Naomi just wanted something to do during her older sister’s JV soccer match last October. So, the six-year-old from Bend, Oregon started digging, and that’s when she made a shocking discovery. According to CNN, the little girl found a 65 million-year-old fossil of an ammonite, a sea creature that existed during the time of the dinosaurs.
While ammonite fossils aren’t particularly rare, they have been sold on occasion for as much as $50,000. Naomi’s discovery is so special because there was previously no known existence of an ammonite fossil in her hometown. "She's been thrilled to have discovered a fossil," her father Vaughan told CNN. "She's certainly the only person in our family to make that discovery."
Greg Retallack, director of paleontological collections at the Museum of Natural and Cultural History in Oregon University, claims that her fossil is deemed “not scientifically significant” since so little is known about it.
In the meantime, Naomi will be allowed to keep the fossil she calls her “Moana rock." Retallack believes that this moment could pave the way for her future interest in archeology. “This is how we all start,” he said, referring to his discovery of a shell on the beach at her age. “And I never looked back."
