Digging in the dirt is a pasttime many young people enjoy, possibly to the distaste of their parents.

Getting dirty and looking for things buried in the ground holds fascination for so many children they actually end up making a profession out of it in one form or another.

An example of this can be seen in one little boy who made a historic discovery. Due to that discovery he may be well on his way to being a paleontologist. Recently he and his father found dinosaur bones while digging in a Mansfield, Texas development site.

Even though it was a single bone fragment from a dinosaur probably no bigger than a horse, I’m a bit jealous.

As a child there were several things I hoped to find while digging in the dirt.

Aside from a dinosaur bone, an arrowhead would have been just as interesting.

Now as an adult, my fascination with fossils continues.

I would love to own my very own dinosaur skeleton. A complete Tyrannosaurus Rex would make a nice addition to my decor, but I think I would need a larger living room first.

To me the fact that evidence exists proving that life forms roamed this planet long before humans is intriguing.

It shows just how much our planet changes over millions of years. Not just in how the land is shaped, but life as well.

By observing these fossils we can get a glimpse into what life would have been like so long ago, especially since time travel is not an option.

It makes me wonder; what kind of fossils will be found millions of years from now?

Hopefully there will still be humans around to collect them.

If not, I’m sure some other intelligent being will take up the mission of recording history and cataloging life forms that will one day be extinct.