OSKALOOSA —
As work begins to wind up for the year at the mammoth dig site in rural Mahaska County, researchers made a big discovery Sunday morning.
Members of the William Penn University Science Club were assisting scientists and other volunteers at the site Sunday morning and they helped uncover a large mammoth tusk. A work crew from Musco Lighting did more excavation work at the site this past Wednesday, so the volunteers had their work cut out for them Sunday.
“That’s a big tusk of a big male,” said Dave Brenzel of the Indian Creek Nature Center.
The tusk was well preserved in the mud of the dig site. The front part had been exposed and the volunteers uncovered the rest.
“The is exactly what we’ve hoped for,” Brenzel said. The backside of the tusk is “in lovely, lovely condition.”
The tusk is massive, but it’s hard to tell just exactly how big it is because it is broken at one end.
“This was fractured probably after death,” Brenzel said.
Brenzel said the tusk goes with some neck bones that have been discovered at the site.
One neck bone was an older discovery at the site, but the other neck bone was uncovered about two weeks ago.
Brenzel held the neck bones of a mammoth dated back to 14,000 B.C.
“It’s a nice confirmation,” Brenzel said. The fossils corroborate what experts have said about the age of plant fossils at the site, he added.
Sarah Horgen of the Natural History Museum at the University of Iowa is heading up the research effort at the dig site. She is very pleased with the results of the research effort there.
“I think none of us expected we’d have this many bones and be this far along,” she said.
The discoveries are a testament to the hard work done by many volunteers and scientists.
Depending on the weather, this may be the last work day at the dig site, Horgen said.
“We don’t want to leave anything exposed,” she said. Horgen wants to get the large male mammoth tusk removed from the site Sunday because it would not survive the winter.
Community News Network
Related Photos
-
Volunteers help unearth a large male mammoth tusk at the mammoth dig site in rural Mahaska County Sunday morning. Herald photo by Duane Nollen
Big discovery as mammoth dig wraps for the year
- Community News Network
-
- Meetings Tuesday Ottumwa Wapello County Board of Supervisors, 9:30 a.m., boardroom, courthouse. Area Bloomfield Davis County Board of Supervisors, 8:30 a.m., boardroom, courthouse. Davis County Board of Review, 8:30 a.m., assessor's office, courthouse. Fa
- Military News Wagner graduates basic training OTTUMWA -- Air Force Airman James E. Wagner graduated from basic military training at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, San Antonio, Texas. The airman completed an intensive, eight-week program that included training
- Calendar Groups wanting to be included in the Calendar must submit the item every time the group meets, at least three days in advance of the meeting. Send information to Calendar, Newsroom, Ottumwa Courier, 213 E. Second St., Ottumwa 52501 or send email to n
-
Kebabs: Health kick on a stick
Grilling is a simple way to feed your family well this summer. Start with a lean meat and a healthful marinade and then allow the grill to strip away additional fat for a heart-healthy and waist-friendly final result. Plus, grilling caramelizes the natural sugars in foods, which adds flavor without additional calories and fat.
-
Boy Scouts: Yes to gay youths, no to adults
The Boy Scouts of America on Thursday ended its ban on openly gay youths but maintained a prohibition on gay adult leaders, a decision framed as a compromise but one that could lead to litigation and thousands of defections from one of America's largest youth organizations.
- Meetings Today Maharishi Vedic City Maharsihi Vedic City Council, 11 a.m., special meeting, 1750 Maharishi Center Ave.
- Calendar Groups wanting to be included in the Calendar must submit the item every time the group meets, at least three days in advance of the meeting. Send information to Calendar, Newsroom, Ottumwa Courier, 213 E. Second St., Ottumwa 52501 or send email to n
-
Expert: Schools need shelters
Ninety-four percent of Oklahoma schools do not have tornado shelters, according to Gov. Mary Fallin, even though at least one weather expert says they should be standard. With two Moore schools destroyed in Monday’s EF-5 tornado — and ...
-
Twitter introduces website security tool after AP account hacked
Twitter is adding a new security tool to its website, making it harder for outsiders to gain access to accounts, a month after a false posting triggered a stock-market decline.
-
Siblings withstand storm in fridge
Brother and sister co-owners of a Chinese takeout restaurant huddled inside a refrigerator to survive Monday’s deadly tornado that claimed 24 lives.
- More Community News Network Headlines
