Kömp's Fossils and Minerals

Are Birds Conscious?      The topic of consciousness is one with many different loose ends. Many believe that humans are the only being capable of being conscious, whilst others believe that multiple animals including ourselves are conscious, or at least semi-conscious. I am a firm believer that other animals such as crows, dolphins, octopi, and others might have the ability to be conscious.  But, birds of the corvid family seem to be smarter than other birds.      I recently read an interesting article about testing the consciousness of a corvid bird. It's a good read, and I'll leave a link to where you can find it at the end of this post. It begins by discussing how human consciousness is associated with the cerebral cortex. Birds, on the other hand, evolved a different brain since they diverged from mammals 320 million years ago. A bird's pallium holds organizational principals close to a mammal's brain, but their brains lack a layered cerebral cortex as mammals have

 Is Your Citrine Actually Citrine? A Look Into How You Can Tell  if  Your Citrine  is Heat-Treated     What does quartz, amethyst, and citrine all have to do in common? Well, all three are varieties of quartz. Quartz can be found worldwide, but amethyst and citrine are located in certain locations. Citrine is usually found in Brazil, Madagascar, and Russia. Citrine occurs in the same environment as smoky quartz, mostly intrusive igneous minerals which have traces of radioactive elements, whose radiation cause the coloration. But, you can find fake citrine almost everywhere, from online stores to local mineral shops. I, unfortunately, have been a victim of the fake citrine market. F ake citrines are scattered everywhere. Every citrine that you see on the market that are either a light orange or deep orange with the color stopping halfway through the crystal is fake.      These fake citrines are created by applying heat to amethyst crystals.  The amethyst crystals do not need to have a d

The Cave of the Crystals      The Cave of the Crystals is a cave with naturally occurring cave with massive selenite crystals, some can grow up to 4 feet in diameter, and 50 feet long. The Cave of the Crystals is located in Naica, Chihuahua, Mexico. Naica is on a very old fault. where underground magma chambers live under the cave. The magma heats groundwater that is filled with minerals, including lots of selenite. The hollow cave was filled with this hot mineral-rich water and remained that way for half a million years. Over those half a million years, the temperature of the water stayed constant at over 122 degrees Fahrenheit, allowing the selenite crystals to grow so large.      Modern-day mining technology allowed humans to witness this natural wonder by pumping water out of the 30-foot by 90-foot cave which was found in the year 2000. A scientific team explored the cave in detail in 2006, to survive and be able to work in the extremely humid, and high-temperature conditions, the

  Trilobite Conga Lines      The trilobites were ancient Cambrian arthropods. Their fossils can be found worldwide due to how abundant they were before they went extinct. They thrived from the Cambrian Explosion, where life rapidly evolved to the Devonian era.      Trilobites were one of the most successful early animals, existing for almost 300 million years. The trilobites went extinct around 250 million years ago in the end-Permian extinction. There were many different types of trilobites spanning their 300 million year reign. Different trilobites had different lifestyles, as it is thought that some moved over the seabeds as predators, and others were filter-feeders and scavengers. Most trilobites swam and crawled for transportation, but it is thought that some could have crawled on land. Some even believe it's possible that some species of trilobites moved in herds that looked like conga lines. Trilobite Herds     As stated before, t rilobites were a diverse animal genus, with

All About Geodes What Are Geodes?      G eodes are often hollow, spherical minerals filled with crystals. Geodes are referred to as "Variable Phenomenon",which means that there are many different ways they can be formed.  "Geode" derives  from the Greek word "Geoides", meaning "earthlike". Geodes are hollow, round rocks lined with crystals. Sometimes, nodules can be often mistaken with geodes. Despite them being nearly the same, the difference between the two is that nodules are completely filled with crystals, whilst geodes are hollow and lined with crystals. A Nodule How Are Geodes Formed?      Geodes most often start as bubbles in volcanic rock, but can also be created from tree roots or animal burrows in sedimentary rock. Other times, the cavity could form because of a fossil being dissolved, or from decaying organic matter that leaves a gaseous pocket.       Over time, the shell of the geode hardens, and water that contains silica precipitat

Is Your Amber Real? How To Identify Faux Amber From Real Amber      Before we can talk about identifying  real and fake amber,  we have to  know what amber is in the first place. Amber is fossilized tree resin, which became a fossil after millions of years. Amber can come in  different colors and shades, and some even have some inclusions.  My piece of amber with insect inclusions Inclusions in amber are usually referred to as different animals and insects inside the piece. If you look at the attached photo, you can make out some dark spots. Those dark spots are different small insects such as mosquitos and spiders that were  trapped in the amber, and stayed preserved inside. People have found pieces of amber with animals ranging from snakes to frogs. Those pieces are extremely expensive. If you were to spend a ton on a piece of amber with an animal inclusion, you'd want it to be real, right? Identifying Real Amber From Faux Amber      So, you bought a piece of amber, and don't