Fish_trawler Posted October 19, 2014 Share Posted October 19, 2014 Found this in the Missouri River on a sand bar close to Chesterfield while fishing. I have tried to figure out what it is from previous posts but no luck, I am a newbie. Any help would be much appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpevahouse Posted October 19, 2014 Share Posted October 19, 2014 (edited) My first impression was deer pelvis (hip bone) but it's twice the size of the sample I have. A similar hooved grazing animal, maybe even cow or bison. Attached is photo of very similar old bison hip bone. Edited October 19, 2014 by jpevahouse 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xiphactinus Posted October 19, 2014 Share Posted October 19, 2014 Agree with the deer pelvis ID. Could be anywhere from a few years to a few thousand years old. Try holding a lighter to a corner. If it smells like burning hair, it's not very old. If there is no smell, it's quite a bit older. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish_trawler Posted October 19, 2014 Author Share Posted October 19, 2014 I tried the lighter test and it did indeed smell like burning hair. Thank you for the information! I thought it may have been older because of the coloration. One good thing that has come of me finding this deer or cow bone is I will now be looking harder when I am out on the river. Maybe I will find a real fossil someday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xiphactinus Posted October 19, 2014 Share Posted October 19, 2014 Keep looking! They are there. Ancient bison, musk ox, mammoth and mastodon..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmaier Posted October 19, 2014 Share Posted October 19, 2014 A couple of other tips about doing that lighter test... 1.) Create a "standard" by first burning some hair, to make sure your nose knows what it is trying to smell. There was a guy a couple days ago who got negative results on the fossil, but also couldn't smell burning hair. Anyway, it calibrates your nose instrument. The smell is burning collagen protein in the bone, and hair has a lot of collagen. 2.) Don't use matches. The sulfur smell of the match can sometimes mask the burnt collagen smell. Both smells bite the nose, so it is sometimes hard to tell what bit you. And like somebody already mentioned, a positive result of the lighter test could mean it is fresh from this year, or possibly up to a couple thousand years old. Collagen is a real tough protein and really hangs in there, it is woven into the structure of the bone to add support to the mechanical structure of the bone. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missourian Posted October 19, 2014 Share Posted October 19, 2014 I wonder how many reading this thread went and burned some hair to check the smell? Context is critical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmaier Posted October 19, 2014 Share Posted October 19, 2014 I wonder how many reading this thread went and burned some hair to check the smell? DOH! I forgot to mention, it is best to CUT THE HAIR OFF FIRST, BEFORE LIGHTING!!!! :D :D :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpevahouse Posted October 19, 2014 Share Posted October 19, 2014 (edited) Determining the age of a random bone found along a stream bed can be very difficult. But that doesn't mean it isn't old. Usually really old bone will be somewhat mineralized and feel heavier than usual. But that's not always the case. Streams can be good places to find fossil bones as proven by Lonnie Looper of Greenville, Mississippi who has quiet a collection from sand bars along the southern Mississippi River. Check his web site, should give you impetus to keep your eyes open when out on the river. http://www.cwreplicas.com/index1.html I tried the lighter test and it did indeed smell like burning hair. Thank you for the information! I thought it may have been older because of the coloration. One good thing that has come of me finding this deer or cow bone is I will now be looking harder when I am out on the river. Maybe I will find a real fossil someday. Edited October 19, 2014 by jpevahouse 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish_trawler Posted October 19, 2014 Author Share Posted October 19, 2014 So even if it does smell like burning protein it could still be a few thousand years old? To me it looks partially fossilized and does have some weight to it. I have found many bones before this but never any that are this color and texture on the outside. Thanks to everyone for the replies and links to more info! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmaier Posted October 19, 2014 Share Posted October 19, 2014 That red color is iron, and in the right conditions iron can color a bone in only a year or two. Under damp conditions with water of high mineral content, a bone can petrify fairly quickly. The safest thing to say is "Most likely Holocene." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish_trawler Posted October 19, 2014 Author Share Posted October 19, 2014 (edited) My first impression was deer pelvis (hip bone) but it's twice the size of the sample I have. A similar hooved grazing animal, maybe even cow or bison. Attached is photo of very similar old bison hip bone. The bone looks very similar to this bison hip bone upon further examination. Would you have any idea of what the length of this specimen might be? Also what would be the key differences between a Whitetail Deer and a Bisons' hip bone. You stated earlier that the bone looks to be a deer hip bone similar to a specimen you have in your collection only this one is much larger. Could this be from an American Bison? Edited October 19, 2014 by Fish_trawler Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish_trawler Posted October 19, 2014 Author Share Posted October 19, 2014 That red color is iron, and in the right conditions iron can color a bone in only a year or two. Under damp conditions with water of high mineral content, a bone can petrify fairly quickly. The safest thing to say is "Most likely Holocene." Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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