What are Fossil Hash’s?

[Megalodoodle]

I was wondering what are fossil hash’s? Also what is the plural of hash anyway? Are they worth my time or are they just “garbage” pieces? *Note when I say “garbage” I mean pieces that aren’t worth prepping.

[thelivingdead531]

I stole this definition from Wikipedia:

Hash fossils are not actually one fossil, they are many fossils in the same rock. The term hash fossil describes the fossil formed when all the organic material in an environment falls to the ocean floor and fossilizes, hence the name "hash". When you look at a hash fossil, you actually are looking at a piece of ancient seabed. In hash fossils you can usually find the pieces of corals, crinoids, bryzoans, and brachiopods. Also you can rarely find a piece of a trilobite. Hash fossils are very common, and are most easily found in limestone.

 

Here are a couple from my collection. Sorry the photos aren’t great though. I think they are definitely worth prepping if you have a good plate. My second photo has a trilobite pygidium.

[FranzBernhard]

Please have a look at this topic:

Fossil hash is usually accumulation of shells (mostly broken, hence the name (hash = minced meat), or also complete), corals, trilo-bits etc. It seems that there is no plural. If fossil hash is worth prepping strongly depends on you!

Franz Bernhard

[MarleysGh0st]

The name come from food dishes like corned beef hash--lots of ingredients, chopped up and mixed up together.  A fossil hash may include lots of specimens of many different species.  Many of these may be broken and incomplete, so there may not be anything worth prepping.  A nice hash plate is still cool to look at, though!

[Bobby Rico]

Hash plates are wonderful fossils. one of mine from Hungry hollow,

[Tidgy's Dad]

I use the plural 'hash plates' but hashes would be the plural of hash. 

Other terms include 'death assemblage', where the fossils didn't live together but after death are assembled by a storm, for instance. This is also known as thanatocoensis. 

Or 'life assemblage', where the fossils represent a once living community of creatures. Also called biocoenosis. 

A coquina is where the rock is composed entirely or almost completely of the remains of usually smashed up and worn pieces of shells or exoskeletons.

And a 'Konzentrat -Lagerstatten' is where organic hard parts such as teeth or bones accumulate over a large period of time with little sedimentation forming a bone bed, or the like. 

 

[Randyw]

Personally hash plates are some of my favorite pieces! Some don’t need any prep but the ones that do, I like to prep them enough to show of the best parts and accentuate the variety and then leave it.