Fossils, bones, teeth...

[gunnar]

Neanderthal doob tube?



Pretty nice fossils. I live near a college, about the oldest things I've found there are some ancient petrified condom "rings"

[braceysdad]

Originally Posted by HARDKNOCKZ

NICE! I gotta admit...I've never really dug this kinda stuff (no pun intended) but this is some cool fossil swag ya got.

I think I'd be just like you & collecting everyday if I had a source close by. VERY cool man. Thanks for sharin.

J.D.

Yeah, this is the first time that I have ever gotten into this. The MS river is within 500yds of my house so it really makes it easy to access. I'm looking at metal detectors now. Might as well go full-on nerd. No telling what all is out there.

Just some info

"
The Mississippi River is the chief river of the largest river system in North America.[3][4] Flowing entirely in the United States (though its drainage basin reaches into Canada), it rises in northern Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for 2,530 miles (4,070 km)[5] to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains all or parts of 31 US states and 2 Canadian provinces between the Rocky and Appalachian Mountains. The Mississippi ranks as the fourth longest and tenth largest river in the world. The river either borders or cuts through the states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Louisiana.

Native Americans lived along the Mississippi and its tributaries. Most were hunter-gatherers or herders, but some, such as the Mound builders, formed prolific agricultural societies. The arrival of Europeans in the 1500s changed the native way of life as first explorers, then settlers, ventured into the basin in increasing numbers. The river served first as barrier – forming borders for New Spain, New France, and the early United States – then as vital transportation artery and communications link. In the 19th century, during the height of Manifest Destiny, the Mississippi and several western tributaries, most notably the Missouri, formed pathways for pioneers partaking in the western expansion of the United States.

Formed from thick layers of this river's silt deposits, the Mississippi River Valley is one of the most fertile agricultural regions of the country, which resulted in the river's storied steamboat era. During the American Civil War, the Mississippi's capture by Union forces marked a turning point towards victory because of this very importance as a route of trade and travel, not least to the Confederacy. Because of substantial growth of cities and the larger ships and barges that have supplanted riverboats, the decades following the 1900s saw massive engineering works applied to the river system, such as the often in-combination construction of levees, locks and dams.

Since modern development of the basin began, the Mississippi has also seen its share of pollution and environmental problems – most notably large volumes of agricultural runoff, which has led to the Gulf of Mexico dead zone off the Delta. In recent years, the river has shown a steady shift towards the Atchafalaya River channel in the Delta; a course change would prove disastrous to seaports such as New Orleans. A system of dikes and gates has, so far, held the Mississippi at bay but, due to fluvial processes, the shift becomes more likely each year. "

[norcal666]

My cousins got some pretty crazy looking Indian skulls, at least 200-500 years old, the forehead is elongated and flatter.

[braceysdad]

Originally Posted by norcal666

My cousins got some pretty crazy looking Indian skulls, at least 200-500 years old, the forehead is elongated and flatter.

I found the top of a skull on my first outing... In ms you cannot possess any human remains unless it pertains to your job. I had to turn it over to the coroners office. They sent it off to be aged and tested. I can't wait to hear the results

[Hunter711]

me 2!

[braceysdad]

My youngest daughter, Adilyn, and I scored pretty good on her school playground today while we were waiting on Bracey to finish soccer practice. Over 30 crinoid stem pieces, fossilized coral, and several small fossil impressions... If you know what to look for you can find stuff anywhere.

[RiceBurner]

Originally Posted by braceysdad

From today... Can anyone identify these?

Rattle snake tail?

[RiceBurner]

[ATTACH]203822[/ATTACH
My snake rock, wraps 3/4 way round this rock. Found under bridge at mississippi in illinios. Dont think its old?

[braceysdad]

from today...

[gravelgazer]

Really cool Ice age bones. Anyway to get to the gravel bars by land, or most of them by boat.

[braceysdad]

Originally Posted by gravelgazer

Really cool Ice age bones. Anyway to get to the gravel bars by land, or most of them by boat.

most by boat unless you know the land owners... How far north are you in MS?

[lowslowTJ]

This is a scapula or shoulder blade. Probably a deer or buffalo? Its hard to tell by size. Its almost certainly a mammal:

[lowslowTJ]

I think this is an Alligator jaw:

[braceysdad]

bump for an old thread... River is finally going down enough to get out and do some bone hunting

[wings_of_fire]

My family owns a pretty large piece of land in our native place. There is a section in the property which has laterite hills. My father said, when they use to dig up these hills back in 1960, they use to find several huge clay pots. These pots were somewhat 6 ft tall and had a width of around 4 ft. He said they used to find ancient human skeletons in these pots. The most interesting thing about these skeletons was that those people were huge in size. It was estimated that those people were at least 6.8 ft tall. The thickness of the bones too was quite astonishing. After hearing that the first question I eagerly asked my dad was, if he had preserved those bones and clay pots with him. Sadly they were thrown away just like any other useless thing. Back in 1960, it never clicked him that those would be precious archeological findings. It was more of a survival thing in those days. When ever I go back to my native place, I dig those hills in hope to find those clay pots.

If ever my father had to tell about his findings to the archeological department....they will immediately come down seize land and start digging.

[braceysdad]

Originally Posted by wings_of_fire

My family owns a pretty large piece of land in our native place. There is a section in the property which has laterite hills. My father said, when they use to dig up these hills back in 1960, they use to find several huge clay pots. These pots were somewhat 6 ft tall and had a width of around 4 ft. He said they used to find ancient human skeletons in these pots. The most interesting thing about these skeletons was that those people were huge in size. It was estimated that those people were at least 6.8 ft tall. The thickness of the bones too was quite astonishing. After hearing that the first question I eagerly asked my dad was, if he had preserved those bones and clay pots with him. Sadly they were thrown away just like any other useless thing. Back in 1960, it never clicked him that those would be precious archeological findings. It was more of a survival thing in those days. When ever I go back to my native place, I dig those hills in hope to find those clay pots.

If ever my father had to tell about his findings to the archeological department....they will immediately come down seize land and start digging.

That would be killer to dig up that kind of history.

I was never into any kind of history during school. Within the last year I have done more research and learned so much. It's cool and exciting to me.

[schmaged88]

Was the tooth set you are holding in your hand, always that shiny?

[wings_of_fire]

Originally Posted by braceysdad

That would be killer to dig up that kind of history.

I was never into any kind of history during school. Within the last year I have done more research and learned so much. It's cool and exciting to me.

Indeed...I dream of finding at least 1 clay pot.

I find this similar with myself and many people and with you too. In school I hated history and as time passed the whole aspect towards history changed. Today I find history more interesting than any other subject.

You have found some pretty amazing things. I am hooked to this thread.

[braceysdad]

Originally Posted by schmaged88

Was the tooth set you are holding in your hand, always that shiny?

No, it had just been washed off

[braceysdad]

Originally Posted by wings_of_fire

Indeed...I dream of finding at least 1 clay pot.

I find this similar with myself and many people and with you too. In school I hated history and as time passed the whole aspect towards history changed. Today I find history more interesting than any other subject.

You have found some pretty amazing things. I am hooked to this thread.

Thanks, hitting the river again this weekend so hopefully I'll be posting some new pictures soon. I have a couple hundred pieces that cannot or have not been identified yet too