Underwater Archaeologists Find Possible Mastodon Carving On Lake Michigan Rock

AHN ^ | 9-4-2007 | Nidhi Sharma

[blam]

Underwater Archaeologists Find Possible Mastodon Carving On Lake Michigan Rock

September 4, 2007 11:51 p.m. EST

Nidhi Sharma - AHN News Writer

Traverse City, MI (AHN) - Underwater archaeologists in Lake Michigan's Grand Traverse Bay are speculating a boulder they found in a June ship wreck to be engraved with a prehistoric carvings.

Mark Holley, a scientist with the Grand Traverse Bay Underwater Preserve Council, believes that the granite rock, which was found hidden at a depth of about 12 metres, has markings that resemble a mastodon.

A mastodon is an elephant-like creature that once inhabited parts of North America. It also carried what appeared to be a spear in its side.

Accepting the fact that they need the experts to come in and verify if the carvings are an ancient petroglyph, Holley said he has shown pictures of the boulder to them. Michigan has only a couple of confirmed petroglyphs.

Since the petroglyphs experts are not able to dive in sea water, the scientists say they are facing trouble showing the exact carvings to the experts.

Though the exact location of the boulder is not unveiled to prevent it from theft, scientists say it lies within the 50-kilometre-long (31 miles) bay on the flat, sandy lake floor.

Holley also told the Associated Press that the boulder is a part of a row of stones of varying sizes that might have marked the shoreline 6,000 to 10,000 years ago. The boulder with the markings is about one metre high and about 1 1/2 metres long.

[blam]

GGG Ping.

[BJClinton]

In before the ping!

[Red Badger]

Sea water? Lake Michigan is fresh water........kinda.............

[Al Gator]

Lake Michigan is “sea water”?

Excuse me, when did that happen?

[colorcountry]

Since the petroglyphs experts are not able to dive in sea water, the scientists say they are facing trouble showing the exact carvings to the experts.

There must be a petroglyph expert who also dives SOMEWHERE in the world! Isn't there?

[Larry Lucido]

Must have happened when I threw those extra McDonald’s salt packets overboard after lunch.

[HuntsvilleTxVeteran]

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070904/NEWS06/70904082/0/SPORTS06

Above URL has photo!

[Al Gator]

Just Damn, does that mean I can fishin for night blues on the lake? Nice!

[blu]

Well, it must be sea water, as the whales were spotted off Leland, heading for Empire and Frankfort! Geeze, I don’t even read the Wretched Beagle, and I know that! (thanks to Normy and Ron on AM580).

See, the tourists were upset that we just have this huge beautiful bay, with nothing more than fish and boats in it. They wanted things they could “see”. So, UofM, they of the “hey, we’ll spend your money on anything!” persuasion, decided to change the salt content of the bay and LM, and are now planning a SeaWorld Really North!

[ClearCase_guy]

There's another thread close by that says that the water level of Lake Superior is way down (I don't think that's true) but from this story it seems that the water level of lake Michigan is way up.

I'm so confused.

[dljordan]

Interesting news but the article was badly written.

[rightinthemiddle]

Looks like an elephant to me.

;-)

[Red Badger]

How did the whales get thru the St. Lawrence Seaway?..........

[Al Gator]

Somebody pulled out the plug in the dam between the two, and the water ran out.

[rightinthemiddle]

Ancient Republicans?

[PeteB570]

Ah, Zebra Mussels - nasty little brutes. Didn’t we get them from the Chinese?

[Al Gator]

They didn’t. They were stocked in the lake when they were just pollywogs.

[Red Badger]

[blu]

UofM flew them in. First, they treated them to a nice weekend on Mackinac Island, then they released them under the Mighty Mac. Man, this all happened around Memorial Day, and you didn’t hear about it? LOL!