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LOT 2484
Natural History - Fossil Cave Bear Paw
DEVENSIAN PERIOD, 110,000-12,000 YEARS B.P.
13 in. (608 grams, 33 cm).
Including the claws and bones, held together by an internal metal frame.
ProvenanceEx Lincolnshire, UK, collection.
CONDITIONTimeLine Auctions follows a vetting process to ensure the authenticity and legality of all items, reinforcing our commitment to integrity and responsible trading. Each antiquity, antique, and coin lot undergoes thorough examination by a vetting committee of at least ten external specialists, professional trade association members, scientists, and archaeologists: Our Vetting Process
AUCTIONS:
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Natural History - Campo del Cielo Meteorite Group
Fell 6000-5000 years B.P.Sold for (Inc. bp): £33
A trio of differently sized nickel iron (IAB) meteorites with a composition of 92.9% iron, 6.7% nickel. 4.1 grams total, 8-15 mm
Discovered 1576 A.D., Chaco Province, Argentina. Ex German dealer 2018. UK private collection.
A crater field of roughly 26 craters was found in the vicinity of this crater, which is estimated to date to 4-5 thousand years BP. The age of the meteorite itself is thought to be c.4.5 billion years, formed as part of the development of this solar system. The largest two fragments, the 30.8 ton Gancedo and 28.8 ton El Chaco, are among the heaviest meteorite masses ever recovered on Earth. In 1576, the governor of a province in Northern Argentina commissioned the military to search for a large mass of iron, which it was believed local people claimed had fallen from the sky and which they used for their weapon production. The expedition discovered a large mass of metal which was assumed to be an iron mine and brought back a few samples, which were described as being of unusual purity. Following the legends, in 1774 Don Bartolomé Francisco de Maguna rediscovered the iron mass. He himself did not believe that the stone had fallen from the sky and assumed that it had formed by a volcanic eruption. However, he sent the samples to the Royal Society of London. In 1990 it became protected by law. -
Natural History - Sporadoceras Goniatite Display
Upper Devonian Period, 385-359 million years B.P.Sold for (Inc. bp): £34
Free-standing and polished through the shell to reveal the calcite preserved inside, showing the dividing gas chambers. 299 grams, 10.3 cm
From the Atlas Mountains, Morocco, North Africa. Acquired 1950s-1960s. From an old Bristol, UK, palaeontological collection. -
Natural History - Priscacara Fossil Fish
Eocene Period, 58-36 million years B.P.Sold for (Inc. bp): £117
In a rectangular matrix. 385 grams, 16.5 x 13.5 cm
Fine condition. Scarce.
Lincolnshire, UK, collection.
Seasonally, some 56 million years ago, in the Green River Region of Wyoming, torrential rains fell on the mountains. The rain flowed down the mountain sides, forming wide shallow lakes in the valley below. During the dry season, these lakes evaporated (similar to certain parts of Africa today). Millions of fish died in this short period of time. This climatic cycle happened over a 20-thousand-year period. Layer upon layer of mud was deposited over these years, entombing huge numbers of fish. At a much later date volcanic activity uplifted this area to expose their fossils.
