Is this a human bone?

[Millermax]

I live on the California Arizona border. The Colorado River being the divider between the two, the water has been very low recently allowing for some good walks and treasure hunts. Yesterday we found some Indian pottery along with what appears to be a bone that is very heavy, I’m
just very curious how old it is and what it could be.
Thanks in advance.

 

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[Red-Coat]

I would say it's a deer metatarsal (rear leg).

 

[Kray Gelder]

Find the bone in your body it matches. I'm thinking thigh bone from large bird. Heron, eagle, wild turkey, maybe.

 

[Millermax]

Thank you! We have found lots of things on our walks with the kids but never a bone quite like this one it just looks different and with so much weight to it. I will let them know.

 

[Red-Coat]

I don't think you'll find a groove like that running the full length of an avian thigh bone. But you will on a deer metatarsal.



[pic uploaded to ResearchGate by Ashley Dumas]

 

[mick56]

Bird bones are hollow.

 

[Millermax]

How old do you think it is?

 

[GaRebel1861]

I'm thinking deer leg bone as well. There's really no way that I'm aware of how to look at it and put an age on it.

 

[Red-Coat]

How old do you think it is?

Likely as old as the pottery you found it in association with. More chance of dating that than dating the bone.

 

[Jason in Enid]

Is it bone or is it stone (fossil)?

 

[civil_war22]

Yep deer leg bone. The line down the middle is a distinct characteristic. The human radius, and ulna of the arm do have the line down the middle, but are not deep enough compared to a deers, also the tibia and fibula of the lower legs on humans have the line, but again unlike the deer leg bones they’re not as deep, and both arm, and leg bones on a human twist in different segments instead of a straight line.

 

[Millermax]

It seems to be stone. We have found plenty obvious fossils mostly crustaceans never anything like this so I’m not 100% sure. Most of our exploring in done in the Desert in the old military training grounds from the war... lots of metal detecting.

 

[Jason in Enid]

The coloration is what makes me lean towards it being a fossil. try the burn test... If you hold a match to the item, if it smells like it is burning, or gives off a burning hair smell - it's modern. Fossilized bone will not burn.

 

[Fossils]

The weight of the bone makes me believe that it's a fossil. It doesn't necessarily have to be the age of the pottery; it could be thousands of years older. I'd guess that the bone is from a deer leg.