Current:Home > StocksArchaeologists find mastodon skull in Iowa, search for evidence it interacted with humans-VaTradeCoin
Archaeologists find mastodon skull in Iowa, search for evidence it interacted with humans
View Date:2025-01-09 11:32:34
Archeologists in Iowa believe they have unearthed an ancient mastodon skull dating back to when the first humans were roaming the Earth.
Discovered in the southern part of the state, the find is Iowa's first well-preserved mastodon, according to the University of Iowa’s Office of the State Archaeologist. Scientists and local community members recently undertook a 12-day excavation at the site, which yielded “several mastodon bones,” primarily from the skull.
Radiocarbon dating then allowed the team of researchers to estimate that the specimen is about 13,600 years old, meaning the mastodon would have been alive around the time that the first humans were living and hunting in the area, the university said.
Researchers will next analyze the bones looking for any evidence that humans came across this particular mastodon.
Dinosaur extinction:Scientists think they know the origin of the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs
Mastodon skull estimated to be 13,600 years old
Mastodons, large mammals similar to both elephants and mammoths, roamed North America from around 3.5 million years ago until 10,500 years ago.
A resident of Wayne County contacted John Doershuk, Iowa's state archaeologist, in 2022 after stumbling upon an unusually long bone embedded in a creek bed on private property.
The bone turned out to be a mastodon femur, prompting archeologists to further investigate the site last fall. While there, they also uncovered a broken tusk protruding from the creek bed that they believe was likely still attached to mastodon's skull.
After securing funding for another dig, the team returned this month "to carefully excavate the skull and several additional mastodon bones, likely all from the same animal," the University of Iowa said in a news release.
Scientists search for evidence of human interaction with mastodon
The 12-day excavation also led archaeologists to uncover several human-made artifacts, such as stone tools.
The tools were dated to a few thousand years after the mastodon skull, but the team was still encouraged to find the first-ever evidence of "human existence in the creek drainage."
Now, the scientists hope more archaeological finds, coupled with documentation of the bones’ orientation and location, could lead to evidence of "human interaction" with the specimen, as well as "how and why the creature came to be deposited in the creek bed."
“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,” Doershuk said in a statement. “There’s also potential evidence on the bones themselves – there could be identifiable cut marks.”
Other similar fossil finds
The discovery is the latest in a string of prehistoric finds across the United States.
Earlier this month, a man in Mississippi found a mammoth tusk, a rarity for the state. And in May, a Florida man discovered a 4-foot mastodon tusk at the bottom of the ocean while searching for fossils near the coast of Venice.
In May 2023, coal miners in North Dakota unearthed a 7-foot-long mammoth tusk buried for thousands of years near Beulah, located about 80 miles northwest of Bismarck. Following a 12-day excavation, scientists recovered more than 20 bones from the skeleton that were determined to be one of the most complete mammoth skeletons ever discovered in the state.
How to see the Iowa mastodon bones
The mastodon bones are slated to become part of a new exhibit at the Prairie Trails Museum in Corydon once scientists at the University of Iowa analyze and conserve the skull and other recovered bones.
veryGood! (6)
Related
- 1 million migrants in the US rely on temporary protections that Trump could target
- Ariana Grande Reveals Every Cosmetic Procedure She's Had Done
- Texas can no longer investigate alleged cases of vote harvesting, federal judge says
- Photos and videos capture 'biblical devastation' in Asheville, North Carolina: See Helene's aftermath
- Amazon's 'Cross' almost gets James Patterson detective right: Review
- Accused Los Angeles bus hijacker charged with murder, kidnapping
- Justice Department will launch civil rights review into 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre
- California expands access to in vitro fertilization with new law requiring insurers to cover it
- Kentucky gets early signature win at Champions Classic against Duke | Opinion
- Katie Meyer's family 'extremely disappointed' Stanford didn't honor ex-goalie last week
Ranking
- Love Actually Secrets That Will Be Perfect to You
- Helene death toll climbs to 90 | The Excerpt
- 4 sources of retirement income besides Social Security to rely upon in 2025
- Judge in Alaska sets aside critical habitat designation for threatened bearded, ringed seals
- Sam LaPorta injury update: Lions TE injures shoulder, 'might miss' Week 11
- Drone video captures Helene's devastation in Asheville, North Carolina
- Exclusive: Disney Store's Holiday Shop Is Here With Magical Gifts for Every Fan, From Pixar to Marvel
- 'I hate Las Vegas': Green Day canceled on at least 2 radio stations after trash talk
Recommendation
-
Singles' Day vs. Black Friday: Which Has the Best Deals for Smart Shoppers?
-
NBA players, coaches, GMs react to Dikembe Mutombo's death: 'He made us who we are.'
-
Ariana Grande Claps Back at the Discourse Around Her Voice, Cites Difference for Male Actors
-
A sheriff is being retried on an assault charge for kicking a shackled detainee twice in the groin
-
Democrat Janelle Bynum flips Oregon’s 5th District, will be state’s first Black member of Congress
-
Justice Department will launch civil rights review into 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre
-
MLB power rankings: Los Angeles Dodgers take scenic route to No. 1 spot before playoffs
-
Helene wreaks havoc across Southeast | The Excerpt