# How to Recognize Bone

## How to recognize bone

* ### “The four S’s”
* * Shape
  * * Fossilized dinosaur remains will have the shape of vertebrate bones
    * * i.e., a fossilized rib of a Maiasaura is going to look somewhat similar to the ribs of other live vertebrates
  * Shade
  * * The remains change in color depending on the minerals in the environment they are fossilizing in
    * * Out in the Two Medicine Formation, these remains will generally be brownish-maroon to gray in color, depending on how long the fossil has been exposed to the surface
      * * If it has been exposed on the surface for a long period of time, the fossil might have more of a gray and orange tint
  * Striation 
  * * This is bone texture
    * On the inside of the bone, one can see the cancellous or “spongy” bone
    * * These are the preserved spots where the capillaries would run through 
  * Stick
  * * Due to the porous nature of fossilized bones, as well as how fossilized bones like to soak up fluids, these bones will often stick to moist surfaces
    * Example - if one licks their thumb then presses the presumed fossil to said thumb, it should stick (if it is a fossilized bone)
* ### Taphonomy
* * Bones have been found in this area with possible preserved scavenging marks
  * Being exposed on the surface for long periods of time (tens to hundreds or thousands of years), the bones can have a lot of wear and tear
  * * Chemical weathering
    * * Bones might have acid wearing on them
      * PICTURE
    * Mechanical weathering
    * * Over time the bones may have broken into more than one piece, there might be fragments missing
      * Ice wedging occurs
      * * Water makes its way into the bone, freezes and expands, and causes the bone to fracture in a wedge pattern
      * Plants love to use the bones as a sort of mineral life pack, burrowing their roots into the bones to soak up the minerals the bones have been fossilized with
      * * This can pulverize the fossil remains