Petrified Antler?

[crumblingbeauty]

Hi,
I'm hoping somebody can help me with what this object is. I don't know anything at all about artifacts, so be gentle. I just picked it up because I think it's beautiful. It's definately a bone (end of an antler?), and it's definitely petrified. The hollowed end looks like it's been hollow for a long time; that's what made me wonder if it's some kind of tool. The lines circling the bone are grooves made by the leather lacing the decoration is made of.
Thanks!

[OnewiththewilD]

well, it does look like a old weather worn bit of antler.its hard to tell just how old it is though as it really depends on how exposed its been to the elements and how its been handled.

[Bone2stone]

Does resemble antler.
Something can be petrified without being fossilized.
Doubtful if it's fossilized definitely altered.
Altered to do what is the question.
Head scratcher fer shur.
:huh:
Jess B.

[chase]

Welcome Regi to AH.com :welcome:
I have a few questions? When you say you "just picked it up", what do you mean by that?
"The lines circling the bone are grooves made by the leather lacing the decoration is made of." is this the leather bead lacing shown in the last pic over top of it?
What makes you think its fossilized?

[Bolen Bevel 1]

I don't know if it is petrified?but I do think it's a hair pin and it does look old.
Can you show a better pic of the pointy end?

[crumblingbeauty]

Thanks, everyone!
When I say petrified (maybe a bad word choice), I'm just trying to describe the lightness of the bone. Maybe weathered is a better word, and it has a fragile look to it, for bone. I have a few sets of 'normal' antlers that are not at all like this (always stored out of the elements). I wasn't thinking fossil. There's no mineral present.
Chase: I bought it while I was out hunting estates and little shops for things I do know about. Yes, the lines are light grooves that must have been created by the beaded lacing in the photo.
Bolen: I'm attaching another photo that shows the shape of the other end better. I can snap some more, if this one isn't doing the job.
The beads are old, but I don't know about the leather lacing, and I can't tell how long ago the beaded lacing was made for the bone.

[painshill]

Welcome to the forum crumblingbeauty
It looks more like bone than antler, but it could be either, and I would agree it looks like it might have been a hairpin. I would call it “demineralised”. Whatever environment it was buried in has resulted in the leaching out of calcium salts to leave a light porous structure behind. Pretty much the opposite of fossilization.
It’s inconceivable that the grooves were actually caused by anything decorative being wrapped around it. They are either an engraved decoration or were created to accept some cordage-related adornment without it slipping off the item. I would very much doubt that the beads are contemporary with the item. They appear to be Italian or Czech/Bohemian glass “seed beads” used in Native American trade during the 1800’s onwards and are unlikely to be any earlier than around 1850-1860.
The “pin” itself looks to be rather earlier, although I could envisage that amount of leaching happening in 150 years or so, depending on how wet and acidic the burial conditions might have been.

[chase]

Regi, Thank you for explaining. For good, better or worse, here is my take on it. Others may see it different.
It is an antler tine, age would be unknown, do to lack of context. The antler tine from size looks to be from a deer. The leather with beads lacing has been add at a later date. The grooves how ever do appear to have had some kind of sheath over top of them when originally crafted. It is very hard to determine if any other modification was done, other than the grooves. It has been left out in the elements, and shows signs of both rodent use and ground decay.
The beads do appear to be modern, and the overall piece could as well not have much age to it. I am not certain in the area you picked this item up at, was the same location that it was found in, but I will make that leap and say probable. Which the antler tine would not have survived more than a couple of years at best for the condition that it is in presently. That is to say, that for the ground decay and rodent use. would have consumed it within a couple of years.
Others may chime in with other ideas, but that has been my observation of antler tines in the elements.
Thank you for sharing!

[crumblingbeauty]

It was my feeling that the beaded lacing is newer than the bone/antler, and Late 1800s is where I would have placed the beads. Do any of you have a guess as to the age of the bone? Do you think the lacing/bead-work dates to the same period as the beads? To my mind 1860 is rather old, but my interests usually lie in more ephemeral materials.
I'm thinking that the bone has been out of the elements (in its current condition) for a while. Maybe found and altered, on the pointed end, at the time the sheath was made?
Thanks again!

[clovisoid]

chase wrote:

Which the antler tine would not have survived more than a couple of years at best for the condition that it is in presently. That is to say, that for the ground decay and rodent use. would have consumed it within a couple of years.

  I agree the antler might not be as old as it looks. I have an elk antler that I found as a fresh shed (brown, solid, no decay), that spent 4 years in a flower bed at my parents house.  The tines look to be in marginally better conditional than that piece, but it's got that same color and surface texture.  I remember seeing antlers like that while hiking in in the Rockies, and thinking that they were 20 or 30 years old, and now I realize that they were probably just a few years old.
The beads are of a type that wouldn't date before 1850, but I haven't seen that color scheme on old leather work before (but it isn't something I've spent a lot of time studying.)   The beads could be from the 1880's or the 1980's...

[crumblingbeauty]

Thanks everyone for weighing in!

[Hardin88]

I didn't think antlers were hollow.

[OnewiththewilD]

their not hollow.but the thicker sections of a tine have a dry sponge-like interior.after a while and exposure to the elements,it becomes brittle and can deteriorate away.ive found lots of antlers and skulls and bones over the years,in all differant states of decay.it really just depends on where/how its been exposed.even antlers and bones kept indoors dry out and become brittle after a while(especially in a den with a woodstove or in direct sunlight).

[chase]

crumblingbeauty wrote:

It was my feeling that the beaded lacing is newer than the bone/antler, and Late 1800s is where I would have placed the beads. Do any of you have a guess as to the age of the bone? Do you think the lacing/bead-work dates to the same period as the beads? To my mind 1860 is rather old, but my interests usually lie in more ephemeral materials.
I'm thinking that the bone has been out of the elements (in its current condition) for a while. Maybe found and altered, on the pointed end, at the time the sheath was made?
Thanks again!

  This is a puzzle? First why I believe that the Bead leather wrap was placed with the antler tine at a later date.  Overall condition of the deterioration of the tine does not match the condition of the wrap, such as the leather, and the string that attach the beads to the leather. Now if I dismiss the two parts not related to one and other, then I will start with the wrap itself. The Beads are called seed beads, they were a trade item of late historic trade (circa mid 1800’s) with Native Americans, but they have been made since then to present day.  The Tine itself, the grooves were made when the tine was fresh or was of a very recent shed, as was the hole that was bored out.  The indication is that the original wrap around it, was in place before deterioration happened.  The coloration difference is evident, along with where the ground decay (greenish blackish area) stops where the coloration line is.  The place where a rodent chewed would have been done relatively of the time of when the tine was fresh. The properties after decay would have lost its notional value, and or teeth sharpening for a rodent. This would indicate that this item was lost at some point out in the elements for both the deterioration and the chew marks.  Antler/bone in the right conditions (IE. Dry cave) can last for hundreds or thousands of years. But the puzzle would be if this was the case, then the finder would have had to destroy the artifact, to put the newer wrap on it, and that would then ask the question why, and what purpose? The conclusion or a theory would be that it is a modern item. The tine was fashioned into a tool at some time for whatever purpose and lost. Then found and re-purposed. Again why? And the only thing that I can think of is that this is a tourist item. This may have been sold at a local Pow Wow, and the deterioration of the tine adding to an old artifact look. This is only a theory and without any history of this item will remain just that a theory.