Stardew Valley v.1.5 - Ginger Island Fossil Guide

There's lots to do on Ginger Island, the new area of Stardew Valley unlocked with the game's recently released Version 1.5 update. One of the new activities is helping the archaeologist Professor Snail locate fossils of creatures which lived on Ginger Island long ago. Helping Professor Snail is an extremely beneficial task to complete, as he rewards the player with Golden Walnuts, the currency used to unlock new areas of Ginger Island. He also gives you the ability to craft Ostrich Incubators which can be used to hatch Ostrich Eggs on your farm.

This guide explains how to rescue Professor Snail and unlock his fossil-gathering task, as well as the locations of all four fossil types and the answers to the Professor's Island Survey questions.

How to Rescue Professor Snail

When you first get to Ginger Island, Professor Snail is trapped inside a cave. To rescue him, you must first gain access to the area where he is trapped. Look for a parrot sitting next to a broken bridge in the northern area of the island. The bird will request 10 Golden Walnuts to repair the bridge. You can find Golden Walnuts by fishing, digging up Artifact Spots, fighting monsters in the Volcano dungeon, breaking open Golden Coconuts, and completing other quests on Ginger Island.

Once you've repaired the bridge, you can now access the Dig Site, an area filled with rocks containing bones and other fossils. The entrance to the cave containing Professor Snail will be blocked by rubble. Use a Cherry Bomb, Bomb or Mega Bomb to clear out the rubble and free the Professor. Explosive Ammo shot from a Slingshot will not work.

After Professor Snail is free, he can be found in his tent, the Island Field Office, located just to the west of the Dig Site.

How to Find Fossils on Ginger Island

Professor Snail is studying four types of creature: the Large Animal, the Snake, the Bat and the Frog. The Large Animal and the Snake fossils each consist of multiple parts. Each time you complete a fossil, he will reward you with Golden Walnuts. The four fossils can be found in different areas of Ginger Island. Professor Snail also provides one hint per day regarding how to find the fossils.

The Large Animal Fossil

The Large Animal fossil consists of six parts. You need a Fossilized Skull, Fossilized Spine, Fossilized Ribs, Fossilized Tail, and two Fossilized Legs. Their locations are:

• Fossilized Skull - Breaking open Golden Coconuts. Golden Coconuts have a random chance to drop when harvesting Coconuts from the palm trees found around Ginger Island. You can also trade ten regular Coconuts for one Golden Coconut at the Ginger Island Trading Hut. Clint the blacksmith can break open Golden Coconuts for you.
• Fossilized Spine - Digging up Artifact Spots on the southern beach of Ginger Island - the area where you disembark from the boat when you first arrive on the Island. Artifact Spots look like three roots or "worms" sticking up from the ground, and can be dug up using the Hoe tool.
• Fossilized Ribs - Digging up Artifact Spots only in the Dig Site area.
• Fossilized Tail - Panning in the river running through Ginger Island. Unlock the Copper Pan and the ability to go panning by completing the Fish Tank Bundle in the Stardew Valley Community Center. Panning Spots are identified by sparkling patches floating in the river.
• Fossilized Leg - Breaking open rocks with the Pickaxe tool in the Dig Site. While all rocks have a small chance of containing Fossilized Legs, rocks featuring both a bone pattern and a spiral design have a slightly higher chance of dropping them. While breaking open these rocks, you will also find a number of Bone Fragments. Save these, as Gunther, the curator of the Stardew Valley Museum, will eventually request 100 of them from you via the Special Orders Board.

Once you have donated all six pieces of the Large Animal fossil, Professor Snail will reward you with six Golden Walnuts.

The Snake Fossil

The Snake fossil consists of three parts. You need a Snake Skull and two Snake Vertebrae. The Snake Fossil pieces are found on the western half of Ginger Island, which requires ten Golden Walnuts to unlock. Their locations are:

• Snake Skull - Fishing in the ocean, river or pond on the western side of Ginger Island. Special Fishing Spots, indicated by bubbles in the water, have a slightly higher chance of containing Snake Skulls.
• Snake Vertebrae - Digging up Artifact Spots on the western side of Ginger Island.

Once you have donated all three pieces of the Snake fossil, Professor Snail will reward you with three Golden Walnuts.

The Frog Fossil

The Frog fossil consists of a single piece, the Mummified Frog. It can be found by using the Scythe tool (or your Sword or Dagger weapon) to cut weeds in the rain forest on the eastern side of Ginger Island (just south of the hut where the NPC Leo lives). Once you have donated the Mummified Frog, Professor Snail will reward you with one Golden Walnut.

The Bat Fossil

The Bat fossil consists of a single piece, the Mummified Bat. It can be found by using the Pickaxe tool to break open rocks in the Volcano Dungeon in the very north of Ginger Island. While the Mummified Bat can drop on any floor of the Dungeon, it has a slightly higher chance of dropping on higher floors. Once you have donated the Mummified Bat, Professor Snail will reward you with one Golden Walnut.

Once you have donated all pieces of all four fossils, Professor Snail will reward you with the recipe for creating an Ostrich Incubator. The Ostrich Incubator can be used to hatch Ostrich Eggs into Ostriches, which can be raised in Coops on your farm. In addition to dropping from fully grown Ostriches, Ostrich Eggs are randomly found in chests in the Volcano Dungeon.

How to Solve Professor Snail's Ginger Island Survey

In addition to the fossil collecting task, Professor Snail also offers an Island Survey. The Island Survey consists of two questions which the player must answer, both relating to Ginger Island. Each correct answer rewards the player with one Golden Walnut. If you answer incorrectly, you must wait until the next day to submit another answer.

The first question is How many purple flowers are there on Ginger Island? The correct answer is 22 purple flowers.

The second question is How many purple starfish are there on Ginger Island? The correct answer is 18 purple starfish.

So far, these are the only questions Professor Snail will ask in his Island Survey. It is possible that more questions may be added to the Island Survey in future updates.

Helping out Professor Snail is just one of the many tasks which players can complete while exploring Ginger Island in Stardew Valley version 1.5. Check out TechRaptor's other guides to learn about what else can be done on this beautiful new tropical paradise!