Jump to content

Please help identify teeth and bones


Sberebit

Recommended Posts

Hey all, its been a while since I posted last. Due to the drought, the river is low so I went looking around. I was walking the river bank and stumbled on an area I can't make sense of. In an area about 15 ft across and 4 ft high there are bones and teeth everywhere. It appears as if there are multiple species of animals, but primarily I am finding a lot of what I think are cow jaws.  It is located near a small college established in the 1850's. It is also located in an area that had a heavy native american population. I am attaching some photos I took and would like some input on animal type, how old they may be (I know that may be difficult). I am taking the day off tomorrow to really take a good look and do a bit of digging. Any help would be appreciated. I am sure I will post more pictures as I get into this further. Thank you.

2020-09-24_21-31-50.png

2020-09-24_21-21-02.png

2020-09-24_21-19-46.png

2020-09-24_21-20-10.png

2020-09-24_21-20-26.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi,

If the skull is as short as it looks from the front I think it is something like a pug or other heavily domesticated dog, that would give you some hint on the age of the assembly (If the bones are from the same time.) Pet cemetery...

Try to learn something about everything and everything about something

Thomas Henry Huxley

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...
On 9/25/2020 at 3:59 PM, jpc said:

I am in the pug camp, but can we see a side view of that one?

 

Sorry for the delay. Here are some more shots of the skull. I just am not buying Pug, but certainly some kind of dog. This was found a little further down stream but I think/am guessing it is part of the bone collection I have found...and I have found a lot!

Snag_bf853f7.png

Snag_bf86bcb.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Okay, so after about 15 hours of "Diggin' Up Bones" (Randy Travis reference), I have found a boat load of bones of all sizes and shapes. I would like some help with bone ID's (more mandibles than anything) and advice on how to "clean" these up whether they be individual loose teeth or the bones I want to keep (not many because they are busted up). In this post I am going to show pictures of the site. Other posts will ask for help with identification. Thank you.

Snag_c00ec31.png

Snag_c012940.png

Snag_c014529.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here are some specific mandibles that I would like some opinions on:

What catches my eye between say #1 and #2 is the space btween the front couple of teeth in #2. Also, #4 does not to be as 'deep' as the others. I would post pore pictures, but am unable to because I have reached my MB limit.

Snag_c03003d.png

Snag_c03929d.png

Snag_c04de9a.png

Snag_c05a091.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The skull is a brachycephalic canine for sure. Like bulldog dependant on age. A modern pug skull is only the result of breeding in the last 200 years.

 

Modern pug:

pug skull | Tumblr

 

English bulldog:

English Bulldog Skull For Sale | Dinosaur Corporation

 

The rest are horse and cow, looks like some bits of pig too.

  • I found this Informative 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ditto what @LabRatKing said.  The dog looks more like a bulldog than pug to me, but some short faced dog for sure. So much change due to selective breeding!  It seems some of the jaws may be showing different eruption times on teeth causing so differences in apparent spacing. That is some pile of bones, looks like quite the farm dumping ground!  

 

To to clean them, just scrub them in water to get the dirt off and then if you want to whiten a bit, soak them in hydrogen peroxide (don’t use bleach, that is very damaging to bones). Enjoy the bone menagerie!!

  • I found this Informative 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, ClearLake said:

To to clean them, just scrub them in water to get the dirt off and then if you want to whiten a bit, soak them in hydrogen peroxide (don’t use bleach, that is very damaging to bones). Enjoy the bone menagerie!!

 

Thank you for your feedback! I have followup questions that can be answered by anyone:

  1. Bleach may be too harsh for bones, but what about the teeth? I have a bag full of animal teeth and I have been giving them to people. I have been scrubbing them with a cleaner that has bleach then rinsing them in water immediately to reassure the people they are given to that they are "clean".
  2. I am not real interested in whitening the bones, would it be okay to wash the bones with a mix of water and Dawn then immediately rinsing them in water?

Thank you all for your help

Snag_e346a02.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

27 minutes ago, Sberebit said:

I have been scrubbing them with a cleaner that has bleach then rinsing them in water immediately to reassure the people they are given to that they are "clean"

That should be fine.  Teeth are more resistant. I just advocate against soaking bones in bleach to clean them.  I have done it plenty early on in my collecting and you end up with a chalky coating and damaged bones - live and learn!

 

Water and and detergent are fine, let them soak all day in that if you want.  I am, of course, referencing modern or relatively modern bone like you have. Some fragile, older fossil bone would be a different story, but we are not dealing with 100 million year old dinosaur bone here. 

 

Where are all the skulls to go with those lower jaws?  Hmmmm

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Sberebit said:

 

Thank you for your feedback! I have followup questions that can be answered by anyone:

  1. Bleach may be too harsh for bones, but what about the teeth? I have a bag full of animal teeth and I have been giving them to people. I have been scrubbing them with a cleaner that has bleach then rinsing them in water immediately to reassure the people they are given to that they are "clean".
  2. I am not real interested in whitening the bones, would it be okay to wash the bones with a mix of water and Dawn then immediately rinsing them in water?

Thank you all for your help

Snag_e346a02.png

Baking soda and water will work well and help stabilize the pH of the bone. Mix it up about toothpaste consistency and use a medium shift fine bristle plastic brush. Old toothbrushes and stuff bristled paint brushes will work. Then rinse well or neutralize with a solution made from 1 part distilled vinegar and 9 parts water. Rinse again, air dry, and then seal as you see fit.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, ClearLake said:

Where are all the skulls to go with those lower jaws?  Hmmmm

Yeah, I agree! Unfortunately, these bones I found are all busted up. There is a well established college near by that razed their buildings that were built in the 1850's and put the building material right on top of the bones. Most all of the bones were shards or busted up in some way. 

 

41 minutes ago, LabRatKing said:

then seal as you see fit.

Seal? I didn't know that was a thing. What would be a decent way of sealing? Doesn't have to be professional, just decent. 

Thank you for your help on this.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just now, Sberebit said:

Yeah, I agree! Unfortunately, these bones I found are all busted up. There is a well established college near by that razed their buildings that were built in the 1850's and put the building material right on top of the bones. Most all of the bones were shards or busted up in some way. 

 

Seal? I didn't know that was a thing. What would be a decent way of sealing? Doesn't have to be professional, just decent. 

Thank you for your help on this.

Some folks opt for everything from PVA to brand specific stuff. These would benefit from such treatment as they have been submerged for so long. You may find the thinner areas and teeth fall apart as they dry over time. While some might be aghast, for specimens like these I use quickcrete brand acrylic fortifier mixed 1:3 with distilled water and let them soak for a day or two, then I let them air dry after careful blotting with a sponge to remove surface excess. I’ve found this works great for non fossils that are for display and or light handling.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...