What could this have belonged to?

[L Roebuck]

Um...if it was a vertebrae - where's the spinal cord canal?

[L Roebuck]

Yes those are better photos but I have no clue. Have you contacted and/or sent these photos to any Paleontologist? Did did you know that if this was/is a human vertebrae and you removed it from a cave, this might be considered desecration?

[L Roebuck]

I know there are others who can identify bones and such but Donna Cobb, Paleontology Section, pops into mind first. She might be able to identify this object. Here is a link to her contact info. www.caves.org/section/paleo/

There are lots of laws that protect caves as well as burial sites. It might be good for you to review the archeology laws for your state and also the Kentucky Cave Law.

www.dugcaves.com/more/kycavelaw.html

[Azurerana]

Hey plainasty,

While it is always a good idea to get to know the rules and regs for one's state, at least you are on the right track by asking someone what it is you have found. Is there a stream in the cave where it could have been washed in? Did you find it in the stream, or on a clay bank, or up in a high dry passage? It doesn't matter if nothing that big lives there now-- I've found horse teeth in my side yard, and it hasn't been pasture for at least 50 years, if not longer.

The whole issue of bones is such a tricky one. There aren't that many cave paleontologists out there. Obviously, if you find something so fragile that moving it presents a problem--don't . Don't dig -- that is a big no-no. If you have a camera, you should always take a bunch of pictures before moving anything, because the way something sits may be significant-- and then again it may just have been random. It takes a paleo to know this. But stuff found just lying on the surface in an ungated cave...that presents a question whether someone else could find it and take it before any expert could be convinced to go into the cave. You've just got to make your own best call on those.

Let us know what you find out.

[L Roebuck]

plainasty said:

Well Lynn, I talked to Donna and she said to tell you hello. She also said she should be able to identify it for me so thank you very much for relaying me to her :-D

That's great! And thanks for relaying the Hello! Donna is always so helpful. What did she advise you do?

[kenredux]

I dunno, plainasty, maybe you should take the vertebra to a veterinarian to type it first.

Donna Cobb claims to be a one third Lower Creek Indian of the great Bear Clan; and strangely so, she believes that the bones of bears are transmigrations of her direct ancestors. So if your fossil turns out to be the vertebra of a bear she might ask you to rebury it ceremonially.

No big deal, you say? Look, we're talking dancing and chanting Indians here, lots of 'em, drinking the black drink and sporting feathers. And you, plainasty, will be expected to foot the entire bill.

And in this era of whiteman litigation, dancing Indians don't come cheap.

Lots of 'em!

[Azurerana]

Sort of OT-- I had an Italian-American friend who could pass for American Indian. She got into the whole thing so deeply she paid them 500 dollars so that she could go sit on a hill by herself with no food or water for 48 hours.

Later, she left her secretarial job, got a teaching certificate, and moved near the rez. Haven't heard from her in a couple years-- I hope she found whatever she was looking for.

[kenredux]

azurerana said:

Sort of OT-- I had an Italian-American friend who could pass for American Indian. She got into the whole thing so deeply she paid them 500 dollars so that she could go sit on a hill by herself with no food or water for 48 hours.

Later, she left her secretarial job, got a teaching certificate, and moved near the rez. Haven't heard from her in a couple years-- I hope she found whatever she was looking for.

Say hey, Azurana.
You don't think that by chance your Italian friend might have run into the Chuckling Choctaws of the Okla Hanali Clan, do you?

Now there's a bunch of slick talking Indians.
I paid my 500 dollars and sat on a rock for 48 hours and almost died. I told them that I wanted my money back so they let me sit on the rock for another 48 hours at half price. I almost died but I told them that it was fun. They made me a Chief.

But being a Chief means that you have to loan money to the tribe members whenever they are in need. The Chuckling Choctaws are a very poor tribe so don't tell them where I'm at.

Merry Christmas anyway,
Chief Kenredux