Replica fossil questions

[MikeRKT]

Hi,
I am a tool maker and not much into fossil collecting. The only thing I am really interested in is creating a collection of fossils related to the entire history of some tools I make. But, some of the fossils are so rare, that only one or two originals are known to exist.

I'd like to make this as real as possible. So, what are the thoughts on replicas if a piece is so rare it is considered to be more or less not obtainable, ever?

Thanks

[JohnJ]

Just curious what you mean by "a collection of fossils related to the entire history of some tools" you make? How are the fossils related to what you make?

[MikeRKT]

Just curious what you mean by "a collection of fossils related to the entire history of some tools" you make? How are the fossils related to what you make?

Well, I am a knife and tool maker. I tried to find a forum that incorporates archeology and paleontology in to one, but couldn't find it. I use fossils in the handles of my knives, sometimes petrified wood.

What I wanted to do was create a collection of fossils that have been used to make tools and various skeletons and skulls of ancestral species that created and used tools and show at what stage were their creative abilities and what did they actually make.

[JohnJ]

Well, I am a knife and tool maker. I tried to find a forum that incorporates archeology and paleontology in to one, but couldn't find it. I use fossils in the handles of my knives, sometimes petrified wood.

What I wanted to do was create a collection of fossils that have been used to make tools and various skeletons and skulls of ancestral species that created and used tools and show at what stage were their creative abilities and what did they actually make.

Ahh, I understand, now.

[Auspex]

From a paleontological standpoint, high-fidelity replicas are a indispensable aid when the originals are too unique and valuable to risk. I do not know whether the materials used to replicate them would be suited for use as tools, but as objects of display, hey might be suitable.

Interesting project! Have you examples you can show us?

[MikeRKT]

So, the replicas themselves won't be used for tool or knife making. I am a knife collector as well and it would just be cool to visualize the progression of humans, tools, and materials used over time. The real materials are usually more common pieces that are chemically stabilized with a resin of some kind. You can imagine that tooling, drilling, grinding, sawing would cause chipping and breakage. I don't have a lot of knives to show using these rarer materials because I don't use them on every knife and currently, I am preparing for a knife show. But, here is a piece of stabilized mammoth tooth/molar I recently purchased.

I do the work for the more common pieces (which still require a lot of time), then, I get to have fun and play with the higher end pieces. As you can imagine, the average person wanting a knife is not going to want to pay the prices that a knife made with these materials will warrant.

When i finish, I will post some more pics.

[Parthicus]

This is just my opinion, of course, but I personally would have no problem with displaying high-quality replicas of fossils that are otherwise unobtainable, as long as you don't try to pass off the replicas as genuine. After all, even museums often include replicas and reproductions in their displays (there just aren't enough original Archaeopteryx or complete dinosaur skeletons out there) and as long as the label makes this clear then I don't see any problem. There are various commercial manufacturers out there who sell replicas of ancient hominid skulls, so you have choices if you decide to go this route.

[DPS Ammonite]

This mammoth tooth is amazing because it is colored with bright blue vivianite, a hydrated iron phosphate, that is formed over time when phosphate rich teeth, bones and other fossils interact with iron in the soil. See the Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vivianite

The presence of very florescent vivianite in ivory distinguishes fossil ivory from modern ivory that does not contain vivianite. See article from the US government: https://www.fws.gov/lab/ivory_natural.php

Here's a photo of a wonderful bright blue tusk posted on TTF: http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?/topic/31100-show-us-your-blue-fossils/

Here is an article about a 36K year old bright blue bison found in the Yukon that is colored with vivianite. The bison is named Blue Babe after Paul Bunyan's blue ox: https://www.alaska.edu/uajourney/history-and-trivia/blue-babe-a-messenger-fro/

Edited May 30, 2016 by DPS Ammonite

[MikeRKT]

This mammoth tooth is amazing because it is colored with bright blue vivianite, a hydrated iron phosphate, that is formed over time when phosphate rich teeth, bones and other fossils interact with iron in the soil. See the Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vivianite

The presence of very florescent vivianite in ivory distinguishes fossil ivory from modern ivory that does not contain vivianite. See article from the US government: https://www.fws.gov/lab/ivory_natural.php

Here's a photo of a wonderful bright blue tusk posted on TTF: http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?/topic/31100-show-us-your-blue-fossils/

Here is an article about a 36K year old bright blue bison found in the Yukon that is colored with vivianite. The bison is named Blue Babe after Paul Bunyan's blue ox: https://www.alaska.edu/uajourney/history-and-trivia/blue-babe-a-messenger-fro/

That is pretty cool. I didn't know about that!

This is just my opinion, of course, but I personally would have no problem with displaying high-quality replicas of fossils that are otherwise unobtainable, as long as you don't try to pass off the replicas as genuine. After all, even museums often include replicas and reproductions in their displays (there just aren't enough original Archaeopteryx or complete dinosaur skeletons out there) and as long as the label makes this clear then I don't see any problem. There are various commercial manufacturers out there who sell replicas of ancient hominid skulls, so you have choices if you decide to go this route.

Thanks for the input.

[MikeRKT]

One more question. Are there any other methods to dating the molar beside carbon dating?

I would assume that guessing that 36k year old or more won't be accurate because of the difference in soil, climate and various other conditions.

[aplomado]

Early man did use fossils to make tools- even prior to Homo sapiens!

http://www.originsnet.org/hndsclpgallery/pages/i)westofts.htm

https://www.geolsoc.org.uk/Geoscientist/Archive/June-2012/Prehistoric-fossil-collectors