Posted on 01/24/2023 5:58:54 AM PST by Red Badger
Two men discovered an ancient bison skull while scavenging near downtown Kansas City, Missouri, in mid-January.
Mike Ruth and Dave Jamerson were poking around the waterways of the Missouri River, looking for artifacts, fossils, cool stuff like that, when they found what they first thought might have been a piece of driftwood, according to KCTV5. As they lifted the piece from the silt, they realized they had “something really cool,” as Ruth told the outlet.
“I immediately thought bison,” Jamerson commented. The fossil was covered in silt and zebra mussels as they unearthed it, but came out of the dirt almost fully complete.
Metropolitan Community College’s Chair of Social Sciences and President of the KC Archeological Society Dr. Melissa Eaton told KCTV that the fossil may belong to a now-extinct mammal that was significantly larger than the modern buffalo. The ancient bison antiquus was 25% bigger than the modern bison, and could weigh up to 3,500 pounds, according to the National Park Service.
“Ten thousand years ago, they were a dominant species in this area,” Eaton told the outlet.
Hunting for fossils and other ancient artifacts is an old but rapidly growing hobby for many. A recent Joe Rogan guest, John Reeves, set off a series of hunts for an alleged treasure trove of artifacts dumped into New York’s East River by the American Museum of Natural History in 1949.
Another thing buried in the Missouri River was an 1800s steam boat that sank with all its cargo. It was salvaged intact and it is all shown in a great museum. very interesting.
Next stop, Antiques Roadshow!
Leftover from the first Kansas City BBQ?
Musta been the last tourist tryna pet ‘im that did ‘im in.
‘Face
;o]
I remember reading about that!! What a wonderful find!
Thanks!
‘Face
;o]
I have made snakehead fish
Soaked like catfish in buttermilk
Pretty good.
The Japanese have a saying there are no bad fish to eat,just bad cooks
COVID.
*Nyuk-nyuk-nyuk*
The bogus story is bogus!
EVERYONE Knows! that ancient fossils are made at the Smithsonian and then shipped out to those, whatchamacallit...?...ancient fossil display warehouses...?... oh yeah! Museums! The Smithsonian ships the ancient fossils out to museums for display after they manufacture them.
Don’t forget the Murder Hornet.
Holy Moley You got lucky! I wonder if it sensed the cow was in danger and needed help?
My neighbor had a ‘pet bison’ that he was supposedly on good terms with- but one day the ‘pet’ charged him in the gut and caused a big gash- Docs got it taken care of, but he got infection from the hospital apparently, and they couldn’t get it under control and it killed him- Even ‘pet’ ones can’t be fully trusted- We always thought he was crazy walking around inside the pens- he woudl always brush it off though, but ended up paying the ultimate price-
The bears and mountain lions would also be much bigger....
Good telling of your experiences with bison!
American bison are NOT buffalo. They look nothing like a Cape or a Water buffalo and do not share habitat with buffalo.
Thanks- Very true- Bison are a unique animal- and can have quite the temper- (As can cape buffalo- which actually are worse tempered- and more dangerous)- bison are a magnificent animal though- an d it was a privilege working with them- even though things didn’t go smoothly lol
The herd at Ft. Riley (now at the Konza Prairie) were Bison Bison, the species that roamed the West during the expansion of the West by Europeans. Yes, very aggressive. This skull is a Bison Antiquus, 10 to 12 feet high at the haunch, makes the current Bison look like a poodle.
I watched the Post Vet give them their annual vaccinations, the corral and chute could have survived the siege of the Alamo, but it barely survived those inoculations. Powerful animals.
I was with my Army Guard unit in the early 70s when we set up field camps on those bluffs above Funston. My Mess Tent, Mess Hall Tents and Cooks Quarters were right on the edge of that bluff. We got hit by a tornado that I watched come across the valley right at us as the sun was going down. It would have killed us all if the wall cloud had not been right on the ground. The funnel did not fully form because the circulation was so low it was still on its side. Over the years I described it as “like watching Niagra Falls on wheels’ come across that valley to the south.
At that time a good percentage of the Funston buildings still existed and later history showing that there was born the Spanish Influenza was always interesting.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.