Fossil Hunting

Took two days of vacation time during the week to take a trip to north Mississippi and spend two full days of fossil hunting two different locations. It was quite hot but it was still very enjoyable. First stop was 20 Mile Creek to wade up and down the relatively low creek waters and sift for sharks teeth. I have made my self a sifter from 2X4's and 1/4" screen, as I have found this to be the optimum screen size to get anything big enough worth getting. The real real small stuff that falls through that screen just does not interest me. I will include instructions in another post for my screen build in case some one wants a general guide. The banks at this particular location are steep, but there are at least 3 trails that make it a little easier to get to the creek. The beast time is after a good torrential rain, as new objects are washed into the creek. They tend to get caught around rocks and sand bars, and in this particular location, large concretions. I use a long handle shovel to dig around these rocks and concretions where teeth tend to get caught , settle and buried. A shovel full or two of sand/gravel into the sifter, and shake away until all sand and dirt is gone. Whats left behind is what you will sort through. Fossil sharks teeth tend, for the most part, to be black, and can blend in well with other debris and gravel, so take your time and look. It gets easier to spot them as you do this more and more, and you can develope an "eye" for them. That's all there is to it. You will get wet and dirty. But there is nothing like finding that first one, after that, you will pretty much be hooked.