Trout McTupelo Posted February 16, 2021 Share Posted February 16, 2021 Hi All, I am new to this forum. I am over my head in what is, in my novice opinion, a preponderance of quartz stone tools that go back to the Pleistocene. Among the unverified relics, I have found a variety of bones which appear to have been altered for use as tools. Additionally, they have what appear to be teeth marks at the edges, as if a person was holding them in hand and biting. I wanted to post a pic of a rib that I think belongs to a Camelid. I have spent a lot of time looking over pictures of all sorts of mammal ribs, and Camelids come the closest. Additionally, I viewed a post on this site where a person posted the exact same bone, and said a expert told him it was probably a Camelops. Notably, this bone has had the vertebrae side sawed off. It fits in hand perfectly to accommodate waist level thrashing. If these are teeth marks, it seems possible it was done intentionally to give the rib more of an abrasive blade for thrashing. Speculation aside, positively identifying this bone will at least give me some confidence that I am (or am not) in the right period of human history. Thanks for your help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted February 16, 2021 Share Posted February 16, 2021 Looks modern - lots of rodent gnaw marks - likely cow. Try the burn test to see if it is modern. 3 Tim - VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER VFOTM --- APRIL - 2015 __________________________________________________ "In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~ ><))))( *> About Me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thecosmilia Trichitoma Posted February 16, 2021 Share Posted February 16, 2021 35 minutes ago, Trout McTupelo said: Additionally, they have what appear to be teeth marks at the edges, as if a person was holding them in hand and biting. I can’t say the origins of the “teeth marks,” but they definitely aren’t human. If a human tried biting in to a bone like that, our teeth would give way, and in prehistoric times the person would likely starve and/or get an infection in their now seriously injured mouth, both leading to death. If this is a cow bone as Fossildude suggests (and most likely the truth,) then it probably was just gnawed on by a wild animal. Can you show an image of your “artifacts.” It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt -Mark Twain Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chase owen Posted February 16, 2021 Share Posted February 16, 2021 It’s a modern cow rib Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IsaacTheFossilMan Posted February 16, 2021 Share Posted February 16, 2021 I agree with the modern cow rib... Maybe @Tidgy's Dad gnawed on it though? He either could've been blending in with his little friend, or perhaps even method acting his role in Jurassic Park... 1 ~ Isaac; www.isaactfm.com "Don't move! He can't see us if we don't move!" - Alan Grant Come to the spring that is The Fossil Forum, where the stream of warmth and knowledge never runs dry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trout McTupelo Posted February 16, 2021 Author Share Posted February 16, 2021 Hey, thanks for the quick replies. I'm settled on "it's a cow, stupid". Here's a few of the alleged "artifacts" I've been finding, for you Youth Member. Thanks again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trout McTupelo Posted February 16, 2021 Author Share Posted February 16, 2021 Oh, the bottom 3 are different hues of quartz, the top I believe something more brittle piece of the local bedrock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted February 16, 2021 Share Posted February 16, 2021 Unfortunately, I am not really seeing any signs of your "artifacts" being worked. Artifacts are not my forte, but, I have seen many posted on here. They just look like broken (sharp) slivers of quartz to me. Tim - VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER VFOTM --- APRIL - 2015 __________________________________________________ "In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~ ><))))( *> About Me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IsaacTheFossilMan Posted February 16, 2021 Share Posted February 16, 2021 1 hour ago, Trout McTupelo said: Hey, thanks for the quick replies. I'm settled on "it's a cow, stupid". Here's a few of the alleged "artifacts" I've been finding, for you Youth Member. Thanks again! They don't look like artefacts to me, unfortunately, with the exception of the middle bottom one - but, I'm by no stretch of the imagination an expert on archaeology! Conchoidal fracture typically produces sharp things like this, annoyingly. Also, a coin is not a good form of scale, as it is not universal. Don't label yourself as 'stupid', either, we don't do that here No need to sell yourself short Also this is my 200th post on the forum!!! 19 days I've been here, goodness me... 1 ~ Isaac; www.isaactfm.com "Don't move! He can't see us if we don't move!" - Alan Grant Come to the spring that is The Fossil Forum, where the stream of warmth and knowledge never runs dry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trout McTupelo Posted February 16, 2021 Author Share Posted February 16, 2021 Well, it would be nice to rule out this bone as well. Any ideas? Admittedly, I am treading on the edges of known archaeology with these rock specimens. It is becoming more and more clear that humans lived in North America for far longer than has previously been believed, some would even say over 100,000 years. It is within the realm of possibility that we discount certain stones because we simply can't imagine the construction of a truly Pleistocene human environment in America. I will admit that nothing I have found is flaked or notched in any sort of traditional archaeological sense. But I do recognize a blatant pattern of human behavior in the specimens I find here, one that is incompatible with natural breakage. Thanks for replies! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted February 16, 2021 Share Posted February 16, 2021 Looks like another cow bone. Have you done a burn test? Tim - VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER VFOTM --- APRIL - 2015 __________________________________________________ "In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~ ><))))( *> About Me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiros Posted February 16, 2021 Share Posted February 16, 2021 It's a juvenile metapodial cow bone, the distal articular pulley was not yet fused 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trout McTupelo Posted February 17, 2021 Author Share Posted February 17, 2021 I don't know what a burn test is, but it would be nice to know for future reference. More cow, good to know, thanks! Thought it might be a horse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LabRatKing Posted February 17, 2021 Share Posted February 17, 2021 2 hours ago, Trout McTupelo said: I don't know what a burn test is, but it would be nice to know for future reference. More cow, good to know, thanks! Thought it might be a horse. Hit an edge with a lighter. Bone gets charred and smells bad along with black smoke. Fossil bone just gets hot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IsaacTheFossilMan Posted February 17, 2021 Share Posted February 17, 2021 39 minutes ago, LabRatKing said: Hit an edge with a lighter. Bone gets charred and smells bad along with black smoke. Fossil bone just gets hot. Beat me to it... Better do it outside, lots of sulphuric gases will be released - smells horrible, and it lingers! (basically just a REALLY strong smell of burning hair, as the proteins in bones are based on sulphur ) ~ Isaac; www.isaactfm.com "Don't move! He can't see us if we don't move!" - Alan Grant Come to the spring that is The Fossil Forum, where the stream of warmth and knowledge never runs dry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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