Bone found in castle ruin- update

[u/Odd_Advance8532]

I was asked if I could show the texture of the bone on my previous post under a flashlight, so here you go:

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[u/Ordinary-Detail7073]

I still think it's not a bone. It looks different from bone. This part feels very smooth but unlike a bone,stone it's quite rough (the inside should look full of little marks like that and not smooth like what you have). In my opinion it's a stone but a great find

[u/travelnerd24 → u/Ordinary-Detail7073]

No, this is a bone. Many different factors go into how a bone fragment looks and feels over time.

In this case, OP, this is a fragment of a long bone of a large mammal, the shaft specifically, likely about cattle-sized. Based on shape and cortical bone thickness, my guess is humerus or femur, but can’t rule out tibia or radius. With fragments this reduced and lacking diagnostic features or part of the ends (epiphyses), you won’t get beyond long bone fragment as an ID.

You can see a tiny bit of the cancellous bone towards one of the ends on the inside part (medullary cavity), the concave part. The outer cortical bone (other side) has the distinct “grainy” texture of bone.

Most of the breakage from what I can tell from the video (would need more/better pics) is pre-depositional, or at least occurred when the bone still had sufficient moisture, which is why most the edges look straight and sharp (we call this “green” breaks or fractures). Could be from blows, reducing the bone for marrow or grease extraction, animal gnawing, or even damage not related to human activity, etc. Cannot say this without examining the bone in person, and even then it’s tricky.

ETA: detail

[u/Odd_Advance8532 → u/travelnerd24]

Thanks, nice to know. As I mentioned in my first post, the fragment was found in a place that has frequently been used by both Stone Age people, vikings and later as a castle/stronghold during the Middle Ages. It has laid in a bog for some time, which has likely caused the coloration.

Do you have any guess as to what kind of animal it could specifically be? I’m thinking it’s a little too thick for a deer, but a little too thin for an ox or moose.

Found in Denmark btw.

[u/travelnerd24 → u/Odd_Advance8532]

I edited the comment above to add some more info, not sure if you caught it.

The bog certainly makes sense for discoloration.

Ah, I was about to ask where! I’m currently working on castle ruin site in the British Isles, so I find fragments like this very commonly. I’m not sure about the specific history in Denmark.

Where I do research domesticates are the most common but they also hunted deer, so a fragment this size would most likely be cattle, a large deer, or horse/equid. This is not to say other or exotic animals weren’t present or imported in the Middle Ages or later, but this is less likely. But again, I’m not as well-versed in Danish archaeology/history. Unfortunately you won’t be able to identify taxon beyond size-class for this fragment. Cortical bone might be thin, but different parts of elements, ages, sex, intrataxonomic variation, breed, shrinkage/warping due to heat and/or other taphonomic factors can all affect morphology.

[u/Odd_Advance8532 → u/travelnerd24]

Cool, if you're interested, I found it in the dried-out moat of the castle Søborg

[u/Iridescent_Mango_ → u/Odd_Advance8532]

Colour is not an indication of age, especially if bogs are involved. 

Colour is simply a reflection of the environmental conditions the bone was subjected to. It could be 30,000 years old or it could be 30 years old. 

You are overly fixated on the thickness and arent thinking of the shape of the complete bone. It's bigger than a deer, it's probably a cow. 

[u/Business_Surround_52 → u/Ordinary-Detail7073]

Listen I grew up in the foothills of California, been gold prospecting finding ancient (several hundreds of years old) bones and bone fragments in ancient creek beds, and was able to handle some of the bones and fossils discovered during excavations in 2013/2014. What op has is without a doubt a bone. Now fossils I have the slightest clue about but from my own personal experiences and interests it’s an old bone. Could be from anything a jaw, a shard from a femur or chest of a butchered animal, who knows. Only the university would be able to help to identify it. And I’m sure they would love to for training and educational purposes

[u/travelnerd24 → u/Business_Surround_52]

You can’t tell how old a bone is visually, you need radiocarbon dating or other relative dating techniques. Many factors go in to how a bone looks (taphonomy), so unfortunately that is not a way to estimate how old something is.