Fossil

Fossil
Biomes	Desert; Swamp; Mangrove Swamp;
Generates in; existing chunks	No
Consists of	Bone Block; Coal Ore; Diamond Ore‌[JE only]; Deepslate Diamond Ore;

A fossil is a rarely-occurring skeletal feature composed of bone blocks, coal ore, or diamond ore.

Generation[edit | edit source]

Fossils randomly generate only in desert, swamp and mangrove swamp biomes. Each chunk has two attempts within Y-coordinates 0 to 320 or -63 to -8 underground to generate a fossil, each with a chance of ¹⁄₆₄. They have an equal chance to generate as any of the four variants of skull or four variants of spine.

Fossils first generate the pure-bone layer with a structure integrity of 0.9, meaning 10% of the bone blocks are removed and do not override original terrain blocks, leaving 90% bone blocks. Next, the ore layer generates with a structure integrity of 0.1, replacing 10% of the existing fossil with coal ore for fossils that generate above Y level 0, or deepslate diamond ore for fossils that generate below Y level -8. The locations of these ore blocks do not always correspond with the voids generated in the initial bone fossil, so the resulting combination of both generations usually result in an incomplete fossil structure composed of bone blocks and ores.

Because fossils are features instead of structures, they generate even when the "Generate Structures" option is turned off.^[1]

Structure[edit | edit source]

Naturally-generated fossils are composed of a mix of bone blocks and coal or diamond ores, as detailed above. They are made with NBT structure files and have files for each type of fossil located in the folder minecraft.jar/data/minecraft/structures/fossil.

There are 4 type of skulls and 4 type of spines.

Structure file	Description	Consists of
`fossil/skull_1` `fossil/skull_1_coal`	The largest skull.	86 in total Bone Block, Coal Ore, or Deepslate Diamond Ore
`fossil/skull_2` `fossil/skull_2_coal`	The second largest skull.	75 in total Bone Block, Coal Ore, or Deepslate Diamond Ore
`fossil/skull_3` `fossil/skull_3_coal`	The second smallest skull.	58 in total Bone Block, Coal Ore, or Deepslate Diamond Ore
`fossil/skull_4` `fossil/skull_4_coal`	The smallest skull, one-eyed.	32 in total Bone Block, Coal Ore, or Deepslate Diamond Ore
`fossil/spine_1` `fossil/spine_1_coal`	The narrowest spine.	37 in total Bone Block, Coal Ore, or Deepslate Diamond Ore
`fossil/spine_2` `fossil/spine_2_coal`	The second narrowest spine.	61 in total Bone Block, Coal Ore, or Deepslate Diamond Ore
`fossil/spine_3` `fossil/spine_3_coal`	The second widest spine.	97 in total Bone Block, Coal Ore, or Deepslate Diamond Ore
`fossil/spine_4` `fossil/spine_4_coal`	The widest spine.	121 in total Bone Block, Coal Ore, or Deepslate Diamond Ore

Data values[edit | edit source]

ID[edit | edit source]

Java Edition:

Feature type	[hide]Identifier
[No displayed name]	`fossil`

Configured feature	[hide]Identifier
[No displayed name]	`fossil_coal`
[No displayed name]	`fossil_diamonds`

Bedrock Edition:

Feature	[hide]Identifier
[No displayed name]	`fossil_feature`
[No displayed name]	`deepslate_diamond_fossil_feature`

Config[edit | edit source]

Java Edition:

[NBT Compound / JSON Object] config
- [NBT List / JSON Array] fossil_structures: (Cannot be empty) A list of fossil structure templates to choose from.
  - [String]: One structure template (an [String] ID)
- [NBT List / JSON Array] overlay_structures: (Cannot be empty) A list of overlay structure templates to choose from. Has to have the same length as [NBT List / JSON Array] fossil_structures.
  - [String]: One structure template (an [String] ID)
- [String][NBT List / JSON Array][NBT Compound / JSON Object] fossil_processors: One processor list (an [String] ID, or a new [NBT List / JSON Array][NBT Compound / JSON Object] processor list definition) — The processor for fossil structure templates.
- [String][NBT List / JSON Array][NBT Compound / JSON Object] overlay_processors: One processor list (an [String] ID, or a new [NBT List / JSON Array][NBT Compound / JSON Object] processor list definition) — The processor for overlay structure templates.
- [Int] max_empty_corners_allowed: Integer between 0 and 7 — How many corners of the structure are allowed to be empty for it to generate. Prevents structures floating in the air.
The placement of 'fossil' structures is hardcoded to be roughly 5 to 30 blocks below the surface, and cannot be precisely specified.

An example[show]

{
  "type": "minecraft:fossil",
  "config": {
    "fossil_processors": "minecraft:fossil_rot",
    "fossil_structures": [
      "minecraft:fossil/spine_1",
      "minecraft:fossil/spine_2",
      "minecraft:fossil/spine_3",
      "minecraft:fossil/spine_4",
      "minecraft:fossil/skull_1",
      "minecraft:fossil/skull_2",
      "minecraft:fossil/skull_3",
      "minecraft:fossil/skull_4"
    ],
    "max_empty_corners_allowed": 4,
    "overlay_processors": "minecraft:fossil_coal",
    "overlay_structures": [
      "minecraft:fossil/spine_1_coal",
      "minecraft:fossil/spine_2_coal",
      "minecraft:fossil/spine_3_coal",
      "minecraft:fossil/spine_4_coal",
      "minecraft:fossil/skull_1_coal",
      "minecraft:fossil/skull_2_coal",
      "minecraft:fossil/skull_3_coal",
      "minecraft:fossil/skull_4_coal"
    ]
  }
}

History[edit | edit source]

[hide]Java Edition
May 13, 2016							ProfMobius tweets an image of the new structure blocks in action, generating what appears to be a fossil made of quartz.
1.10			16w20a				Added fossils.
September 28, 2019							Prerelease footage of the soul sand valley biome at MINECON Live 2019 appears to have used these fossils (as opposed to the distinct nether fossils).
1.16			20w22a				Fossils can no longer overwrite desert pyramids or the end portal room of strongholds.
1.17			21w06a				Fossils can now generate in the air due to a bug.^[2]
			21w10a				Fossils that generate below Y=0 now generate with either normal or deepslate diamond ore instead of coal ore.
			21w10a				Fossils can no longer generate in the air.
			21w15a				Because world generation has been reverted, fossils generate the way they did before the 1.17 snapshots.
1.18			Experimental Snapshot 1				The fossil generation changes in the 1.17 snapshots have been reintroduced.
1.18			experimental snapshot 5				Fossils with diamond ore no longer generate above the deepslate level.
[hide]Pocket Edition
1.1.3			alpha 1.1.3.0				Added fossils.
[hide]Bedrock Edition
1.18.10			beta 1.18.10.21				Fossils that generate below Y=0 now generate with either normal or deepslate diamond ore instead of coal ore.
[hide]Legacy Console Edition
Xbox 360	Xbox One	PS3	PS4	PS Vita	Wii U	Switch
TU43	CU33	1.36	1.36	1.36	Patch 13	1.0.1	Added fossils.
[hide]New Nintendo 3DS Edition
1.9.19							Added fossils.

Issues[edit | edit source]

Issues relating to "Fossil" are maintained on the bug tracker. Issues should be reported and viewed there.

Trivia[edit | edit source]

Hidden in the structure NBT is data that credits ProfMobius with the creation of the fossils.

Gallery[edit | edit source]

Renders[edit | edit source]

Skulls[edit | edit source]

Spines[edit | edit source]

Screenshots[edit | edit source]

A fossil that generated inside a cave.
Excavating the fossil.
All skull and spine structures, excluding those made of coal ore.
Fossil generated on a superflat world. Some bone blocks are removed/replaced with coal ores.
A fossil that has been excavated.
A partially excavated fossil underground.
A fossil whose bone block is partly replaced by deepslate diamond ore.
The smallest skull fossil and largest spine fossil together compared to the largest mob, the ender dragon.
The same from above.
Many fossils that have generated on a superflat world in a swamp biome.
A fossil that has generated underwater, inside an underwater ravine.
A fossil that generated mid-air in a flooded cave.
A fossil generated at the bottom of an ocean.
A fossil generated in an ocean ravine.
Another fossil generated at the bottom of an ocean.
A fossil that generated just below the seafloor.
A fossil generated partially exposed to air in a desert biome.
A fossil generated in a trial chamber.

References[edit | edit source]

↑ MC-199180 — Fossils can generate with structures turned off — resolved as "Works As Intended".
↑ MC-214784 — Fossils can generate floating in caves — resolved as "Fixed".

Navigation[edit | edit source]

[1] MC-199180 — Fossils can generate with structures turned off — resolved as "Works As Intended".

[2] MC-214784 — Fossils can generate floating in caves — resolved as "Fixed".

[1]

[2]