Otherwiseunseen Posted September 1, 2018 Share Posted September 1, 2018 Hi, I'm new here. I am an amateur collector. I found these two bones in Big Brook NJ and I'm really excited. Can anyone shed some light? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted September 1, 2018 Share Posted September 1, 2018 Welcome to TFF! Would like to see pictures straight on to the ends please. 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...
Rockwood Posted September 1, 2018 Share Posted September 1, 2018 Sorry but it looks suspiciously like a humerus from a modern deer. If you head out before it's fully light, like I commonly do, a big buck giving an alarm call (blow) can startle the begebers out of you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max-fossils Posted September 1, 2018 Share Posted September 1, 2018 Welcome to The Fossil Forum! To find out whether these bones are modern or fossil, you should try out the flame test. Set a lighter/matches to the piece, and see if it smells. If it smells very bad, then it's modern. The bad smell is due to the collagen in the bones burning, a substance that goes away during fossilization. If nothing happens, then it's most likely fossil! Best regards, Max 2 Max Derème "I feel an echo of the lightning each time I find a fossil. [...] That is why I am a hunter: to feel that bolt of lightning every day." - Mary Anning >< Remarkable Creatures, Tracy Chevalier Instagram: @world_of_fossils Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otherwiseunseen Posted September 1, 2018 Author Share Posted September 1, 2018 If it is a fossil and I put a flame to it, will it damage the specimen? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otherwiseunseen Posted September 1, 2018 Author Share Posted September 1, 2018 Here are two more angles as requested. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted September 1, 2018 Share Posted September 1, 2018 31 minutes ago, Otherwiseunseen said: If it is a fossil and I put a flame to it, will it damage the specimen? Most likely not, it is a commonly used test for bone/fossil. 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...
Otherwiseunseen Posted September 1, 2018 Author Share Posted September 1, 2018 I looked up deer humerus and, yes, it's definitely close if not a deer. It's got to be ancient though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otherwiseunseen Posted September 1, 2018 Author Share Posted September 1, 2018 And I did a flame test, it just smells like heat. No foul odor 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otherwiseunseen Posted September 1, 2018 Author Share Posted September 1, 2018 4 hours ago, Max-fossils said: Welcome to The Fossil Forum! To find out whether these bones are modern or fossil, you should try out the flame test. Set a lighter/matches to the piece, and see if it smells. If it smells very bad, then it's modern. The bad smell is due to the collagen in the bones burning, a substance that goes away during fossilization. If nothing happens, then it's most likely fossil! Best regards, Max What is the maximum age a bone needs to be to be considered modern? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otherwiseunseen Posted September 1, 2018 Author Share Posted September 1, 2018 5 hours ago, Rockwood said: Sorry but it looks suspiciously like a humerus from a modern deer. If you head out before it's fully light, like I commonly do, a big buck giving an alarm call (blow) can startle the begebers out of you. I know! I've been charged by a buck once. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted September 1, 2018 Share Posted September 1, 2018 12 minutes ago, Otherwiseunseen said: What is the maximum age a bone needs to be to be considered modern? Typically anything less than 10,000 years is considered modern, but it is kinda subjective. 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...
Rockwood Posted September 1, 2018 Share Posted September 1, 2018 58 minutes ago, Otherwiseunseen said: It's got to be ancient though. I think Pleistocene bones do show up in the brooks sometimes. It really doesn't take long for bones to become stained dark though. Being cooked, or the remains thrown in a campfire can foul the burn test. The fracturing on it would make me wonder if this could be the case. You might also try a tap test. The sound it makes when lightly tapped with something like a spoon will be high pitched as that made by fine china if it is mineralized. It will sound lower pitched if it is modern bone. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockwood Posted September 1, 2018 Share Posted September 1, 2018 52 minutes ago, Otherwiseunseen said: I know! I've been charged by a buck once. Yikes ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max-fossils Posted September 1, 2018 Share Posted September 1, 2018 1 hour ago, Otherwiseunseen said: And I did a flame test, it just smells like heat. No foul odor In that case there is a big chance it's fossil! 1 hour ago, Otherwiseunseen said: What is the maximum age a bone needs to be to be considered modern? Well, it really depends. As Tony said 10'000 years is more or less the boundary, but sometimes you'll have bones older than that which aren't fossilized yet (and therefore still modern), and you can also have fossils which are slightly younger than that too. So it just depends on the specimen in question. Some people use the term "sub-fossil", for things that are not yet fully fossilized but still too old to be modern, or things in which the fossilization process isn't fully finished, but that term is mostly frowned upon (especially by scientists) for its vagueness and inaccuracy. 1 Max Derème "I feel an echo of the lightning each time I find a fossil. [...] That is why I am a hunter: to feel that bolt of lightning every day." - Mary Anning >< Remarkable Creatures, Tracy Chevalier Instagram: @world_of_fossils Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockwood Posted September 1, 2018 Share Posted September 1, 2018 Lithification should not be confused with fossilization. I read just recently that lithification of fecal matter can take as little as a few weeks in some cases. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted September 1, 2018 Share Posted September 1, 2018 5 minutes ago, Rockwood said: Lithification should not be confused with fossilization. Or mineralization. 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...
Otherwiseunseen Posted September 1, 2018 Author Share Posted September 1, 2018 32 minutes ago, Rockwood said: Lithification should not be confused with fossilization. I read just recently that lithification of fecal matter can take as little as a few weeks in some cases. Maybe the contents of decal matter are variables in the rate of lithification. Does this bone have any significance? It's like believing I've found gold but it's really pyrite. Or thinking I found meteorite but it's really iron ore. I found a fool's fossil? Hahaha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockwood Posted September 1, 2018 Share Posted September 1, 2018 1 minute ago, Otherwiseunseen said: Maybe the contents of decal matter are variables in the rate of lithification. Does this bone have any significance? It's like believing I've found gold but it's really pyrite. Or thinking I found meteorite but it's really iron ore. I found a fool's fossil? Hahaha There are many folks on here who are far more experienced with the area that you should wait to hear from. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walt Posted September 1, 2018 Share Posted September 1, 2018 42 minutes ago, Rockwood said: Lithification should not be confused with fossilization. I read just recently that lithification of fecal matter can take as little as a few weeks in some cases. Cow patties? Everything is generated through your own will power ~ Ray Bradbury Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockwood Posted September 1, 2018 Share Posted September 1, 2018 29 minutes ago, Walt said: Cow patties? Well, you are likely to encounter them on the way, but the book was discussing coprolites in the green river formation. It was given more as a concept than an example, but it does explain the three dimensional nature of the fossils. I also meant it as a concept to perhaps help explain the difficulty that is encountered when attempting to distinguish old bones from fossil bones. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Jersey Devil Posted September 1, 2018 Share Posted September 1, 2018 These are both modern bones (not Cretaceous or Pleistocene). 1 “You must take your opponent into a deep dark forest where 2+2=5, and the path leading out is only wide enough for one.” ― Mikhail Tal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woopaul5 Posted September 1, 2018 Share Posted September 1, 2018 5 hours ago, Otherwiseunseen said: I looked up deer humerus and, yes, it's definitely close if not a deer. It's got to be ancient though. Modern deer bone. Very common in the brooks. It looks ancient because the iron in the water stains them. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otherwiseunseen Posted September 1, 2018 Author Share Posted September 1, 2018 1 hour ago, Woopaul5 said: Modern deer bone. Very common in the brooks. It looks ancient because the iron in the water stains them. Ahhh, shucks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woopaul5 Posted September 1, 2018 Share Posted September 1, 2018 Here’s a modern jaw I found. I usually run into a piece every trip now. I usually joke to people and say I dug up Jimmy Hoffa. Keep at it and you’ll find pleistocene stuff eventually. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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