jacobhfriedman Posted July 23, 2014 Share Posted July 23, 2014 (edited) A couple years ago I visited Eastern Africa, Tanzania, and a couple miles away from the famous Olduvai Gorge site I found an interesting bone. I am not sure what it is but I know it is definitely a mammal fossil and looks fairly similar to a fossilized human bone. Please help me Thanks. Edited July 23, 2014 by jacob f friedman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FossilDAWG Posted July 23, 2014 Share Posted July 23, 2014 What makes you say it looks similar to a human bone? What features are distinctively hominid? What part of the anatomy is it (clavicle, tarsal bone, or what)? Don Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacobhfriedman Posted July 23, 2014 Author Share Posted July 23, 2014 What makes you say it looks similar to a human bone? What features are distinctively hominid? What part of the anatomy is it (clavicle, tarsal bone, or what)? Don It was found in a highly know area for human bones and it appears to be about the same size of a hand or toe bone, and the bone marrow seems very human or primate like Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carl Posted July 23, 2014 Share Posted July 23, 2014 Isn't it entirely illegal to remove fossil bones from Olduvai Gorge? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacobhfriedman Posted July 23, 2014 Author Share Posted July 23, 2014 (edited) Isn't it entirely illegal to remove fossil bones from Olduvai Gorge? Yes but this was found a couple of miles away from Olduvai Gorge Edited July 23, 2014 by jacob f friedman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpc Posted July 23, 2014 Share Posted July 23, 2014 It is actually illegal to remove Tanzanian fossils from TZ without a permit. But ignoring that... remember that there were other creatures running around the area with our protopeople. The idea of humanoid marrow is intriguing.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FossilDAWG Posted July 23, 2014 Share Posted July 23, 2014 I'm not sure what you mean by "humanoid marrow", as the marrow is soft tissue and would not be present in the fossil. Anyway, I thought that bones were identified by processes, ridges, etc. We have several good vertebrate paleo people on the forum, hopefully someone with knowledge of such material will speak up. I'll just comment that, from everything I've read, hominid bones are incredibly rare, and in that area bones and bone bits of other mammals are extremely abundant. While it's not completely impossible that you would just happen to be walking somewhere miles away from the actual gorge, pick up a piece of bone, and have that turn out to be hominid and not, say, an antelope, well the odds against that are quite astronomical. Don Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted July 23, 2014 Share Posted July 23, 2014 To the question in the topic title, your specimen is far too large to be an H. habilis phalanx. As to what manner of mammal it did come from, we will need very bright, very sharp images, taken straight-on from all sides and ends, with accurate measurements. "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacobhfriedman Posted July 23, 2014 Author Share Posted July 23, 2014 MORE PICS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacobhfriedman Posted July 23, 2014 Author Share Posted July 23, 2014 To the question in the topic title, your specimen is far too large to be an H. habilis phalanx. As to what manner of mammal it did come from, we will need very bright, very sharp images, taken straight-on from all sides and ends, with accurate measurements. Hear are some more pics above Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattalic Posted July 23, 2014 Share Posted July 23, 2014 It looks cut at one end (picture 4)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacobhfriedman Posted July 23, 2014 Author Share Posted July 23, 2014 It looks cut at one end (picture 4)? It's slightly curved so i doubt it is cut Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kauffy Posted July 24, 2014 Share Posted July 24, 2014 I'm not sure what you mean by "humanoid marrow", as the marrow is soft tissue and would not be present in the fossil. Anyway, I thought that bones were identified by processes, ridges, etc. We have several good vertebrate paleo people on the forum, hopefully someone with knowledge of such material will speak up. I'll just comment that, from everything I've read, hominid bones are incredibly rare, and in that area bones and bone bits of other mammals are extremely abundant. While it's not completely impossible that you would just happen to be walking somewhere miles away from the actual gorge, pick up a piece of bone, and have that turn out to be hominid and not, say, an antelope, well the odds against that are quite astronomical. Don What Don said ^ The vertebrate fauna of Olduvai is extensive, from hippos to turtles... Hominids, while "extensively documented" are far from common, concentrated in some of the basal stratigraphic units. Your bone is likley a chunk of one of the African critters which were running around at the same time. Cheers Chris "Turn the fear of the unknown into the excitment of possibility!"We dont stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpc Posted July 24, 2014 Share Posted July 24, 2014 It looks cut at one end (picture 4)? I think that is the articular surface, not a cut-mark. I cannot ID this bone... any of you PlioPleistocene folks chime in? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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