Small black bone from near Kaw River, Upper Pleistocene to present

[JBkansas]

Found this in a creek bed here in NE Kansas, feels heavier than a fresh bone should (though it was buried in the mud) and the black color reminds me of other ice age finds (if it wasn't for the color I would have assumed it was dog/cat).

 

*Edit*  after cleaning, what I thought were nutrient canals are connected and completely lined by cortical bone, like true foramen of skull or sacrum.

 

Our bedrock is Pennsylvanian but I know that ice age bones (mammoth, etc) have been found at the Kaw/Kansas River (which the creek feeds into about 1 km/ 0.6 mi downstream).

 

Looked at my pictures of the KU Kaw River exhibit, apparently the bones can be upto 30k years old. The exhibit included mammoth, dire wolf, musk ox, etc. I'm guessing this was a much smaller animal.

 

*edit* Not sure it's a hip bone anymore, animal bones aren't shaped like humans. *edit2* added info from KU exhibit on the area and changed title now that I'm more confident it's not a dog/cat bone that's been stained by river mud.

 

Edited February 12, 2023 by JBkansas

[JBkansas]

Does anyone know how long it takes bones to turn black?

[val horn]

The time to change color varies due to what it is buried in, it is not a good marker for age. I rely on wt, hardness and burn test.  I will my questionable bone to tne burner on my gas 

Stove and see if it catches fire  discolors and smells bad.  I dont recognize the shape but taking pictures st down on the fossil will give the greastest chance of pattern recognition 

 

[Brandy Cole]

In some views it seems to resemble a calcaneum.

[JBkansas]

Held one end in open flame for 3 seconds with no additional fire, no smell and no discoloration.

 

It's shaped a little like a calcaneous but seems thin (at least compared to human) also not sure if calcaneus would have nutrient canals.

Edited February 12, 2023 by JBkansas

[JBkansas]

Additional edge photos (used playdough to hold it upright)

 

The hole here leads to "nutrient canal" on convex surface, suggesting the bone continued in this direction.

Edited February 12, 2023 by JBkansas

[Brandy Cole]

It looks more like wear than a nutrient canal to me from the pictures, but maybe it looks different in hand.  The additional pictures made me think it could be a broken section of vertebra as a possibility.  Due to the condition, it's tough to tell.

[JBkansas]

1 hour ago, Brandy Cole said:

It looks more like wear than a nutrient canal to me from the pictures, but maybe it looks different in hand.  The additional pictures made me think it could be a broken section of vertebra as a possibility.  Due to the condition, it's tough to tell.

The canals are connected and the tunnel is lined by smooth bone (rather than the trabecular bone a nutrient canal would open into. Looks like a true foramin, I wonder if this is a skull bone or a fragment of sacrum.

 

This opening is lined by smooth cortical bone and connects to the other side broken/worn face 

 

Looking at the above opening from the concave side.

 

Looking at the broken/worn edge from the convex side.

Edited February 12, 2023 by JBkansas

[JBkansas]

Microscope image of foramen, hole is the other flat side, the foramen also branches down and to the left where it exits the broken side.

 

This is broken/worn side, you can see the smooth cortical bone foramen lining.

 

Edited February 12, 2023 by JBkansas