New or old??? Buffalo skull

[Honeywild621]

I’m helping a man clear out one of the most amazing antique collections iv ever seen and came across a Buffalo skull. I was looking up the value and researching it and when I first seen it I thought it was damaged or something because of the way the bone looked,  it was different then any other iv seen and a different color. I came across the fossil skulls of them and I think it could be one! I’m hoping someone in here can point me in the right direction because I honestly even though growing up where everyone hunts have never put much thought into mounted skulls lol . Located in central Oklahoma . 

[Mahnmut]

Hi and welcome to the forum!

I say the keratin/horn still covering the, well, horns indicates this is not a fossil because keratin rarely, like nearly never, fossilizes.

Between fossil and "new" there is of course room.

Best regards,

J

[Fossildude19]

Is it heavy?

Have you attempted the burn test?

 

If not, hold a flame to part of the bone, in an unobtrusive area. If the bone burns, or chars, or gives off a burnt hair smell, it is modern.

If it doesn't burn at all, it could be mineralized=fossil.

[Rockwood]

With the wrapping on the base of the horns it seems quite possible that the skull is a fossil, but the horns modern. 

[Honeywild621]

1 hour ago, Rockwood said:

With the wrapping on the base of the horns it seems quite possible that the skull is a fossil, but the horns modern. 

2 hours ago, Fossildude19 said:

Is it heavy?

Have you attempted the burn test?

 

If not, hold a flame to part of the bone, in an unobtrusive area. If the bone burns, or chars, or gives off a burnt hair smell, it is modern.

If it doesn't burn at all, it could be mineralized=fossil.

I did not know about the burn test so I will definitely do that! I don’t know if it’s heavy I didn’t want to touch it too much after i thought it could be a fossil lol in this picture the skull is cover in a lot of dust but the skull to me looks like it has like a layer of something has grown on it and apart of the skull i don’t know how to discribe it! and it’s like a more porous surface then on other skulls iv seen. 

[Honeywild621]

My moms been helping me to see if it was a fossil or not and the first thing she said was that she thought the horns were too new  but then the skull seems like it is a fossil so that confused us a bit. Would it help if I took the wrapping off the horns and took a picture and maybe closer picture of the surface of it? 

[Honeywild621]

4 hours ago, Mahnmut said:

Hi and welcome to the forum!

I say the keratin/horn still covering the, well, horns indicates this is not a fossil because keratin rarely, like nearly never, fossilizes.

Between fossil and "new" there is of course room.

Best regards,

J

Oh ok so it could just be really old but not a fossil! I kinda got really excited about the possibility it might be a fossil that it never crossed my mind it could just be older lol 

[Randyw]

Please do not unwrap the wrap on the horns yet!

[Randyw]

Is the wrap leather?

[Honeywild621]

1 minute ago, Randyw said:

Please do not unwrap the wrap on the horns yet!

Oh ok why not lol 

[Honeywild621]

1 minute ago, Randyw said:

Is the wrap leather?

I believe so it has feathers hanging on it and he told me his dad  told him some Native Americans had traded it to his father maybe before he was even born because he just remembers that they had had it as long as he can remember

[Randyw]

That confirms my suspicions !

[Randyw]

I’ve seen these before. As I’ve mentioned in posts before my wifes family is Native American. Native American tribes often used cow skulls decorated with feathers and sometimes pigment hung from lodge poles and suchlike. To them it symbolized strength, protection, and connection to the spirit world. Looking at the weathering on the horns and the skull itself it appears to have actually been hung. Look closely there may be traces of pigment on the top of the skull don’t be disappointed if you don't see any. They weren’t all decorated. It is probably old, and I suspect authentic!

[Rockwood]

12 minutes ago, Honeywild621 said:

Oh ok why not lol 

It could seriously devalue an antique!