Help identifying pointy bone fragment from Big Brook NJ

[Nicole K.]

Hello! Would love to know about this bone (or we think it's bone) fragment found in Big Brook, NJ. Someone had suggested it was mammal and possible from a deer? Of course I would love to know if it's modern or an actual fossil. And would hope to at least identify the animal it came from.
Description (if not clear in photos): It's about an inch long and has a very distinct point. It's relatively smooth with a texture on the underside of the point.
An help identifying for a very curious family would be greatly appreciated!

[Carl]

I am the one who suggested deer. It might be hard to say much about it as it is a small fragment. Again, I believe it is a skull fragment. Generally, Cretaceous bones from Big Brook are quite weathered and this has wonderfully sharp detail, another thing that makes me think it is modern. But it is also very black, and although color, especially for bone at Big Brook, is a poor ID criterion, that makes me think it could be fairly old. That said, I still think it is at least a non-Cretaceous terrestrial mammal, and if not modern, than possibly Pleistocene.

Edited July 6, 2021 by Carl

[Nicole K.]

Thank you Carl! I'm glad to see the same people participating in groups and forums outside of FB! Thank you for your information. :-)

[jpc]

I agree with Carl that this is a mammalian skull piece.  

[Carl]

19 hours ago, Nicole K. said:

Thank you Carl! I'm glad to see the same people participating in groups and forums outside of FB! Thank you for your information. :-)

Glad to be of service. I'm so glad you found this place. There is truly no better place to get fossils IDed.

[Carl]

And I should say that I am suggesting deer not because I see any detail there that suggests deer. That ID comes from the size of the piece, the local fauna, and the abundance of deer there.