unless I wanted a busted ankle from falling through into the shallow water. Pulling clayfall apart was impossible too - the blocks were frozen solid. Therefore, I stuck to scanning the beach for material. The cold never once really bothered me; I was dressed in chest waders, a polar knee-length coat, 5mm neoprene gloves, and a neck gaiter to protect my face when needed. The wind, however, bit like nothing else! My glasses fogged no matter what I did and what direction I faced, and my nose and ears were all complaints when not covered. @RuMert was a genius to suggest a vacuum-sealed thermos containing hot water, because keeping my core warm was what allowed me to stay on the beach for 6 hours. At the end of the day, the hunt was not at all productive for a tooth-lover like me. I found a broken hemi, a drumfish tooth, and a few other tiny fossils. However, I did walk home with the smallest ecphora I've ever seen, about 90% complete (still needs prepped), and a wealth of knowledge about winter hunting. This was an important lesson. February My first tour with a guide, Paul of CHAPTours and DVPS. Tides were low and the weather cooperated for the most part. While my finds were few, I walked away with my first whale vert! Rescheduled from January, this was my first time going on a guided fossil hunt. I finally got to meet Paul, a fellow member of DVPS and owner/operator of CHAPTours in Maryland. He made the experience smooth for me and the other attendees by having us caravan from beach to beach, with GPS for back-up guidance. At the first beach, the exceptionally low tide exposed sandbars that prevented wave activity, and my rubber boots allowed me to walk several meters out into the crystal clear water without getting wet, which made hunting so very easy. While walking along towards the cliffs, diagonal to the shore, I came upon an old drone that had been in the ocean for a few weeks at least. I pulled this out of the water to be discarded on my way out, and placed it on the shore with my heavier belongings. Then, I returned to where I'd been walking to be sure I hadn't missed anything. A few moments later, I found my first ever whale vertebrae in about a foot of water! Further exploration yielded a broken piece of cetacean bone, as well as a thin piece of rib from a land animal of some sort, as well as a few small hemis, but the highlight of this beach was definitely the vert! Beach two was known as an "unusual" beach, where unexpected finds tend to pop up. Personally, I had no luck here, though I brought home a few interesting shells for friends. Even so, I enjoyed the walk and took a photo of some of the impressions left in iron by shells. The final beach of the day was good ol' Matoaka! Being that we were there thanks to Paul, we were able to park much closer to the beach than usual. The wind picked up though, so the crowd thinned out rather rapidly. I found a couple more tiny teeth before the unexpected cold chased me to my car as well. I thanked Paul for his time and effort, then headed on home. All in all, a great first time with a guide! March The experience with CHAPTours was so good that I signed up again. The weather was better, but the tides were higher as well. I found an unexpected artifact in fresh fall and educated a passersby here and there. A large clay-fresh hemi made the trip for me! This tour was quieter than the last, with a scant four attendees plus Paul leading the way. I enjoyed the peace, and the weather was nice too! While the tides were higher than desired, the water temperature was just nice enough that I was excited to sift with my sore feet in cold water. We began with an unfamiliar beach, one that was best known for large shells. While this wasn't really my speed, I made it my goal to help spot fossilized invertebrates for the shell enthusiasts along with me. It turned out, however, that I had very little spotting to do! We came upon a massive amount of fresh fall, yet undisturbed by the weather or other people. This fall was so fresh that we were trying to avoid falling through the loose dirt and clay! Needless to say, my fellow hunters found many a large shell here. I picked up a smaller, easier to carry shell, and a delightful but small hemi. While the guys continued to fawn over their massive bivalves, I started back towards the cars. Then, I found something even further out of my wheelhouse - a lid to a clay pot! Once home, I contacted archeologist Dr. Alex Glass and provided her with additional photos. She had this to say: Again, I don't typically have much interest in archeology, so this lid will be donated to the archeology lab when I next visit Maryland. I thought the extra information was very cool to read though! Now, back to the hunt! For the second beach, we once again headed to the place where I found my whale vert. This time, the sandbars were submerged and the tide kept us close to the cliffs. There was some older but "new to us" fall here, which we had to navigate, including some fallen trees. I didn't have much luck this time, finding only small teeth, but I enjoyed myself nonetheless! We then hit Matoaka as our final beach. It was busy this time, as the weather was good enough for beachgoers to be out and about. This time, I had my sifter out, and I was prepared to get wet. I spent the majority of the time there sifting away, pulling up small but pristine teeth - some of which I was able to send home with curious folks who had budding interest in what we were doing. (It was this trip that convinced me to start bringing along a dry box of small or broken teeth to give to potential hobbyists, because there's nothing like the excitement in someone's eyes when they realize what you've given them!) Eventually though, I took a break from the constant bending and lifting, and began using my fossil-hunting stick to dig through some fall. This was where I found my best find to date - a large, prisitine hemipristis serra, protected from erosion by the fall it was buried in. You don't find them much bigger in Maryland, from what I've heard! This was a dream find for me, and it sent me over the moon. I found other beautiful teeth on the beach that day, but nothing surpassed my gorgeous bed 17 snaggle. Going home that day, I was exhausted in the best way. The hunt was a delight, the company was good, and the experience was unforgettable.

Was checking out my usual spots in Austin when I stumbled upon this goblin artifact. I believe it may be some type of drinking vessel dating back to the early goblin period, but I'm not 100% on that ID. Don't try to tell me it's something else I will not be convinced otherwise. I know what I found and my friend (he's half gnome) confirmed that it is indeed goblin in nature. You can tell by the way it is, etc. As I picked it up, I heard something running behind me so I sprint back to the car. Managed to get some Taco Bell before it closed and I have been enjoying holding this thing since. Artifact in question: Thoughts?

Hello, I wish I could tell you exactly where this piece came from but "east of the Mississippi, perhaps Massachusetts/upstate New York" is the best I can do. It's actually been worked by humans hands I believe, meaning it is an artifact of some kind... but what is it made of? I've never seen anything quite like it and I'm wondering ion its. a fossil of some kind. It's about 1 in (2.5 centimeters) but it's clearly been broken so it was part of a larger object/spall. I'm sorry the picture of the bottom where the break is isn't that sharp. Thank you for taking a look and for any help/information you might provide!

Hello all, I can’t figure this one out! I was collecting fossils from a highly yielding site in Peace River. In this little section of gravel that I reached, it was almost entirely fossilized bone from dugong and whale and turtle. Nestled in the center of this pile of fossils, I uncovered this stone and was immediately taken aback. I have been rock and fossil hunting my entire life, and extensively in this state and this river, and I have never seen anything like this. I have an enormous and worldly collection of rocks and fossils, and I have never seen something this smooth naturally. It is the smoothest stone I have ever seen. It is far too smooth to be riverworn. When I lived in TN I would find rocks that had been remarkably smoothed by the passing river water, but that is not the case with this rock, I am confident. It is soft and heavy and slippery. If I had seen it in a house I would have thought it had been professionally polished. It is not porous at all, it is not smoothed bone or a phosphate nodule. It is significantly heavy and deeply black, almost blue. It looks as though the color beneath the black exterior is almost a light greenish. Even the area where the green is showing through is completely soft. In the flash of my phone light the entire stone almost looks bluish green. The closest explanation I have reached is that it is either a burnishing stone used by Native Americans (I have found artifacts and bone tools nearby this site, so perhaps they smoothed the stone out while using it for processing hides, etc) or it is some sort of fossilized gizzard stone or gastrolith. I know this is unlikely, as we have no dinosaur fossils here, but I read somewhere that extinct whale remains have produced such fossils before, as they apparently utilized gizzard stones as well. If anyone could help me out, I would so appreciate it! Also I apologize for the photo quality and scale, I was trying to capture how different it is than bone and its unique colors.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/ZNtiyeXSu7VCi2YLA

Hey all, I've been on the fence about this tooth. It was a beach find (Venice, FL), so I think it is a little damaged and tumbled. Could the root be notched on one side? (The other side looks broken off.) Is the center boring potentially natural? Many thanks!

This item is fairly large with even weight when held, there is a defined edge that is tapered with the bottom having a curvature and overall triangular appearance. No other material in the area that resembles it so far. I realize could be nothing but wanted to post due to the abnormal shape. Curious if anyone else has idea, we have researched a little but figure more knowledge here that could help. Appreciate any responses.

The James river was not what I had expected. I was hoping to find a meg the size of my hand, but that didn’t happen. No worries, I had a lot of fun. I saw a river otter, a lot of osprey, eagles, and more wildlife which was fun to look at from a distance. The first day of the trip, we went over the east over formation, I collected mostly whale bone from that day and nothing else spectacular. It was only when we went to a Yorktown exposure on the last hour of the trip that I found three stunning chesapectens, including what I think the biggest one to be a jeffersonius. Later that day, I went to a nearby creek in Williamsburg where I found the large red ecphora from. The third day, I found some beautiful Gastropods including another ecohora, a whelk, and a beautiful olive shell with a nice gleam on it (no I didn’t apply anything it’s naturally shiny). And besides the olive, the best finds of the day include the large coral and the large colonial wine bottle bottom, which is one of my favorite artifacts I have even though it’s incomplete. Anyways, enough talking, here’s some of the photos from that trip. the total haul: whale bone and gastropods: gastropods. The red ecphora was found in a creek and the olive shell is one of my favorite gastropods found that day. It’s definitely a stunner! here’s the chesapectens I found, including what I think is a jeffersonius on the top left. large piece of coral. colonial wine bottle bottom. This was found near nathaniel bacons castle so maybe nathaniel bacon and his posse of evil doers came through this area? It’s a stretch but that’s my hypothesis. Next week I’m taking some kayaks out and I’m getting a large megalodon tooth. I can’t keep festering in my squalor knowing that I don’t have a large tooth in my collection this year yet. It just isn’t right.

I found this in Indiana near Columbus. I originally thought it may have been a tool of some sort because of the triangular shapes, but the more I look at it, the more I've wondered if it's a bone. Or maybe it's just a beat up rock. Thsnk you in advance for any informatio.

Hello, It's been a while since I've been here, glad to be back though! . I found this intriguing stone when I was looking for agates in some exposed glacial sediment layers near a large lake in Autumn, 2020. It's circular, It has a pretty uniform edge around its circumference. There is also a large circle formed or carved in its center on one side. I have no idea what it could be but in my completely unprofessional opinion it appears manipulated in some way. Any insight is greatly appreciated! I also occasionally find coleraine formation nodules in this area if that helps

Strange shaped Chert nodule? Or native artifact? Natural or not? Found in creek.

I found these near Indian Creek in Springville, Indiana. I thought the heart shaped one might be a clam type of fossil, but I'm really new to all of this.