Jean in Newcastle Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 Libby just brought in a bone from the bushes. It is just the joint and about 3 in. of bone obviously cut by a saw. It is stinky and I took it from her. I'm 99.9% sure that it was dropped by some neighborhood dog but I read a lot of mysteries and got to thinking. . . It's basically the right size for a human bone. How would you tell the difference? (Chris in VA- today's question is brought esp. for you!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 I don't know, but I'm really hoping this thread goes downhill fast, because we need something to replaced our closed-but-not-forgotten circumcision thread. :D OK, I'll start. So you found a boner and you don't know what to do with it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SweetMissMagnolia Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 pic? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalanamak Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 pic? Yes. I did a lot of dissecting and comparative anatomy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrganicAnn Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 I would try to figure out where it is from (hip, shoulder, etc) and then compare it to the average human and the most likely animal bones (cow, pig) - consider size and shape. Also consider the cut marks - do they look industrial/professional or a little more amateurish? Then ask yourself - has there been anyone reported missing in the area? Maybe someone with a lot of money and even more enemies. Are you located near an English country house? With a guest visiting the area that is a little Belgium man, a fussy older lady or a man with a pipe and deer stalker hat? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helena Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 We also found a few bones recently at the beach. It really freaked us out!! We convinced ourselves that they were human. I took some pics and sent them to my Step dad. I don't think he ever responded though... I do admit though, to having an over active imagination and no anatomy skills! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 I assume every bone I find is from a chicken. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momof3littles Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 Yep, shape is the best bet IMO. I am another poster who spent a lot of time in college and graduate school dissecting lots of things, ranging from animal to cadaver. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
********* Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 I assume every bone I find is from a chicken. *snort* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted January 16, 2012 Author Share Posted January 16, 2012 I assume every bone I find is from a chicken. This would be an awfully big chicken. . .! Actually I photographed it and am trying to get the picture on here. Now I'm thinking it is too big for human anyway. . . (Which is good! I don't really think or want it to be human!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donna Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 I assume every bone I find is from a chicken. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Violet Crown Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 So you found a boner and you don't know what to do with it...Well, that's going toward getting this thread locked, isn't it? :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted January 16, 2012 Author Share Posted January 16, 2012 Here it is: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myeightkiddies Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 It looks pretty fresh. :eek: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
********* Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 It looks pretty fresh. :eek: Uh, yeah, I'll go ahead and be the big baby and say GROOOOOODY. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweetbasil Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 I've seen cow bones that looked just like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie Smith Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 Now for something slightly off topic. I am really looking to seeing the next episode of Bones. She would know the answer to your questions at a glance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura in MI Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 Uh, yeah, I'll go ahead and be the big baby and say GROOOOOODY. :D :iagree: That's gross! :eek: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msk Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 It's the distal (bottom) end of a femur, almost certainly cow. Trust me, I'm a zooarchaeologist! As a general rule, human bone tends to be more "spongy" than animal, but that's hard to judge unless you're familiar with both. People bring hunks of bone into the archaeology lab where I work all the time, we never mind taking a look for them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalanamak Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 I vote ungulate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted January 16, 2012 Author Share Posted January 16, 2012 It's the distal (bottom) end of a femur, almost certainly cow. Trust me, I'm a zooarchaeologist! As a general rule, human bone tends to be more "spongy" than animal, but that's hard to judge unless you're familiar with both. People bring hunks of bone into the archaeology lab where I work all the time, we never mind taking a look for them. I vote ungulate. Thanks. It looks pretty fresh. :eek: And it stinks to high heaven. Now, the dog who not only chewed on it but rolled in it, stinks to high heaven. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFSinIL Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 Looks like the end of one of the big bones I get for our Labrador at the pet store. I say cow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momof3littles Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 Yep, looks like a cow bone (bottom of the femur?) from the pic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zaichiki Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 Now there's one big chicken! Can you picture this thing walking towards you??? :svengo: (I agree that it looks like part of a femur - Moooo!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myeightkiddies Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 And it stinks to high heaven. Now, the dog who not only chewed on it but rolled in it, stinks to high heaven. I believe it! When we lived in the country, we had a dog that liked to and easily did jump our fence. Often when she jumped back into the yard she would bring things with her. We'd wake up with a yard filled with beer case cardboard and other things that she would steal from the neighbors' yards. One evening I looked out and saw that she was in the yard, but I noticed something on the fence. It was huge. I sent my DH out to investigate. Stuck on the fence was a rotting deer carcass. She had found it somewhere, dragged it home, and tried to get it in the yard as she jumped the fence. He tried and tried to knock it off of the fence but it was on there tight. Eventually he managed to get it down, and we had to bury it. It was horrible. The smell was disgusting. Needless to say she was kept inside unless supervised. She was so sad not to be able to jump the fence, but she obviously couldn't be trusted to stay in the yard (only some of our property was fenced and she enjoyed running the rest of it). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalanamak Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 It's the distal (bottom) end of a femur, almost certainly cow. Trust me, I'm a zooarchaeologist! As a general rule, human bone tends to be more "spongy" than animal, but that's hard to judge unless you're familiar with both. Yes, to me it was a bone of something that carried more weight. Plus, it is a classic cut for a bone for dogs. I used to buy them for my Dane. If someone was hacking up a human, they'd cut mid femur. Not isolate a knee. It's elementary! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted January 17, 2012 Author Share Posted January 17, 2012 It's elementary! My Dear Watson? Except that you're the doctor. So perhaps, my dear Holmes?:001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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