Thursday, March 3, 2011

OLD OR OLDER?

 

My eyesight is still very good -- with the aid of glasses, of course.  I spotted this skeletal fragment on the ancient bricks in front of the shed.  The snow has finally melted away and there it was.  I brought it up onto the deck to show to Bill.  The piece is just over three inches long and I have looked at it the other way around too -- upper jaw bone or lower jaw bone?.  When I went to Ladies' Lunch that day, I drew a rough sketch on a napkin.    It was thought that it might be a jawbone of an opossum.  Hmmmm..... It has been a very long time since I have seen an opossum around.  That, of course, does not mean that they aren't.

And then the question for me was how did this skeletal fragment get there?  And where was the rest?  And what happened?  I guess this is the curiosity that inspires archaeologists.  Following my curiosity is not going to happen.  I'll leave that for others.  But it was sure enlightening and thought provoking to find such a relic.