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Many things get stuck in sap and then turn into amber including leaves. If one were to sand it down, break it, cut it, etc and get the leaf out would it feel like a normal leaf or just crumble because it is 10s of millions of years old? I don't have a leaf in amber and I'm not planning on doing this just curious. And if there was a seed could it be planted and sprout a tree?

Hello TFF, over the last year i have taken a break from fossils because i needed to focus on my school more. I thought it would be that i would do just a little less stuff with fossils then i normally do, but over time i started to do less and less, even to the point that weeks went by not even giving a single thought to the topic. but now stuff goes a little better and i have my education sort of under control, so im getting back into it. just wanted to say im glad to be back in this amazing community. Max

Help please. Complete beginner, first time hunting for fossils in Yorkshire, England (kettleness) I have no tools, just my hands and eyes at the minute Ive found a few ammonites which I would like to free. Thus far Ive watched youtube videos and googled only; they make it look so easy with just a hammer. My first attempt I broke the end off my ammonite and now afraid to try again. Please advise for tools and extraction methods? Also, how do I care for them once they are freed? many thanks!

I took some pictures of all the bison leg bones last night. After I was done taking pictures I was sitting on the couch next to where the were on the floor. Out of the corner of my eye I saw something odd that I hadn’t noticed before. There are lots of chips and breaks on these bones and I have just passed them all off just breaks, however this one is different. Have a look and tell me what you think. It kind of looks like something took a bite out of it. This is the angle that caught my eye. It is the lower end of the femur. The lateral epicondyle. If the bison were standing this would have been a bite to the back inside edge of the knee, kind of where the hamstring would attach in a human. It would be a good way to take a large animal down. Take note of the bottom edge. That is the lateral epicondyle. To the right of the big chunk missing there is a cluster of 4 small punctures into the bone. On the medial epicondyle there is another cluster of 4 puncture marks into the bone. To the right of them is a gouge in the bone. Close up pics below. Lateral condyle. Note the 4 punctures and possibly a 5th or it didn’t quite get a grip and it slid or something. Lateral condyle surface. You can see there is another puncture mark top left near the break (gray with mud in it). The other little holes are where blood vessels passed into the bone. The hole I speak of is a bigger hole with 2 tiny holes on its edge at about 3 and 4 o’clock. I probably should have put arrows or a circle. Diagram of human femur blood vasculature from googling so you can understand bone vasculature. The veins shown in the diagram are larger ones. There would be many little ones as well. That’s what all the holes are in the pic above, besides the largest hole on top left near break. A little bone anatomy explanation. The broken edge at back you’re looking upon is the lateral condyle. You can see the 4 puncture marks there. The other side facing away is the lateral epicondyle. The inside edges are condyles. The outside edges of these structures are epicondyles. The edge closest is the medial epicondyle. It also has 4 puncture marks and a gouge. This shot is ooking down on the break. It is a different texture than parts of the bones I have found that broke recently from falling off the bank, broken while in situ prior to extraction, broken during extraction. . . So the break happened a while back postmortem and had time to weather and smooth the bone a little or it happened while the animal was alive and it didn’t die immediately and the body tried to heal a little. I don’t know which. I tend to think the latter. This is the other femur for comparison that looks completely healthy (besides being dead). That remind me me of Bones from the original Star Trek. “It’s dead Jim. I’m a doctor not a magician.” Or something along those lines. Close set up of the marks on the medial epicondyle. If the marks are from a bite mark, it’s a strange tooth pattern. Puncture marks on the lateral condyle surface. What do do you all think? Maybe cleaning out the puncture marks better would shed more light. Thoughts and comments would be appreciated.

Hi, I recently purchased some fossil titanothere teeth on eBay. I don't think the seller had ever sold or shipped a fossil before, when it arrived and I picked up the box it became immediately clear that it hadn't been packed well. When I opened it my worst fears were immediately confirmed. Lying there in a single piece of bubble wrap was my fossil in pieces . I'm hoping to repair it and I was thinking of using some plaster and paint certain parts black to repair it but people here are much more experienced than me and usually have better ideas then I do. Here are some photos: