Bones drop from skeletons, stray variants, and skeleton horses when killed. They also appear as part of fossil structures that generate underground between Y 40 and Y -8 in desert and swamp biomes — large formations of pale calcified pillars and coal ore that represent ancient mega-fauna.

Three crafted in a column yield one bone meal, which instantly advances the growth stage of most crops, saplings, grass, and flowers by one or more steps. A single one can also be crafted directly into three units of meal in a single slot. It is one of the most universally useful farming accelerators in the game, making skeleton farms among the highest-value mob farms for plant-heavy builds.

Nine craft one bone block, a decorative block with a pale yellow striated texture resembling a cross-section of fossilised material. The blocks are directional like logs and can be rotated. They appear naturally in fossil structures.

They are also used to tame wolves: right-clicking a wild wolf with a bone has approximately a 1-in-3 chance of taming it. Multiple may be needed. Tamed wolves become dogs that follow and protect the player.