ismith Posted July 26, 2010 Share Posted July 26, 2010 (edited) Is there anyoneone here thats knowledgable on American Bison? I found a pretty nice Bison skull yesterday in a creek bank and would like to find out more about it. Edited July 26, 2010 by ismith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashcraft Posted July 26, 2010 Share Posted July 26, 2010 I can't say much as to age, but the color is magnificent. Brent Ashcraft ashcraft, brent allen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tracer Posted July 26, 2010 Share Posted July 26, 2010 unfortunately, it isn't possible to tell the age of the find without semi-expensive radiometric testing. bos bison still lives, and has for the entire holocene (past 10,000 years), so it's hard to date it. having said that, the vast majority of bison were killed off by about 120 years ago, and your specimen has enough of an aged look that it does not appear to be a super-recent skull. on the other hand, it's condition is so good that it doesn't speak to a great degree of age-related ground movement, etc. that would be expected around creeks. hard to know. looks like it's got some iron in it now, giving it that reddish color. depending on how much it is permineralized with iron, you might wish to put some sort of consolidant on it, like vinac or butvar, to try to keep it from flaking or suffering from oxidative deterioration. it's a really cool display piece, and i'm glad you posted it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ismith Posted July 26, 2010 Author Share Posted July 26, 2010 unfortunately, it isn't possible to tell the age of the find without semi-expensive radiometric testing. bos bison still lives, and has for the entire holocene (past 10,000 years), so it's hard to date it. having said that, the vast majority of bison were killed off by about 120 years ago, and your specimen has enough of an aged look that it does not appear to be a super-recent skull. on the other hand, it's condition is so good that it doesn't speak to a great degree of age-related ground movement, etc. that would be expected around creeks. hard to know. looks like it's got some iron in it now, giving it that reddish color. depending on how much it is permineralized with iron, you might wish to put some sort of consolidant on it, like vinac or butvar, to try to keep it from flaking or suffering from oxidative deterioration. it's a really cool display piece, and i'm glad you posted it. Thanks for the info! Heres a picture of the dig site. You can see the skull in the bank. Im pointing at the horn and its inverted. The bank is on the edge of a bench that may be an old beaver pond. Notice the creek aprox. 15 ft below the top of the bench. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CreekCrawler Posted July 26, 2010 Share Posted July 26, 2010 Awesome find Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seldom Posted July 27, 2010 Share Posted July 27, 2010 Man that is way nice. Can't wait for BF's reaction Galveston Island 32 miles long 2 miles wide 134 bars 23 liquor stores any questions? Evolution is Chimp Change. Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass; it's about learning to dance in the rain! "I like to listen. I have learned a great deal from listening carefully. Most people never listen." Ernest Hemingway Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Siphuncle Posted July 27, 2010 Share Posted July 27, 2010 Man, regardless of age, that thing needs to go on display prominently in your house. Grüße, Daniel A. Wöhr aus Südtexas "To the motivated go the spoils." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fruitbat Posted July 27, 2010 Share Posted July 27, 2010 Very nice! Looks like a female Bison bison (or Bos bison depending on which authority you agree with). It doesn't appear to be quite robust enough to be B. antiquus but the distinction can occasionally be blurred. At any rate...it is an outstanding find and will look great on display! -Joe Illigitimati non carborundum Fruitbat's PDF Library Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnJ Posted July 27, 2010 Share Posted July 27, 2010 Top shelf find! The human mind has the ability to believe anything is true. - JJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts