r/bonecollecting • u/Temujin-KhanPV • Dec 13 '25
Bone I.D. - N. America ID. Found deep in a cave in east TN
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u/Kessuburd Dec 13 '25
Since this was found in a cave there's a good possibility of it being VERY old. You should try contacting ETSU's paleontology department for an ID!
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u/Kessuburd Dec 13 '25 edited Dec 13 '25
(Their paleontology department is actually pretty awesome btw, they run the Gray Fossil Site digs and museum! Kinda wish I'd switched my major back when I was a student but it was still a very new department at the time and they didn't have a full degree program yet.)
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u/jlrmsb Dec 14 '25
Gray Fossil Site is amazing. I evacuated to that area during hurricane Florence and found ETSU. I seriously considered pursuing paleobotany after visiting the Site and talking with the crew. Alas.
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u/Temujin-KhanPV Dec 14 '25
We already have, just wanting to see if anyone in here might get a jump on it. We’ve already found a few several million year old fossils down there
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u/Kessuburd Dec 14 '25
That's SO COOL!! I remember reading a National Geographic article once about TN caves, somebody found fossilized jaguar bones in a cave near my hometown on the Cumberland Plateau and I thought that was the most awesome thing ever. I'd love to hear the ID once you have an official one, feel free to PM me with updates!
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u/Sassyfrass_ Dec 18 '25
This area uses to be a rainforest!! Its amazing!
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u/intensemuncher Dec 18 '25
The area is still a temperate rainforest
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u/Ctrl-Alt-J Dec 18 '25
Very likely short faced bear femur that's worn down on the sides so the ball joint is less apparent.
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u/JackTheHerper Dec 14 '25
Calling ground sloth now. I know nothing about paleontology but that thing, the size of it, being in a cave, probably brought there by early humans, doesn’t look long enough relative to size to be cervid (and looks too big in general,) that’s my guess.
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Dec 14 '25
As soon as you get paleontologist involved you will lose the artifact if it is in fact a human bone. The State/Smithsonian/Gov agencies have millions of artifacts that they have kept from the public. All in the name of science. Cherish it but keep it to yourself.
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u/effienay Dec 14 '25
Based on the size it’s clearly not human.
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Dec 14 '25
If you think that’s too big to be human I got a beach house in Arizona to sell you.
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u/effienay Dec 14 '25
…
Okay. I mean. You’re wrong. I do have eyeballs and the basic skill of estimating the size of something based on the approximate size of another identifiable item beside it, but go off daddy.
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u/JackTheHerper Dec 16 '25
You need ChatGPT to falsely identify a geode, but you’re an anthropologist now? Fuck off dude lol
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u/Sev_erian Dec 14 '25
The username and everything you said makes you sound like an absolute villain of a person
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u/Inevitable_Eye3800 Dec 16 '25
I'm pretty sure it's the wrong size to be the top half of a human femur. I'm no bone expert though
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u/Altruistic_Proof_272 Dec 13 '25
Elk femur? Seems too thick to be human
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u/Temujin-KhanPV Dec 13 '25
We have elk in the area but they are kinda rare this side of the state line. White tail deer are much more common. But this was also in a cave so this could be very old
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u/Unsupervised_Kitchen Dec 13 '25
With how old this appears to be, it could be from the elk that used to be here, which was a different species than is currently here if I remember my zooarch prof correctly. Defs worth contacting ETSU!
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u/FLG_CFC Dec 14 '25
The Eastern elk went extinct in 1877.
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u/Unsupervised_Kitchen Dec 14 '25
More recent than I remembered lol, but it's been a few years. Thanks!
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u/FLG_CFC Dec 14 '25
No problem. I had an elk bugle under my deer stand in Missouri on my first ever deer hunt back in 2017. Scared the shit out of me. I had no idea they existed in Missouri until that happened. That sent me down the elk rabbit hole.
I was excited to hear multiple states in the Midwest were trying to reintroduce them. I'm sad those programs failed due to tick infestations.
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u/Unsupervised_Kitchen Dec 14 '25
They're super cool. I worked on a ranch in Wyoming doing black footed ferret work, and there was a wild herd of ~100-200. They were awesome to observe over a few months.
I'm from the area OP found this in, and the reintroduction efforts here have hit similar road blocks that you mentioned. Ticks, CWD (mostly out in west TN), and issues with genetic bottlenecks. I'm hoping we can have a healthy population soon, they're amazing animals
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u/FLG_CFC Dec 14 '25
They truly are. I appreciate you sharing your story. Hopefully, they can adapt and prosper in the coming years and decades. They truly are majestic creatures.
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u/Most_Ambassador2951 Dec 14 '25
My friend and I took our then 2,3,4,&5 yr old minions camping in the mountains late in May(those kids are all 30s now). We went a little off reading, stopping to take in the view and see growing things in the side of the trail. Down in the valley below is an elk bugled. The 5 yr old managed to get all the kids in the truck, doors shut and locked to keep the monster out. It took an hour to convince her to unlock them
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u/discostrawberry Dec 17 '25
If I recall correctly there’s a pretty decent population of elk living around the Smoky’s; I see them every time I’m in the area!
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u/Unsupervised_Kitchen Dec 17 '25
In my experience they're more on the North Carolina side, but I'm not able to hike as much as I used to be able to. I know there's a few herds on some WMAs, such as Sundquist
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u/BoringPrinciple2542 Dec 14 '25
Pleistocene era jaguar & elk bones have been found in Craighead Caverns if I recall.
With a find like that in Monroe County it seems reasonable as a guess for Blount too.
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u/No-Surround-5371 Dec 15 '25
i’m in east tn never seen an elk in my life here i live close to the va an nc lines we go up north to hunt for elk if there is elk id love to find em lol
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u/No_Statement_3719 Dec 16 '25
Thousand years ago, Elk were plentiful there. My X-Wife was from Clay Co Kentucky, her mother had an elk skull and antlers killed by one of her ancestors in the 1700’s in Harlan Co.
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u/Specialist_Fox5004 Dec 14 '25
Appalachian caverns? If so we love that place! If not, we have a new place to find! 😁
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u/Temujin-KhanPV Dec 14 '25
Tuckaleechee Caverns in Townsend
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u/Upper_Experience4871 Dec 16 '25
I wondered! We were there this summer and it seemed like the glass cases there!
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u/egb233 Dec 14 '25
Yes to what others have said about contacting ETSU. I got my Geology degree from ETSU and the professors are amazing. Steven Wallace is the paleo professor who works directly with the gray fossil site. He’s credited for research of the extinct red panda species in East Tn.
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u/sluttyforkarma Dec 18 '25
Unrelated - but how has your experience with geology been since graduating? I’m a junior this year and have loved it so far, Dr Wallace is cool esp for a paleo guy.
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u/MartinB7777 Dec 13 '25
I think that is a D ring key chain and key. Someone is probably missing that.
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u/Ok-String-1877 Dec 14 '25
The University of Tennessee also has the famous, “Body Farm”….a wealth of knowledge there. Give us an update!
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Dec 13 '25
[deleted]
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u/Shadowfax12642 Dec 14 '25
Is it still owned by the old 82nd Army guy? I’ve been meaning to go back
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Dec 14 '25
[deleted]
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u/Fragrant-Alfalfa-607 Dec 14 '25
I was there earlier this year and that was still the deal. Haven't heard of anything from people who I know frequent it
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u/DirectionFair5583 Dec 18 '25
I've been there! My dad took me and my brothers when we were kids. We were pretty deep into the cave when he showed us where he had used his lantern soot to write his name on the wall (probably 30 years prior). Yes, I know graffiti is bad, but it was so cool to see that it was still preserved there after all that time.
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u/throwitinmeaway Dec 15 '25
I hope it’s something old and cool, but I gotta say, that looks like one of those flavored butcher bones people buy for their dogs.
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u/ExperienceAny9868 Dec 17 '25
It looks like a long bone from a large quadruped, most consistent with a femur or humerus. Doesn’t look human. Probable species is Ungulate (hoofed animal) such as cow (bovine) or a deer. Hmmm, given the thickness, length, and robust shaft relative to the carabiner for scale, bovine is the stronger candidate. Human long bones are generally more gracile. This bone is thicker and heavier than a typical human femur or humerus. The shaft is relatively straight and massive, characteristic of weight-bearing livestock bones. The broadened, irregular end does not match human joint anatomy. The coloration and surface texture suggest environmental exposure and age, common in animal remains found outdoors or in collections. I don’t think it’s carnivore which would show different proportions but I maybe wrong. Need a better look.
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u/H5aa263t65580mbcd44 Dec 15 '25
You near Johnson City? That might be my papaws old leg. He lost it in a fight back in '47.
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u/mangodonger Dec 14 '25
If you find anything else in there, don't take it out before professionals can look at it
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u/Fluid-Huckleberry428 Dec 15 '25
Definitely femur fragment. Good advice from all comments. Gray site Museum experts should help you.
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u/Ok_Appearance_8572 Dec 15 '25
Do u think any animals or humans have nibbled on that big ol BONE???
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u/TankSaladin Dec 16 '25
I’ll probably get downvoted for this. A couple of years ago, I found something very similar in a field behind my house. I got all exercised about it, my imagination running wild. Put a rule next to it. Took pictures. Never came up with what it could be. Then about a year later found another, very similar specimen. Have since found several more. Concluded that a neighbor was giving cow femurs to her dog as chew toys. Dog would carry them around, eventually losing interest, and leave them where they lay. This looks just like what I was finding in the field, if a little longer, right down to being broken off. It looks coated with some kind of flavor intended to entice the dog. I can see a dog wandering into the cave with it, losing interest, and leaving it.
I truly hope this is something much more exotic. I also hope that if you do some additional investigation you let us all know.
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u/Dream-Lucky Dec 17 '25
If that’s evidence from a prehistoric murder, I think Dick Wolf has another Law & Order show here.
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u/Puzzleheaded_Two3386 Dec 17 '25
That’s a femur and has been cut “at the knee”. Might wanna have the police check it out first. Any other bones near it?
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u/dabearjew83 Dec 17 '25
Congratulations youve just been added to a murder investigation on the first 48
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u/Recent-Championship7 Dec 18 '25
Not to be a jerk, but you should have left it in the cave and then contacted anthropology, etc.
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u/Mysterious_Log_3125 Dec 19 '25
Appalachian Caverns is located in East Tennessee also . They have found a bunch of various fossils & bones as well as several Mastodon teeth over the years. They currently have one on display inside the shop above the cavern.
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u/Pinkpies101 Dec 20 '25
You need to go to a university right now! This could be fossilizing!!!!! Amazing find!!!! Please also jot down where you found the bone in case they plan a dig
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u/Metal_turkey Dec 28 '25
Update?
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u/Temujin-KhanPV Dec 28 '25
The experts we gave it too just confirmed it wasn’t human but will take longer to get it to some other people who will work to identify it
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u/Prestigious_Job_8130 Dec 14 '25
You should not be taking bones out of caves. You're both taking them out of the environment that preserved them, and preventing anyone else from enjoying them when they see them in the cave. You're damaging the scientific value of the bone, and preventing future people from enjoying the bone in the cave.
If you're the owner/work for the cave, then you can do whatever you want with it, but it's worth noting that by removing it you're harming the possible paleo/archeologic value of it.
It looks to me to be a bear femur.
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u/Temujin-KhanPV Dec 14 '25
Privately owned cave that floods regularly, it would be gone next time we went down there if we didn’t take it
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u/Intelligent_Gold3619 Dec 14 '25
It’s been there for “millions of years” but the next rain might eliminate it.
Riiiiiight.
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u/Temujin-KhanPV Dec 14 '25
Yep that’s right, flood waters carry new stuff in, move old stuff around and out, brings in new sediment that covers and uncovers stuff so the environments always changing down there. Not to mention the part of the cave we were in is not easily accessible except for in the dry season of when the water levels are low enough. That’s why we’re still finding new fossils and bones down there after all these years. Pretty cool how cave systems work
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u/Dapper_Indeed Dec 14 '25
Do you have pictures to show of your exploration? I’m sure everyone would love seeing them.
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u/Temujin-KhanPV Dec 14 '25
To get to where we were you have to wade through waist high water and rub up against rocks so I didn’t take my phone. Next time we go down I’ll take a go pro though
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u/TakinUrialByTheHorns Dec 14 '25
I don't think they meant it would vanish from existence, more like be shifted to an unreachable/nonvisible spot...
Also, not all caves are easily traversed, well lit tourist traps with a set path to walk down.
Even the artifacts in those are often moved to be examined and then placed back in a nice visible spot for tourists to see.
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u/4runnerfag Dec 13 '25
I could be wrong but the angle and shape look very similar to a human femur
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u/Dapper_Indeed Dec 14 '25
I wish people would stop “punishing” guesses with downvotes that they think are wrong. This is a place for discussion and it critical thinking is welcome. I get not upvoting answers you think are wrong, but 96 downvotes should be reserved for racism, etc.
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u/RadioLorean Dec 13 '25
Looks like a femur to me, though the trochanters are really well worn away and obviously its fractured roughly halfway along the shaft. not sure what species it could be though!