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I’m curious if anyone can estimate how old this arrowhead could be?....it seems very crude,old....and the fact it’s still imbedded in the animals vertebrae is very cool....I found it near Tobay and gilgo beaches on the beach over ten years ago.Any info and thoughts would be appreciated......thank you
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An extremely interesting find. One that would very much excite the interest of professional archaeologists/anthropologists . Without better photos of the point which show the chipping, etc. there's no way we can tell what you have. Where are you located? Looks like the bone may have been worn and polished by the water and sand over the years. -
That's a rare find - more pics of the bone may help to ID it's age. Is it a land or sea animal?
If the women don\'t find you handsome, they should at least find you handy.Comment
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The beaches he mentioned are on a barrier island along the south shore of Long Island. Amazing considering they are very poular public beaches. I am curious if it was found on the surf side beach or somewhere on the interior or bayside of the island. I would guess maybe seal bone.New YorkComment
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We need in focus and close up photos of the point. Natural light is always best.
Misconception: Crude does not mean a point is older.
One of my own arrowheads came to rest in the middle of a whitetail's brain cavity: I always thought that looked cool.Michigan Yooper
If You Don’t Stand for Something, You’ll Fall for AnythingComment
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I don't like it!
Professor Shellman
Tampa BayComment
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Thank you everyone for your info....it was found on the beach side and I am curious if the vertebrae is a seal,deer,or something else.its difficult to see the point since it’s imbedded but I will try to post pics of the inside where it’s sticking out a little......where or who could I bring it to to get more info.,.?Comment
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Thanks SD!! I have looked at quite a few of these over the years. I've only seen one authentic example in 30 years. And that was the tip of a triangular Late Woodland point in the section of a shoulder bone of a small animal. Everything is relevant on this piece. It really doesn't look like a section of vertebrae, and the " point " doesn't look like a used arrowhead. It's crude, and if authentic, looks more like a knife. So, the " point " and bone would have to match in age, and very important, the angle of the point where it entered the piece of bone. But if not a point from an arrow or lance, why would a knife blade be imbedded in a piece of bone? Identifying that piece of bone, and where it came from the skeleton of what animal is critical.
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Would have to be a minimum of couple hundred years old 👀 good for being that old . I’ve only seen a picture of a point in bone that was found in a cave in real county Texas . It didn’t look authentic. I’ve noticed especially here in Tennessee that the rats eat a lot of the authentic bone I’ve found so the Texas one made me doubt. Not impossible to find. My dad and his brothers when they were kids found a mastodon skeleton and a couple point spilling out of the side of a creek but didn’t know anything about that stuff when they were kids . It wasn’t until way later when I was a teenager we went to look for it but we were unable to find it because the creek changed so much in 40 years. It was a road trip thing and we didn’t have much time and we couldn’t locate the owners so we did a brief scan of where he thought it was. Oh well who wants to dig a paleo mastodon kill site anyway. It was near yoakum TexasComment
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Looks like possibly a fish or other aquatic animal bone to be.Comment
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Keep us updated on what you find out !Comment
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Possible it's a whale bone?Comment
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If you look carefully at the enlargements provided by olden , you can see small sections of bone fragment laying next to the point. If the point pierced the bone these fragments would be inside the entry point , not outside. Also you can see small ridges about 1mm high contouring the point , again outward which is wrong. Just my guesses. Jay W.Comment
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Actually, there shouldn't be any pieces of bone left over. The majority of authentic bones with lithic points in them have been found in situ where the point is found right next to a bone, and the bone has a whole in it that fits the contour of the point. Then it is reasonable to match the point to the entrance hole. These bones tend to erode over time, and any point originally stuck in them comes loose and will erode out. And also, if you can even find one before the rodents get to it. For as many of these that are reported, probably less than 1/4 percent are actually authentic. The exception are metal trade points. When the iron point is imbedded and begins to rust, the rust will act as a bond and the point will remain in the bone. But none that I'm aware of are very old. Mostly coming from very Late Woodland or historic sites from the 17th. and 19th . centuries.Last edited by pkfrey; 01-31-2020, 07:52 AM.
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I've dug a lot of seal and other marine mammal bone at middens in the Caribbean, and they are almost always very, very heavy and dense. But aside from the skull/teeth, the bones look a lot like other mammal bones (unless you've really studied them or butchered a lot of animals a pig could be a seal could be a bear by the time it's old and worn a bit.) The pictures don't really give a good view of the bone, but it could be that axis vertebrae missing a couple of the flared bones that come off the top.
I'm somewhere between Tom & Paul on this one.
Hong Kong, but from Indiana/FloridaComment
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The area that was found was high ground thousands of years ago. Sea level rise covered much of the coastal sites. It's entirely possible that bone was buried and under water for thousands of years. Modern dredging to add sand to these beaches brings up old pieces all the time. It could have definitely been preserved under the mud and ocean until it was dredged up.Comment
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