Lower jaw bones and teeth - cow (or bison)?

[park6728]

Hello,

I recently found several concentrations of large animal bones above a small creek in central Oklahoma. There are at least four different clusterings of bones, all within about 50-100 yards of the creek length, and each spot contains what appears to be bones from multiple large mammals (cow size) ranging from leg bones to ribs to vertebrae to partial skulls and jaws. None of the bones appear to be particularly recent, and some are pretty degraded (skulls that are easy to break apart, cracked teeth). This location is also along the Chisholm Trail that ran N-S through Oklahoma in the mid-late 1800s. I haven't found any tools or weapons of any kind in the area, and haven't noticed any obvious markings on bones that might indicate butchering, hunting, etc. One skull recovered so far (not included in the pics below) has been confidently ID'd as an elk based on the presence of two lacrimal ducts in the front of the eye orbits.

 

I was wondering if anyone is able to give an ID on any of the additional bones below with some level of confidence. I hope it is okay to include all of these pics in a single post (apologies if not and I can repost individually).

 

Here is the most intact skull I have found, it is 24 cm across at its widest point:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are lower jaw bones recovered so far. From what I have read online, it seems like the orientation of the mandibular notch is more like a cow than a bison, but the M3 teeth seem to be on the large side for a cow (upper 30s to a little over 40mm):

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are two closeups of the M3 tooth from the single jawbone in the picture above:

 

 

 

 

 

A femur that is ca. 12.5-13cm wide at the condylar end:

 

 

 

 

Last but not least, here are some pretty weathered upper teeth:

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks again if anyone has the time and inclination to offer insight on any of these finds. Maybe they are just cow through and through, but I thought I would check just in case.

 

 

 

[Coco]

We have to see the teeth of the first photo closer, for me what I see it looks like horse teeth.

 

Coco

[Shellseeker]

Size is the only tool you have... Bison are MUCH bigger than cows...

In the great majority of cases their teeth a a lot bigger also...

 

Here is one of mine.

45 millemeters

[park6728]

Hi Coco,

thank you (merci) for the reply. I think you are talking about the set of skull pictures, so here are some closeups of the teeth from that collection.

 

Here are the three teeth on right side of skull:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are the two teeth on left side of skull:

 

 

 

Thanks again, I appreciate your insight and time.

 

 

 

[park6728]

Hi Shellseeker,

thank you for the post and information. I am sure you all that have been doing this for a while probably get a bit bored with the 'cow or bison' questions/posts, but for a newbie like me it is very helpful to get first-hand feedback. I guess the sizes of the teeth at least then may suggest bison for the lower jaw bones.

 

I am also curious on this location why there is a high concentration of bones from multiple, large animals - my thoughts have ranged from it being a sort of dumping ground for ranched cattle that died (but it seems like more often cattle are just left to decompose where they die?) to a butchering site from Native Americans (the area was Cherokee territory prior to statehood) to a poaching dump site from illegal hunting. Then again, I also probably have a fanciful imagination.

 

Thanks again, I appreciate the insight.

 

 

 

 

[Jaybot]

17 minutes ago, park6728 said:

Hi Coco,

thank you (merci) for the reply. I think you are talking about the set of skull pictures, so here are some closeups of the teeth from that collection.

 

Here are the three teeth on right side of skull:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are the two teeth on left side of skull:

 

 

 

Thanks again, I appreciate your insight and time.

 

 

 

Not an expert here, but those stylids are reminding me of cow.  Thoughts?

[ClearLake]

Just taking a quick look at the femur, it looks more like a cow to me based on the limited features I can see in the pictures.  I am attaching two parts out of Stanley Olsen's paper on distinctions between cow and bison.  Its available on the internet, you might want to peruse that, especially if you have other bones. 

 

 

 

[Coco]

I remain doubtful with the new photos. We do not see the sides of the teeth because they are covered with cement, but now I do not know !

 

I think @Harry Pristis can answer that.

 

Coco

[Harry Pristis]

My best guess is cow.  Maybe this will help:

 

 

 

[park6728]

Hi Jaybot, ClearLake and Harry,

thank you very much for the information, that is all very helpful. I will also have a look for/at the Olsen paper and see if there is anything obvious on the leg bones. Could certainly be it is all a bunch of old cow bones, that would make sense with the more recent (last ca. 100 years) usage of this general area.

 

 

Best,

 

Matt

[park6728]

Hi everyone,

I wanted to say thanks again for the input and resources you all provided. After comparison with the information in the Olsen work and additional online images, I think I am going with cow across the board for all of these bones and teeth.  Not quite so exciting as bison, but it seems like the more probable conclusion. Still curious why there are remains of so many animals in this one area, and also how what is pretty confidently an elk skull ended up in the mix, but I suppose it is more fun to keep some mysteries unsolved. Thanks for the help!