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13,600-Year-Old Mastodon Skull Unearthed in Iowa, Offering Archaeologists a “Treasure Trove” of Data
NBC Mami ^ | 8/20 | Nicole Tan

Posted on 08/20/2024 3:21:57 PM PDT by nickcarraway

About 20 fragments were found, including a skull, rib sections, vertebra, a front leg bone and a kneecap, all believed to come from the same mastodon

Archaeologists in Iowa have uncovered parts of a mastodon fossil, including its skull, that they believe dates back to when the first humans lived on Earth.

Over the course of a 12-day excavation, staff from the University of Iowa's Office of the State Archaeologist worked with local community members to recover the bones. About 20 fragments were found, including a skull, rib sections, vertebra, a front leg bone and a kneecap, all believed to come from the same mastodon, according to a university news release.

The fossils were found in an eroded creek bed on private property in Wayne County, a rural area in the southern part of the state. The OSA said the find is Iowa's "first-ever well-preserved mastodon."

Radiocarbon dating allowed researchers to estimate that the mastodon is about 13,600 years old, which means it would have been alive at the same time humans were living and hunting in the area, according to the university.

An aerial view of the mastodon skull's location in southwest Wayne County.An aerial view of the mastodon skull's location in southwest Wayne County. (Kirk Murray) Now, researchers are turning their attention to unearthing evidence of human interaction with this mastodon. During the excavation, archaeologists found human-made artifacts like stone-tools. While they date to a few thousand years after the mastodon skull, they indicate "human existence in the creek drainage," something that has never been recorded before, the release said.

“We’re really hoping to find evidence of human interaction with this creature – perhaps the projectile points and knives that were used to kill the animal and do initial butchering,” Iowa State Archaeologist John Doershuk said in a statement. “There’s also potential evidence on the bones themselves – there could be identifiable cut marks.”

Live updates: Obamas set to address DNC in Chicago; Harris and Walz to hold rally in Milwaukee Mastodons were large mammals related to elephants and mammoths. They roamed across North America about 3.5 million years ago before going extinct 10,500 years ago, according to the university release, shortly after the last Ice Age. Their extinction has been attributed by some scientists to climate change and human predation.

Archeologists were first notified of the potential existence of the bones in 2022, when a Wayne County resident contacted Doershuk: Someone they knew had stumbled upon an unusually long bone embedded in the creek bed.

The bone turned out to be a mastodon femur, spurring archaeologists to return last fall and continue their investigation. While there, they also uncovered a broken tusk protruding from the creek bed that they believed was likely still attached to a skull, according to the university. The team was finally able to complete their excavation this month after securing funding.

Doershuk called the tusk a "treasure trove of biological data about the animal" that could reveal information about the mastodon's age, sex and diet.

Once analyzed and conserved by university scientists, the mastodon bones will be displayed at the Prairie Trails Museum in Corydon, Iowa.

Mastodon fossils are relatively common in North America. In June 2023, a woman found a mastodon molar tooth while walking along a beach in California.


TOPICS: History; Local News; Pets/Animals
KEYWORDS: archaeology; godsgravesglyphs; iowa; matadon; paleontology

1 posted on 08/20/2024 3:21:57 PM PDT by nickcarraway
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To: nickcarraway

Mastadon? Big Mike is still alive!


2 posted on 08/20/2024 3:24:53 PM PDT by Kaiser8408a (i )
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To: nickcarraway

The Flintstones are missing their vacuum cleaner.


3 posted on 08/20/2024 3:33:01 PM PDT by fidelis (Ecce Crucem Domini! Fugite partes adversae! Vicit Leo de tribu Juda, Radix David! Alleluia!)
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To: nickcarraway

They should bring mastadons and wooly mammoths back and see who wins a fight.


4 posted on 08/20/2024 3:33:45 PM PDT by HYPOCRACY (Brandon's pronouns: Xi/Hur)
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To: fidelis

5 posted on 08/20/2024 3:35:09 PM PDT by fidelis (Ecce Crucem Domini! Fugite partes adversae! Vicit Leo de tribu Juda, Radix David! Alleluia!)
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To: nickcarraway
...that they believe dates back to when the first humans lived on Earth.

Wrong....

6 posted on 08/20/2024 3:39:09 PM PDT by gundog (It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen. )
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To: Kaiser8408a

Waiting optimistically for them to find the Clovis or Solutrean points that brought it down.


7 posted on 08/20/2024 3:41:50 PM PDT by KingLudd
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To: gundog

Sloppy writing there. I swear all copy editors have been fired. Correctly stated later in the article


8 posted on 08/20/2024 3:50:06 PM PDT by j.havenfarm (23 years on Free Republic, 12/10/23! More than 8,000 replies and still not shutting up!)
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To: nickcarraway

Mastodon = nipple tooth


9 posted on 08/20/2024 3:52:21 PM PDT by KingLudd
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To: SunkenCiv

PING


10 posted on 08/20/2024 4:02:19 PM PDT by Tennessee Nana
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To: nickcarraway
Thanks nickcarraway.

11 posted on 08/20/2024 5:28:42 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (The Demagogic Party is a collection of violent, rival street gangs.)
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To: Tennessee Nana
Thanks for this ping also!

12 posted on 08/20/2024 5:57:51 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (The Demagogic Party is a collection of violent, rival street gangs.)
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To: nickcarraway

13,600-year-old Mastodon skull excavated from Iowa creek in ;goldmine; discovery after 12-day excavation

08/18/2024 9:38:16 AM PDT · by SunkenCiv · 16 replies
New York Post ^ | August 17, 2024 | Katherine Donlevy

https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/4259194/posts


13 posted on 08/20/2024 6:30:33 PM PDT by Paal Gulli
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