Hello everyone. I was hoping someone could help me identify this bone. I have about a dozen of these that I've found on the river over the last few years. They all look very old. Any help would-be appreciated.

Travis

Looks like a foot bone (phalange) from bison or cow.

11KBP

Wouldn’t argue with that. From the colouration, I would say it looks considerably older than the 500 or so years which would allow it to be a cattle (Bos) bone. It has a typical state of preservation for Pleistocene material which would mean a Bison species or (for your area) one of the following: Harlan's musk-ox, aka the woodland musk-ox (Bootherium bombifrons), the shrub-ox (Euceratherium collinum) or Soergel’s ox (Soergelia mayfieldi).


Euceratherium collinum phalanges (c 12,000 BP) [pic by Arthur Harris, University of Texas]

I think you’d be hard pressed to distinguish between bison and oxen from a single foot bone.

painshill wrote:
Perhaps but the odds are way in the favor of bison over Musk Ox.

I have seen hundreds of bison skulls found in the central Plains
region but less than a half dozen Musk Ox skulls.

11KBP

11KBP wrote:
Wouldn't disagree with that either.

Thanks a lot fellas. I think that answers my question. I appreciate the speedy responses. Can't argue with any of that. I knew I could count on the people of this fine site to get the right answer.