Brazoria County, Texas -Beach Bone Fossil/Artifact

[Mike Price]

I found this bone fossil fragment with a what looks like a hieroglyph on a Brazoria County, Texas beach the other day. I thought you all might like to see it.  I've been studying this piece since I found it on the hightide.

 

It looks to be Paleolithic vs Neolithic. The Paleolithic Era (or Old Stone Age) is a period of prehistory from about 2.6 million years ago to around 10,000 years ago.

 

My conclusion. It is ancient and authentic bone art. The bone fragment is 1.25×1.25 and .25 thick. It looks like a hieroglyph shark to me. The engraving is about 1/8" deep and the entire fragment has a nice patina.

 

After looking at it in 4 different orientations, the 2nd picture (head left) seems to be the best orientation because the fins are longer. I also have a picture to show the depth of the engraving.

 

There aren't any other visible marks on the fragment.

 

I've searched thru a lot of hieroglyphs, cave paintings and other bone art and I've not found anything fish/shark or water/sea related.

 

I'm posting this fragment on a paleo artifacts site today for more professional opinions.

 

In closing..... I'm also still looking hard for the rest of the bone/story. It seems like it might be a pretty good read.....)

 

Your thoughts?

 

A example of American Neolithic art....

 

http://m.newser.com/story/121865/ancient-mammoth-carving-first-record-of-art-in-north-america.html

 

[Mike Price]

#2

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[Mike Price]

[Mike Price]

[Mike Price]

[Mike Price]

[Plax]

perhaps the bone frag laid on a hard ground and was burrowed by a piddock clam? The rest of the boring would be in the matrix which is not here of course. This is just a guess of course. I found a piece of turtle bone with similar preservation showing half the circumference of a burrow.

[GeschWhat]

1 minute ago, Plax said:

perhaps the bone frag laid on a hard ground and was burrowed by a piddock clam? The rest of the boring would be in the matrix which is not here of course. This is just a guess of course. I found a piece of turtle bone with similar preservation showing half the circumference of a burrow.

That was my first thought as well. Although, I would love for it to be an artifact of some sort.

[Mike Price]

Thanks guys. But, I dont think that this is anything other than a paleolithic hieroglyph and not a burrowing piddock clam art....)

[caldigger]

Keep in mind the Spanish did a lot of similar signage markings as they were making their way through the southern portions of what is now the U.S.  You might want to look into some research on early Spanish signs, that's what it looks like to my eyes.

[Plax]

41 minutes ago, Mike Price said:

Thanks guys. But, I dont think that this is anything other than a paleolithic hieroglyph and not a burrowing piddock clam art....)

Guess you're sure of it's ID then Mike.

[Mike Price]

No, I'm not sure of its ID, at all, Plax. I'm just sure it is man made. Until it is absolutely proven otherwise.

[Plax]

Not arguing Mike. You have said it is man made and I don't want to opine otherwise if you're sure. I don't have the advantage of having it in hand. I only guessed based on what I can tell from your information and pictures. If I found it, it would probably be what I guessed it was based on provenance. The "B" side even looks like the terminations of piddock clam burrows with some adherent shell. We all guess here a lot of the time. The object was put in the ID section for identification so I threw my hat in the ring

[Mike Price]

And I thank you and everyone else for your thoughts, opinions and patients, Plax. I understand everyone having doubt and even being skeptical. My opinion is based on me and others finding a lot of old paleo artifacts here at the mouths of the Brazos and San Bernard River and in the surf line.

 

I look forward to getting this piece to a expert to at least variety it's authenticity. 

 

Thanks again everyone....

 

 

 

[ynot]

If it is a man made carving there should be microscopic abrasions visible in the cut area.

These would be multiple parallel lines of approximate same width size. They should be visible even through the patina.

It is a very intriguing find for sure.

[jpc]

The grooves look pretty smooth.  maybe they are remnants of internal canals in the bone.  The back side looks like internal texture in a mammoth skull.  I am betting on a fragment of mammoth skull... well weathered.  

[Harry Pristis]

I am skeptical.  This doesn't look to me to be bone.  Rather, it appears to be teredo-riddled wood.  If that's true, the probability is that the mark is a burrowing trace.

 

It's useless to speculate about "Paleolithic" vs. "Neolithic" art if the object is mineralized wood.  But, for the record, Paleoindian (earlier than 10 Ka) cultural traces beyond projectile components are almost non-existent.

[Mike Price]

My paleolithic/neolithic comparison is based on me and others in this area finding a lot of old "undesirable" paleo artifacts here at the mouths of the Brazos and San Bernard River and in the surf line. I've posted a few pics of some of the old paleo points and fossilized bone artifacts I've dug up.

 

Again, I look forward to getting this piece to a expert to at least verify it's authenticity.

 

 Thanks again everyone....

[Troodon]

4 minutes ago, Mike Price said:

My paleolithic/neolithic comparison is based on me and others in this area finding a lot of old "undesirable" paleo artifacts here at the mouths of the Brazos and San Bernard River and in the surf line. I've posted a few pics of some of the old paleo points and fossilized bone artifacts I've dug up.

 

Again, I look forward to getting this piece to a expert to at least verify it's authenticity.

 

 Thanks again everyone....

 

Interesting item.   Please post your findings after you show it to an expert.

[Sagebrush Steve]

On 4/25/2017 at 10:22 AM, Harry Pristis said:

I am skeptical.  This doesn't look to me to be bone.  Rather, it appears to be teredo-riddled wood.  If that's true, the probability is that the mark is a burrowing trace.

 

It's useless to speculate about "Paleolithic" vs. "Neolithic" art if the object is mineralized wood.  But, for the record, Paleoindian (earlier than 10 Ka) cultural traces beyond projectile components are almost non-existent.

 

I'm a little late responding, but I agree with Harry that it appears to be a piece of tree bark with remnants from burrowing insects on the underside.  I did a quick google search and came up with a representative photo of what this looks like.  Although this photo has many more burrows, their general shape looks similar.  Would be interesting to see if an expert could look at the other side and confirm whether it is indeed a piece of bark.  Without actually having it in hand this is all pretty subjective.

 

 

[Mike Price]

The small bone might just turn out to be worm wood. I hope not.

 

After posting my petroglyph bone on a reputable artifacts forum, individuals proficient in the study of Native American petroglyphs say it is most likely a "stick figure" or stylized human figure ( I still say it looks like a shark...lol) and it is very likely to be a great example of a Native American portable petroglyph. I sent it to be authenticated today. I'll include an example shown to me of some of the petroglyphs found on the east coast. I will post the findings here when I get them. 

 

Thanks everyone.

 

 

 

 

[Sagebrush Steve]

14 minutes ago, Mike Price said:

The small bone might just turn out to be worm wood. I hope not.

 

After posting my petroglyph bone on a reputable artifacts forum, individuals proficient in the study of Native American petroglyphs say it is most likely a "stick figure" or stylized human figure ( I still say it looks like a shark...lol) and it is very likely to be a great example of a Native American portable petroglyph. I sent it to be authenticated today. I'll include an example shown to me of some of the petroglyphs found on the east coast. I will post the findings here when I get them. 

 

Thanks everyone.

 

 

 

 

That's great. Looking forward to hearing what you learn!