Colorado Anicent Butchered Bison Bone ???

[PikesPeakCharlie]

Good afternoon, Took a ride today and a short walk at one of the arrowhead hunting spots that my Grandfather showed me when I was around 10. Found a few flakes, & this fossilized bone,which I believe to be Bison ? also it looks like it was broken and butchered . Do you think those are cut marks on the surface ?? It is how I picked it up.havent even washed it off yet .. Any opinions will be appreciated. Thanks !

 

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[Jason in Enid]

Those are only breaks. You have to consider the millions of years it takes to fossilize something like bone. Then, even if you believed humans were around that long ago, what tools did they have available? Certainly nothing to make a fine cut deep into bone. Any tools would have been made of stone or bone, and any cuts would have been rough and sawing with the only intent to remove meat. If they wanted the marrow they would have simply broken it.

I'm not even sure if it is bone. It has some of the characteristics, but other things look wrong.

 

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[PikesPeakCharlie]

Thanks for all your replies !!!!! I still am not sure what I found ? someday when I'm in Denver,I will take it to the museum of natural history & see what they have to say. Buuuut , we all now know the difference between a Bison & a Buffalo . Kruger, It is a buffalo jump, I wrote " Buffalo slough" pronouced "slew" because that is how it is written on a map dated 1890 that my Grandfather gave me. Once again ,Thanks to all ! Have a great day

 

[kuger]

Sorry your wrong. The scientific name for North American "Buffalo" is Bison Bison. They are Bison. Polar bears while in the same family are not the same as black bears as the are classified in a different genus And there is much evidence that plains Indians took bison mostly with spear and bow. Not over cliffs.

I am ashamed....................you are right on the Species end....and I am a biologist!!I am not wrong on the Jump statement however

 

[Plumbata]

Hey there, from this end it appears to be a natural fossilized segment of bone which is likely hundreds of thousands or several million years old. The gash/crevice marks appear to be natural fractures which occurred while the piece was still situated in the matrix, and then later the pieces were fused back together by the incorporation of surrounding soluble mineral components; probably calcium carbonate or the like. It's a cool find but I am practically certain that the only human who ever interacted with that bone would be you and whoever you've shown it to.

 

[huntsman53]

A Buffalo slough or sometimes called slew is a place where Buffalo would stop for a drink! A slough is merely a wet or damp area or even like a small swamp, where many animals are able to get some water even in drier climate situations. Many times a slough will contain minerals that the animals want and need just like a natural mineral lick (sometimes called a suck-lick here in the Appalachians) used by deer and wild hogs. They get these minerals and water by stepping into the mud of the slough, then back up and wait for the water to leach out into their' hoof print, then drink from it.


Frank

 

[kuger]

A Buffalo slough or sometimes called slew is a place where Buffalo would stop for a drink! A slough is merely a wet or damp area or even like a small swamp, where many animals are able to get some water even in drier climate situations. Many times a slough will contain minerals that the animals want and need just like a natural mineral lick (sometimes called a suck-lick here in the Appalachians). They get these minerals and water by stepping into the mud of the slough, then back up and wait for the water to leach out into their' hoof print, then drink from it.


Frank

Ah,hah,we call those bogs out this way.I have piles of Bison bones and skulls I have dug from them on our place in Montana.......

 

[silversurfer1111]

I am not going to look sh!t up on google and try to act smart.. all I know is that it is interesting .. I have bin hunting for arrow heads for 5 years now I have never found anything ..you are very luck to have had your Grandfather show you ...

 

[huntsman53]

I am not going to look sh!t up on google and try to act smart.. all I know is that it is interesting .. I have bin hunting for arrow heads for 5 years now I have never found anything ..you are very luck to have had your Grandfather show you ...

If there any farms along a fair sized or large rivers near you, then that is where you should look! Native American Indians camped along or near these for catching fish for food, as a water source, for travel via canoe and for washing themselves, their' garments and washing bowls and pots that they ate from. Ask the farmers in these areas if you can hunt for arrowheads (on the surface only) after they have plowed the fields and there has been a recent rain. Plowing brings many arrowheads to the surface and the rains wash the soil away from some and make them visible. Never ask or ever enter a farmer's fields when he or she has crops growing in the fields. Doing so, will likely get you banned from the property! More than likely, the farmer will tell you if there are any arrowheads to be found on his' or her' farm.

Good luck!


Frank

 

[old digger]

Interesting find! To me it looks like the animal injured it's self, and was able to heal the injury before it's death. Notice the healing on the bone (In the area pointed out).

 

[ironman]

 

[WolfmoonX]

So the Indian term, "tatonka" was improperly used in Dances with Wolves? I'm suing.

Old digger might be on to something with the healing. The OP might want to post this in the fossils section as well.