Excavators have unearthed a 13,600-year-old mammoth skull from a creek in Iowa.
University of Iowa Office of the State Archaeologist
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University of Iowa Office of the State Archaeologist
Researchers in Iowa say they have unearthed the state’s first well-preserved mammoth fossil, a specimen dating back about 13,600 years found in the southern part of the state.
University of Iowa Office of the State Archaeologist said in a Facebook post. that the 12-day excavation involving staff and the local community yielded “a number of mammoth bones”, mainly from the skull.
Archaeologists said radiocarbon dating showed the mastodon was around 13,600 years old and researchers will now scrutinise the skeletons for “any evidence of human activity, such as cut marks”.
“We really hope to find evidence of human interaction with this creature—perhaps arrows and knives used to kill the animal and perform the initial butchery,” John Doershuk, director and state archaeologist at the Office of the State Archaeologist, said in a statement. “There is also potential evidence on the bones themselves—there may be identifiable cut marks.”
American mastodon, or Mammut americanumis a member of the same order as modern elephants.
Flags mark mammoth skulls and tusks unearthed during the 12-day excavation.
University of Iowa Office of the State Archaeologist
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University of Iowa Office of the State Archaeologist
Standing nearly 10 feet tall with curved tusks, mastodons existed from 3.5 million years ago to about 10,500 years ago, according to University of IowaTheir fossils have been discovered throughout North and Central America.
Iowa archaeologists say the excavation site along an eroding stream bank in Wayne County first came to their attention in 2022.
Mammoth tusks are seen at an excavation site in Iowa.
University of Iowa Office of the State Archaeologist
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University of Iowa Office of the State Archaeologist
The mastodon bones will become part of a new exhibit at the Prairie Trails Museum in Corydon, Iowa, once preservation and analysis at the university are complete.
