Emily Chan
In south-central Iowa, a roughly 13,600-year-old mastodon skull was unearthed from a creek bed on private property.
It is the first well-preserved mastodon skull ever found in the state. Archaeologists believe that the creature may have crossed paths with early humans.
Two years ago, residents of Wayne County, a rural area located about 80 miles south of Des Moines, reported seeing a long bone sticking out of the creek.
It was identified as a mastodon femur bone. Recently, archaeologists and local community members spent 12 days excavating the site.
Their efforts yielded several mastodon bones, including an enormous skull with a tusk still attached. Overall, about 20 bone fragments were dug up, and they all likely belong to the same mastodon.
Radiocarbon dating revealed that the specimen was about 13,600 years old. Next, the researchers will analyze the remains to determine if humans caused the mastodon’s death or if they interfered with the carcass in any way.
“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,” said John Doershuk, the director and state archaeologist at the University of Iowa Office of the State Archaeologist.
Mastodons are large mammals that are now extinct, similar to elephants and mammoths. They were slightly smaller than woolly mammoths, weighing in at around six tons.
They roamed North America, from what is now Alaska to central Mexico, between 3.5 million and 13,000 years ago.
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