Fossil fun

I went to visit some relatives in Massachusetts for about a week. During that week, we went to a nature preserve, watched my mom get married... and swam in a lake! As we were leaving said lake, I happened to stoop over and snag a funny-looking brown rock.

It wasn't until we got home that I realized what an awesome find it was. It's a fossilized little skull, no longer than my thumb!

Now I've never to my knowledge owned a fossil before- so of course this set some wheels in my brain churning. How to even talk about this thing in Sandic? I had no words similar to it other than perhaps "stone/rock"- "pela".

Some people in #conlang started suggesting things and the following conversation ensued:

[23:03:54] [bornfor> So, I'm trying to create a word for "fossil".
[23:04:11] [bornfor> Apparently "fossil" in English is from a root meaning "to dig", "to unearth"- So something dug up.
[23:05:22] [bornfor> But I want the word meaning specifically "fossilized bones/creatures/plants".
[23:10:54] tnelsond continues to ignore bornfor 
[23:11:08] bornfor waves.
[23:11:20] [tnelsond> How about fossil could be something like "solidify" or "cacooned"
[23:11:35] [Uiri> or pre-oil
[23:12:06] [tnelsond> Uiri: you're assuming sandicians believe that fossils turned into oil.
[23:12:09] [bornfor> I was thinking going "lives in stone"
[23:12:18] [Uiri> yes
[23:12:26] Klisz [~Klisz@c-67-161-147-186.hsd1.co.comcast.net] has joined ##conlang
[23:12:35] [Uiri> bornfor: related to statue?
[23:13:17] [bornfor> I had a word for statue.
[23:13:18] [bornfor> hmm
[23:13:20] [bornfor> zintela
[23:13:27] [bornfor> But that's unrelated.
[23:13:41] [bornfor> That's zint + (p)ela = "cut stone"
[23:14:35] [bornfor> mectela, then, I suppose.
[23:14:39] [Uiri> hmm
[23:14:43] [Uiri> what is mect?
[23:14:50] [tnelsond> How about you just use the same word for "mummy" or "burial"?
[23:14:53] [bornfor> to live, to reside, to make one's home at.
[23:14:58] [Uiri> ah
[23:14:58] [bornfor> I don't have a word for mummy.
[23:15:09] [Uiri> wouldn't that be cave?
[23:15:11] [bornfor> And I'm not sure they'd make the connection between stone remains and mummified remains.
[23:15:17] [bornfor> No, cave is uhhhh
[23:15:40] [bornfor> cave is tekal
[23:15:53] [bornfor> "the thing which was cut/removed"
[23:15:58] [bornfor> Like "hole in the mountain".
[23:16:17] [Uiri> ahh
[23:17:20] [bornfor> Haha
[23:17:32] [bornfor> So the word "archaeologist" would be "mectelém"
[23:17:36] [bornfor> :D
[23:17:40] [bornfor> \o/
[23:17:46] [bornfor> Thank you for your help, Uiri.
[23:20:32] [Uiri> np
[23:20:36] [Uiri> 'tis what I do
[23:21:09] [bornfor> Indeed!
[23:21:18] [bornfor> san mectelan - archaeology
[23:21:24] [bornfor> Oh, I'm in a good mood now.
[23:21:28] [bornfor> This opens up all kinds of things.
[23:21:51] tnelsond buries all those kinds of things.
[23:22:37] [Uiri> lol
[23:22:56] tnelsond puts on a fedora and a bullwhip and starts digging the things back up to sell for lots of money.
[23:23:00] [bornfor> Haha
[23:23:28] [bornfor> fel mectelai - a fossil plant.
[23:23:29] [bornfor> :D
[23:23:45] [bornfor> ankoâ mectelai = fossil animal.
[23:23:51] [bornfor> yact mectelai = fossil bone
[23:23:52] [bornfor> :D

Thus, I have my new word, mectela! Thank you guys in #conlang. You definitely aren't a bunch of kilún mectelain (fossil heads).