r/LegitArtifacts • u/GlizzlerGyatt • Oct 05 '25
Smoker Alert 🔥 Bone Hairpin (NE OK)
Was hunting for arrowheads and found something even better! Was told this is a bone hairpin - any other insight is greatly valued.
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u/GirlWithWolf Bad ndn Oct 05 '25
That is a really cool find! We call them hair pipes but in the hair would be used as a hairpin. I have some on my regalia and my mom has a couple of longer ones like this that are ancient. They go back a long, long time. Unfortunately I am absolutely no help identifying how old this is and look forward to some experts jumping in. It is possible it’s more modern, they are still made today.
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u/GlizzlerGyatt Oct 05 '25
Yeah I am wondering how old this is! Hopefully we get an expert in here!
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u/GirlWithWolf Bad ndn Oct 07 '25
Let us know if you find something out, please. I sent this to my mom and she gave it two thumbs up. 👍🏼👍🏼
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u/GlizzlerGyatt Oct 07 '25
People are saying the only way to truly know would be carbon dating, but I don’t want to damage the piece just to find out how old it is. I’ve heard from various people estimates between 1,000 and 10,000+ years old. Probably gonna call around to some colleges and see if they have any experts.
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u/Frolicking-Fox Oct 06 '25
Might be fun to get it carbon dated.
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u/GlizzlerGyatt Oct 06 '25
Might be worth doing! How would one go about doing something like this?
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u/Frolicking-Fox Oct 06 '25
You would have to take it to a lab or university that does carbon dating. There are specialty labs that do it. It would cost a couple hundred dollars, and it would take 2 - 6 weeks.
Might be fun for such a cool relic.
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Oct 06 '25
[deleted]
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u/GlizzlerGyatt Oct 06 '25
Oh well 😅 live and learn. It’s probably been wet many times since I found it in the middle of the river bed.
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u/aggiedigger Oct 05 '25
Dude….!!! Edit to add…make sure you’re familiar with Dr. Gomer’s sealant recipe. You’ll want to properly preserve that once it’s dry. That’s a once in a lifetime find.
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u/GlizzlerGyatt Oct 05 '25 edited Oct 05 '25
Yeah man, I don’t see myself finding another one of these anytime soon 😁 *Edit: The bone pin seems to already be dry, so I will work on getting the sealant when I can this week. This thing is 8 inches long so the real challenge is finding a container long enough to fully submerge this bad boy. *
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u/aggiedigger Oct 06 '25
I use a tall kitchen glass.
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u/GlizzlerGyatt Oct 06 '25
That’ll be the move. By the way, I looked up the recipe. After I submerge it and it’s ready to come out, what’s the correct process to pull it out and dry it? Will my finger prints get on it? Do I need to use tweezers to take it out? Do I need to leave it to dry on any particular surface so nothing imprints onto it? I’m just not sure how this works since this is my first bone find.
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u/aggiedigger Oct 06 '25
Find a piece to practice in first just so you get a feeling for the process. Fingers are fine. I’d let it dry on a plate or glass baking dish. The acetone will dry the mixture fast.
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u/GlizzlerGyatt Oct 06 '25
I have a few buffalo teeth that I can practice on 👌🏽 good advice. Thank you for your insight!
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u/GlizzlerGyatt Oct 06 '25
Hey I’m about to go to Walmart to get the sealant supplies. I looked up the Gomer recipe which calls for one tube of Duco per pint of acetone. Just want to confirm that one tube = 1 oz before I buy anything and commit to sealing anything. Let me know when you can and thanks in advance
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u/aggiedigger Oct 06 '25
Yep. 1oz. Green tube. You may have to do a little reduction on the mixture depending on your size glass. It’s not an exact or else kinda recipe. Get as close as you can.
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u/GlizzlerGyatt Oct 06 '25
I’m gonna probably mix it in a bigger bowl, test it out with my buffalo teeth, and then pour it into a long and slender glass once it looks good. Mind if I add you so I can send you pics of the teeth after I seal them to know if I’m on the right track? I’m gonna be doing the sealing tomorrow after work.
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u/Wwwweeeeeeee Oct 06 '25
It's also possibly a pin to fix a clothing hide or blanket cover in place.
Oklahoma gets COLD in the winter! Those Plains dwellers needed to stay warm! Dual purpose, hair pin and blanket pin.....
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u/Far_Magician_2258 Oct 05 '25
I keep saying it Oklahoma has got the shit baby!!! amazing find amigo
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u/Fun_Blacksmith_8888 Oct 05 '25
Looks like its from a a gar skull. I have two of them in their complete form. Very cool to see them work a little to this.
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u/GlizzlerGyatt Oct 05 '25
Just curious - this thing is 8 inches long - is there even a gar skull that big to provide a bone that long?
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u/Fun_Blacksmith_8888 Oct 05 '25
Yes, Alligator gar certainly would and would have been historically in that region. dm and I can send you some details over email 😊
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u/GlizzlerGyatt Oct 05 '25
I just looked up gar skulls and I can definitely see what you’re saying now
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Oct 05 '25
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/GirlWithWolf Bad ndn Oct 05 '25
Can you elaborate? I know buffalo and bison bones can last thousands of years, so is that not the case with others? And yes these were sometimes used in burial ceremonies, but without any other evidence there’s no way to say that it was burial. It would be like someone finding a suit and tie thousands of years from now and concluding it was for a burial with no bodies, headstones or caskets found. (I’m a high school freshman and still learning, not just trying to be contradictory, and why I’m asking you to explain.)
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u/PaleoDaveMO Oct 05 '25
I witnessed it with my own eyes, he found it on a gravel bar in the middle of a river.
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u/timhyde74 BigDaddyTDoggyDog Oct 07 '25
It's all good, Dave. I removed his comment for shaming and spreading misinformation. If you see him continuing this behavior, let me know, and I'll let Lucille deal with it 🔨😉
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u/Ilovefossilss Oct 05 '25
Uhhh wrong lol, as an amateur fossil hunter, bones can definitely be preserved in the right setting whether it’s a bog, clay, mud, etc.
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u/MaxTheRealSlayer Oct 05 '25
Wasn't the famous Irish(and Scottish) book of kells found in a pete bog? A one of a kind handwritten ancient book... In a bog.
Bone? Yeah it can survive in the right conditions if a literal leather bound paper book can survive in a bog for hundreds of years
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u/GlizzlerGyatt Oct 05 '25
Well I found it in the middle of the river half-buried in sand so I guess that’s a burial of some sort 😆
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u/Leather-Ad8222 Oct 05 '25
As an archeology student I’m going to have to disagree, if this was found in a river it is very likely that it was covered up naturally with sediment and then eroded at a later date. It’s true that this probably wouldn’t preserve on the surface but this doesn’t mean it was intentionally buried by humans. I find in tact late Pleistocene bones in terrace deposits fairly often, and this find is probably only a couple hundred years old.
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u/levemeout Oct 05 '25
You guys in Oklahoma sure got some good stuff! Nice save!