petrified ginger root?

[leni]

Found this on a hike in Negev desert (Israel). It feels like a stone, but the shape is somewhat unusual for a stone. Could it be a piece of petrified ginger root? Any ID help really welcomed - and thank you!

[ynot]

Welcome to  !

This item looks like a chert nodule. Not a bone.

Tony

[Fossildude19]

I agree - chert nodule.

They can take many suggestive shapes. 

 

 

 

Regards,

[leni]

thank you all for your quick help! 

[tmaier]

Not a fossil, but I'm not agreeing with chert. Zoom in on the break, and you see the texture is rough. Chert makes smooth, sometimes glassy factures.

This looks like a weathered nodule of sandstone. The material looks uniform in color and texture, so I can't call it a concretion. The outside coloration looks like the "desert varnish" that coats iron bearing sandstone in the desert.

[ynot]

33 minutes ago, tmaier said:

 

Not a fossil, but I'm not agreeing with chert. Zoom in on the break, and you see the texture is rough. Chert makes smooth, sometimes glassy factures.

 

There does appear to be a "sand" rind on this rock, but if You look close at the third picture (the larger brake) it has a conchoidal fracture. Maybe not chert, but definitely a quarzite. Could be flint, carnelian, agate, jasper etc.

 

Tony

[Fossildude19]

31 minutes ago, tmaier said:

Not a fossil, but I'm not agreeing with chert. Zoom in on the break, and you see the texture is rough. Chert makes smooth, sometimes glassy factures.

This looks like a weathered nodule of sandstone. The material looks uniform in color and texture, so I can't call it a concretion. The outside coloration looks like the "desert varnish" that coats iron bearing sandstone in the desert.

 

Tmaier,  

 

You bring up a valid point.

 

I was going by the 3rd photo, where the edge looks glassy, and i think I am seeing some conchoidal fracturing.

And, I have see chert with some roughness when it has been exposed to the elements for a while, and weathered.

 

 

This photo brings it more into question, for me, but it could still be weathered chert. 

 

 

 

I think High Definition closeups would be needed to determine an accurate ID. 

Regards, 

 

 

[tmaier]

When I first hit this thread, the third image did not load (I have bandwidth issues). Yes that break does look glassy. And the globular shape is typical of chert nodules.

The Negev desert is both sandstone and limestone.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Makhtesh

[doushantuo]

Knowing how rare Zingiberalean(gingers,bananas) fossils are,the title thread made me smile.

Ginger is know from the Eocene on,i think.

Some of them look good,too

zingingerbotanymusac2002genetixmolphyl1682.full.pdf

[wildchild33]

Sorry to butt in just wanted to point out that leni stated it felt like stone, not bone, as in ynots reply. btw I find rocks very similar to that in a creek in north Tx