What in the world is this? (geologists welcome)

Apologize in advance if this is in the wrong forum. 100 places to post and this forum seemed like the only one this topic would fit in.

I found this just north of Peoria, Illinois in a creek called Senachewine that dumps into the Illinois River. This was found on the creekbed partially buried in a portion of the creek that was dry. This was all 2 years ago and I'm tired of looking at it and not knowing what it is. I've posted these pictures elsewhere so I can get as many opinions as is possible.

1. It weighs about as much as a rock of this size would.
2. It has grooves or ridges that are too evenly spaced and routine for it to be natural but stranger things have happened!
3. I've attempted to wash it to see if the brownish color would come off and maybe reveal more clues underneath. It does not.


What have I found? I was thinking a very strange shaped rock but the grooves are too routine. A calcified bone? An old tool? I was even thinking it was a piece of a modern tool that had succumbed to the elements. Any help would be appreciated.

Pictures taken with a Blackberry Curve 2. Sorry about the quality. It's as good as I can do right now.

I am thinking it may be a fossilized tooth with the tip broke off.





You can google fossilized teeth and compare some pics.
Good luck,
spec

ETA: I think sykickvision got it right, antler
See below:

Almost looks like part of an antler from a deer, from where it grew from the skull, with part of the attached skull making up part of the "knob".

This one looks similar:

www.creswell-crags.org.uk...

reply to post by sykickvision


Oh my. Think I have some ancient deer antler here? I had stated that it "felt" calcified. If that's the case, how long does it generally take something of this make to calcify? The pictures look very, very similar.

mot a geologist but it looks like petrified wood except for the yellowy color

So it'd have to be fairly old correct?

It looks to me very much like a plant node that has fossilized.
Possibly related to scouring rush or bamboo family.

reply to post by Hivethink


If it's just an odd rock - it's BILLIONS of years old

If it's fossilized antler, it could be millions. No way to know for certain except by dating it, unless you look at a geological map of the area it was found (provided it wasn't hauled in from somewhere else and dumped) and have a rough estimate of the age of the layer of dirt it was found in. Then again, if it was in a creek it could have been hauled for miles & miles if the creek was larger years ago.