Nörsk Grunner Posted March 4, 2017 Share Posted March 4, 2017 I found this near a pebble beach on a lake in Northwest North Dakota. Native American tools and arrowheads have been found at this location. I have wondered what could explain this stone. Could it be fossilized food? Corn? Nuts? Caviar? The other rock looks like a burnt bone. I am a novice at fossil identification. I appreciate the educational guidance this forum has to offer. Please let me know your thoughts. Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nörsk Grunner Posted March 4, 2017 Author Share Posted March 4, 2017 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kane Posted March 4, 2017 Share Posted March 4, 2017 I am going to say it is highly unlikely it is some kind of food item (that stuff doesn't tend to fossilize very well in most conditions). It looks more like mineralization/concretion to me. 3 ...How to Philosophize with a Hammer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwigia Posted March 4, 2017 Share Posted March 4, 2017 That is a mineral, perhaps calcite, with a so-called botryoidal habit. I wouldn't try to eat it if I were you 4 Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nörsk Grunner Posted March 4, 2017 Author Share Posted March 4, 2017 I won't eat it. Is that second picture not even a bone? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeschWhat Posted March 4, 2017 Share Posted March 4, 2017 The one on the right looks interesting. Can we see additional photos (different angles) that one? Other angles of the second photo could help as well. The rock beneath the "corn" looks a bit like petrified drift wood. But some minerals have that same look. 1 Lori www.areallycrappystory.com/fossils www.facebook.com/fossilpoo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nörsk Grunner Posted March 4, 2017 Author Share Posted March 4, 2017 More photos of rock on right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwigia Posted March 4, 2017 Share Posted March 4, 2017 1 hour ago, Nörsk Grunner said: Is that second picture not even a bone? No it's not. It's just an interestingly shaped rock. This should help you recognize fossilized bone in the future. 1 Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nörsk Grunner Posted March 4, 2017 Author Share Posted March 4, 2017 Interestingly shaped rock that's not bone nor wood. I will definitely check out that link. What would cause such a formation? The middle has a shiny black glassy substance and the shiny brown side has those systematic etchings... and the odd hollow side of the interestingly shape rock totally fooled me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted March 4, 2017 Share Posted March 4, 2017 You have a brecciated rock that has several different minerals filling the voids left when ti broke.. Some of the minerals have eroded out leaving the cavities. The "black glass" is most likely hematite, an iron oxide. 1 Darwin said: " Man sprang from monkeys." Will Rogers said: " Some of them didn't spring far enough." My Fossil collection - My Mineral collection My favorite thread on TFF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted March 4, 2017 Share Posted March 4, 2017 Geology is an interesting force of nature. 1 Tim - VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER VFOTM --- APRIL - 2015 __________________________________________________ "In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~ ><))))( *> About Me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nörsk Grunner Posted March 4, 2017 Author Share Posted March 4, 2017 I'm learning and beginning to think a large portion of my rocks are a bunch of interestingly shaped rocks i.e. "fools fossils". Insert sad face emoji here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted March 4, 2017 Share Posted March 4, 2017 1 minute ago, Nörsk Grunner said: I'm learning and beginning to think a large portion of my rocks are a bunch of interestingly shaped rocks i.e. "fools fossils". Insert sad face emoji here. Maybe, but that does not mean they are not good rocks. Post some pictures (in a new thread) so We can help You figure it out. Tony Darwin said: " Man sprang from monkeys." Will Rogers said: " Some of them didn't spring far enough." My Fossil collection - My Mineral collection My favorite thread on TFF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kane Posted March 4, 2017 Share Posted March 4, 2017 Don't be too discouraged. Just keep looking, researching, and consulting geologic maps of your area. Have you considered joining a local rock/mineral club? Some go on field trips to proven areas. 2 ...How to Philosophize with a Hammer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abyssunder Posted March 4, 2017 Share Posted March 4, 2017 The yellowish part (second set of photos) looks like Silex with those conchoidal fractures. Maybe it was put aside in order to be used to make arrowheads or tools. 1 " We are not separate and independent entities, but like links in a chain, and we could not by any means be what we are without those who went before us and showed us the way. " Thomas Mann My Library Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nörsk Grunner Posted March 4, 2017 Author Share Posted March 4, 2017 12 minutes ago, abyssunder said: The yellowish part (second set of photos) looks like Silex with those conchoidal fractures. Maybe it was put aside in order to be used to make arrowheads or tools. The site itself makes it a possibility we have found tools, arrowheads and many rock chips. My son found an arrowhead that was different than the others. It turned out to match arrowheads made in Florida region. This location is in the middle of nowhere North Dakota. (my son has just been tasked to find it again... in his room). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeschWhat Posted March 5, 2017 Share Posted March 5, 2017 19 hours ago, abyssunder said: The yellowish part (second set of photos) looks like Silex with those conchoidal fractures. Maybe it was put aside in order to be used to make arrowheads or tools. I agree this looks like someone might have started working it. My imagination always gets the best of me when I see pieces like this. The curvature of the stone look like it might be easy to grasp between your fingers, or give it stability when attached to something like a stick. If you think about it in human terms, there are so many possibilities. Did someone start working it and then dropped it and couldn't find it again (something that happens to me more often than I'd like to admit)? Did they start working it and it wasn't fracturing properly so they cast it away? Was it a practice piece for a novice? I think this is more than just a rock...it's a fun conversation piece! 1 Lori www.areallycrappystory.com/fossils www.facebook.com/fossilpoo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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