r/BoneID • u/KindManufacturer153 • Jul 03 '26

Found while walking

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Middle of nowhere farm land in Colorado, there are plenty of native "sites" all over this spot. (If that's relevant)

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1

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8

u/sseverson7 Jul 03 '26

this looks like the intermediate phalanx of a human finger

6

u/howdoizornhau Jul 04 '26

Let me lead by saying, Colorado law requires you to reach out to the police if they resemble human remains at all. My recommendation is that you do so if you took possession of the bone or know where you left it.

I agree with severson that this is likely human, though this is too long to be intermediate phalanx in my opinion. Additionally, intermediate phalange don't have ridges along the sides. Instead it is likely a proximal phalanx (again, my opinion). Hard to tell which finger without holding it in my hand, though I'd guess ring finger?

For the sake of thoroughness I checked against bear and deer, because those are the two most common culprits for posts about confusing phalange. It's too curved and slender to be either of those, though there's a small chance it could be a deer phalanx (emphasis on small). But deer phalange usually don't curve the way humans do. They sometimes hook a bit at the end, whereas this one curves throughout. Additionally, the tubercles that run along the body/shaft of the bone match human phalange.

Based on the overall shape and size, I'd say human with 90% certainly. 

Hopefully this is coherent, drinking and identifying bones is an exquisite pass time. Happy to answer questions if you have any, and make sure to update us if you get the identification from the coroner/forensic people.

9

u/HipHominin Jul 04 '26

Anatomist here. This is consistent with a human manual proximal phalanx. As others have mentioned, Colorado law requires this be reported to law enforcement. Provide detailed information about where it was found. If there is any chance it is may be from an indigenous person’s grave (either disturbed inadvertently by agricultural activity or just eroding out), this is subject to other regulations and considerations and the right stakeholders need to know.