Found: 150-Million Year Old Baby Bird Fossil That Is Also A Paleo-Indian Tool As Well

"150-Million Year Old Baby Bird Fossil/ Hide Scraper " By Steven Montes,

I was using my metal detector in the foothills of Tucson, Arizona. As luck would have it, I never find anything that I am looking for. As I was walking back to my truck with my metal detector resting on my shoulder, I caught sight of an unusual-looking rock lying on the ground. I picked it up, and noticed a fossil that looked suspiciously like the head of a baby bird just off center in the stone. I turned the stone over to reveal more of the bird's body. After showing my unusual find to some of my friends, I decided to take it to the University of Arizona so I could learn more about what I had found. When I arrived, I was told to take the stone to the Paleontology Department across the lawn in front of where I was. When I got there I saw a professor in his office. I asked him if I could talk to a paleontologist. He asked why, so I handed him the stone and proceeded to tell him how I found it. His eyes grew huge with excitement as he examined the piece, while we were walking down the hallway to another office. Soon there were several professors and other people examining the stone in awe. As they talked, I listened. The rock I found was secondary sedimentary solidified limestone, which is not indigenous to this area. I was told that the original source could have been in Canada, China, or even South America. I was told that the inclusion I had first noticed was indeed a baby bird fossil, and that and that birds had evolved from reptiles 150 million years ago. That is how they were able to determine the age of the fossil. Another professor pointed out to me other inclusions in the stone like plant matter, twigs, and other unidentifiable foreign objects. One professor stated that there was proof that his rock was found on the surface, like I had said, because it bore impact marks etched into the rock as the rain water hit the front of the stone for thousands of years while it lay on top of the ground. (Limestone is quite soluble in water; witness karst terrains or the deterioration of carvings on medieval European churches.) The marks were small, circular pockets about the size of a pencil eraser, grouped together. One fellow mentioned that there were once other bones near the chest of the bird that had fallen out over time, but the imprints left by the bones are still visible. They could not identify the species of the bird, because all baby birds look pretty much alike at birth. I was asked by one of the professors if I wouldn't mind waiting a little while longer for one more professor who was still in class to come and see the stone. This professor was part of their group, and they did not want him to miss seeing it. As this man approached, I handed him the stone. He looked at it for a moment, and then stated that this stone was an artifact that had been carved by Paleo-Indians into a tool for scraping the flesh away from the hide after the game animal had been killed. It turned out that his speciality is in Archeology. A silence fell on the gathering as we all listened to the explanation he gave about this rare specimen. The archaeologist then asked one of the other professors if he could borrow his microscope to look at the stone more closely. The group moved down the hall and entered a small office. As I stood by his side, he examined the piece and stated that there were shiny areas on the sharp edge around the stone that were not visible to the naked eye. He believed that tough tendons and ligaments had polished parts of the stone during its use. He also stated that the hide scraper was in mint condition and was and was not worn out. He went on to say that most hide scrapers that we see today in museums are small ovals that are badly worn from long use, and then discarded when they become useless. He said that he had never seen such a fine hide scraper before. He wished that he knew what group of people had carved the hide scraper. He speculated that whoever carved the stone might possibly be the first recorded fossil collector. These tribal people were farmers, artists, and traders much like the people of today. The position of the bird and the way it was evidently intentionally carved into a tool made this a true specimen of fossil art. One of my questions that I asked was how much was this unique item worth? His answer was that it was so unique that it was priceless. I asked how I might go about selling my fossil/artifact. A young lady, still full of excitement, suggested that I take a picture of the hide scraper and put it on the internet with a price tag of $20 million (an idea that did not sit well with some of the others there). Since this is the only known occurrence of such an unusual artifact, the chances of finding another are practically nil. She described it this way: there might be someone who owns the biggest diamond in the world, but other people have diamonds; someone else has the biggest in the world, but other people have houses. She said try to think of something that no one else has, and that is what you've got. Shortly after giving me this advice, I overheard one professor state to his college, "why don't we just confiscate the stone from him". The other professor answered back that it would not be possible being that the stone was found on private property. So being fearful that some one might try to confiscate this rare find from me, I set out the following day to sell my stone to some of the collectable shops, pawn shops, or anyone who would buy it around town. I recall it was a Friday, and I had gotten up early that morning to begin my journey to the many shops that are located in Tucson. I had gotten to the end of my list of possible business that might have an interest in this item. It was about 5:45 pm, and the store owner was closing his small collectable store when I began to tell him my story. As people were leaving the store, they had began to congregate around me to hear the story of how I had come to find this rare rock. After I had finished my story the store owner asked me how much I was wanting for the stone. I remarked that I wanted five-thousand dollars for the stone. In an instant the owner of the shop announced that I would never get that much for it. Just then a realtor that had been in the crowd stepped forward after reaching into his coat pocket to hand me his business card. He stated that he would like to purchase my stone from me on Tuesday of next week. He stated that if I was to come to his office he would have the cash ready for me about 11 am. After arriving to his office I was greeted by his associates that had asked me if I would be willing to sign a contract that states that I am the only owner of the stone, that there are no partners associated with this stone, that the stone is what I represent as being a fossil of a baby bird inside a hand carved Palo-Indian tool known as a hide scraper. I told them I didn't mind. After the exchange, I was stricken with a sense of loss of having sold what is probable one of the greatest finds that the world has ever seen. I began to think that maybe I could have gotten more money for the stone. All in all I had come to realize that the stone was gone for good. Then as time had passed, I began to dwell over my loss, it had finally realized that I was missing the opportunity to show the stone to others when ever I wanted to. It felt like there was avoid in my life, I felt empty inside. As time passed I began to recall the stories I had told to people through the months. Finally many months later I had began to except the fact that the stone was gone for good. Many months later, there was knock at my front door of my orthopedic office, it was a man in his late 50s, who stated that he was the father of the realtor who bought the stone from me. He then took the stone out of the leather pouch that I had fashioned for the stone, from his front pocket. He said that he had been given the stone by his son to sell. I was in shock when the man said that he was going to make it easy for me to buy the stone back, because all that he was wanting was just $ 2500 for the stone. It sounded very peculiar to only pay half of the amount that his son had paid to acquire the stone. I was in shock, I could not believe my fate, I just had to know what was going on. Finally after a period of questioning the man, as to why I only had to pay half the amount for the stone, the man answered back that he was embarrassed to tell me. He then stated that his son was in jail on a one million dollar bond, accessed of selling stash houses to drug dealers for cash. He stated that his son had been providing his family with food, rent, utilities, and living expenses for Him, his mother, and older daughter that had a young child. I have been told that the chances of any one finding another stone similar to the one I found were one in a trillion. What would the odds be of me selling the stone, and then buying it back at half the selling price. The odds would have to be incalculable by any standard. Metaphysical or not I have come to realize that I was meant to be the true keeper of the stone. If you would like more information on this topic, or would like pictures of my rare find please feel free to call me at (520) 749-1105, e-mail me at smontes@scientist.com Or send your snail mail to: Steven Montes

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