✅ SOLVED What is this??

[lv2sign804]

I found this "rock " in my yard digging quite some time ago, put in a drawer and forgot about it(hence the white scrapes on one of the sides). Initially I thought as an EMT, it looked a lot like a bone because of the shape, but because of the black filling inside, I wasn't sure. I asked a retired medical examiner I worked with to look at it and he said it wasn't a bone.
Does anyone know what this could be? I found it where an old smoke house used to sit in the 1800's through the mid 1900's. The black inside is very hard and smoothe.

 

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[bradyboy]

a flintstones bicycle seat ?

 

[Back-of-the-boat]

Have you scratched the black to see if it has any smell .What I am thinking is like tar or something that was poured inside a gourd or something to that effect and I realize it is not very large so this could be a small piece of a larger item.

 

[SkaBa]

Chert nodule?

 

[lv2sign804]

I tried to scratch it Back-of-the-boat and didn't notice anything. I did notice that the black part is so hard it won't actually scratch, it just looks like I've drawn on it with a pencil., and wipes right off.

 

[lv2sign804]

I think you may be correct, SkaBa. I have never heard of a chert nodule before, so I googled what a chert nodule is. It does look a lot like the pictures of flintrock nodules. I even found one that looks like a bone. Thank you for your help!

 

[Indian Steve]

I would say Flint or Chert nodule too.

 

[Back-of-the-boat]

It looks like there is a void between the black and the outer shell, is there or is that an illusion of the lighting?That is why I thought it was something poured into something else.

 

[Kray Gelder]

804, would you describe the crust as chalk? Hard to tell from photo. Chert nodules often are found in chalk formations. Also, that small end is already broken. If you strike it a glancing blow with say, the handle of a butter knife, just barely catch it at an angle, it should knock a chip off, and if it is a concoidal fracture, then you most likely have a chert nodule.

 

[lv2sign804]

I think it must be the lighting. There's no void between them, Back of the boat

 

[lv2sign804]

Kray, I tried chipping it but the only thing that actually chips is the outer coating. Yes, the outer coating does remind me of a hard chalk on the inside. The surface of very outside is very hard and smoothe.

 

[Kray Gelder]

Kray, I tried chipping it but the only thing that actually chips is the outer coating. Yes, the outer coating does remind me of a hard chalk on the inside. The surface of very outside is very hard and smoothe.

Ah, well, I give one vote for chert.

 

[lv2sign804]

Sounds like mystery solved! Thank you all for your help, I really appreciate it, as always