How old could this bone actually be? I am getting it checked out by professional archaeologists on 8/03/19 to hopefully figure the time period out. It has a concave paleo base and was heavily carved. It was found in SE Arkansas on a site where paleo Clovis, Daltons, and some Archaic stemmed points were found. Actually a beautiful bullseye Dalton and 3/4 of a Clovis were found here on the same day. The soil down here usually does not allow bone to survive at all so it has me puzzled how this piece of bone from a deer leg is preserved so well. This is the only piece of any type of old bone that I have ever come across and I can’t find anything similar with a carved concave base. The point still has a needle tip and the blade is literally razor sharp.
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Very Rare Paleo Bone Point
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Very Rare Paleo Bone Point
How old could this bone actually be? I am getting it checked out by professional archaeologists on 8/03/19 to hopefully figure the time period out. It has a concave paleo base and was heavily carved. It was found in SE Arkansas on a site where paleo Clovis, Daltons, and some Archaic stemmed points were found. Actually a beautiful bullseye Dalton and 3/4 of a Clovis were found here on the same day. The soil down here usually does not allow bone to survive at all so it has me puzzled how this piece of bone from a deer leg is preserved so well. This is the only piece of any type of old bone that I have ever come across and I can’t find anything similar with a carved concave base. The point still has a needle tip and the blade is literally razor sharp.SE ARKANSASTags: None
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Art, please follow up with us after the professional has examined your find. This is what he/she should be telling you. You don't have anything for relative size, so I don't know what animal this bone is from. But, since bones like this are normally not perfectly round, when they break, or are split, they often tend to break on an angle. especially if hit from the narrow side. This is why the piece looks to have sharpened edges to the tip. It's simply coincidental that it broke to this arrowhead looking shape. The edges are not manually sharpened to this form. The concave base is also a coincidence. What you see as being carved are rodents teeth marks. Something, maybe a ground mouse, mole, chipmunk, etc., has chewed the end of this to get the calcium and lime out of the bone. Those are gnawing marks you see, not man made. Bone will decay rapidly, but not quite as fast as you think. When exposed skeletal material is lying around, rodents will normally chew at it until it's gone, before it has a chance to deteriorate. All the marrow and capillaries are decayed, and this was probably hit at just the right angle by a farm implement and broken into this form.
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I am fairly positive it is a 3” lower leg deer bone. I don’t believe the marks are from animal or farm equipment though and it appears very old with heavy mineralization on it. Under magnification the carving marks are not uniform and the five lines were etched into the midsection. Definitely altered by human hands. I will update after the assessment on 8/03/19. I am curious if anyone has found anything similar and what the age could possibly be. By context of the other artifacts found it should be really old!SE ARKANSAS
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I value Paul’s opinion very much. Not trying to say right or wrong because I have no clue the age of this bone. It could be 10 years old or 10,000 years old. It appears altered and mineralized to me but I’m no bone expert. If it turns out to be a gnawed up bone that looks like the Dalton point then I will just be glad that I got 3/4 of a Clovis and a beautiful Dalton point from there. No hard feelings about it one way or the other. I am still asking if Anyone has a similar bone awl or anything else similar then I would appreciate any information on the approximate age. ThanksSE ARKANSAS
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I found bone like I find chips in caves. There's a bunch of it. When i do find a piece i can tell very fast whether to toss it or inspect it further. Its by the amount of polish on it. Bone is rough and is always broke cause the natives ate everything and also its very good for you. So the first thing i think about when finding bone is polish on it then shape of it. Here is an example of slightly polished vs unpolished. Thanks
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PKFrey was spot on with his knowledgeable answer! Today I had 3 archaeologists look at this “point” and it was unanimous that it is in fact an old gnawed up deer leg bone and NOT an artifact. The Sloan Dalton bullseye point I found near it was just a random coincidence. They are almost the same size and shape as each other but that doesn’t change what it actually is lol. This one definitely fooled me but luckily there are some really knowledgeable folks here! Thanks again!SE ARKANSAS
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OK Then, Thanks for letting us know! Now you have learned something new going forward, and you have also learned that the folks on this forum have been in this hobby for a very long time and have seen hundreds of different artifacts, man made and natural. We aren't here to steer a person in the wrong direction, but our advice and opinions are usually dead on or pretty close. The other two points you have are just fine, just leave those broken bones where you find them!!
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