Family Finds Mammoth Bones In Backyard June 5 2012

Iowa June 5 2012
An excavation is underway thanks to the discovery of the bones of a prehistoric mammoth in one Oskaloosa, Iowa, family's backyard.
According to ABC's affiliate ABC5-WOI in Des Moines, the first bones were discovered in July 2010 by a man named John and his two teenage sons when they were walking in the woods of their property looking for blackberries.
One of his sons pointed out what he thought was a ball in the creek below to his family. Once they got closer, John, who has an interest in archeology, noticed a marrow line at the top of the object, said reporter ABC5-WOI reporter Katie Eastman, who interviewed the family.
Realizing this was no ball, the family dug out what has now been identified as a mammoth femur.
Despite discovering the bones nearly two years ago, the bones were brought to the University of Iowa for identification only last month, sparking the interest of Holmes Semken, professor emeritus of Geoscience.
Semken enlisted the help of volunteers from the University of Iowa as well as Iowa State University, to help to uncover the fossils lying six feet below the surface.
The University of Iowa Museum of Natural History is overseeing the project's excavation and research.
"The size of this discovery is quite uncommon," said Sarah Horgen, education coordinator at the museum. "It's pretty exciting-partially because the mammoth is being discovered where it died. And we know that because we're finding very large bones right alongside very small bones."
Horgen says the mammoth is at least 12,000 years old, and was extinct by the end of the last ice age.
Horgen also noted that the mammoth's discovery is not uncommon in Iowa, and that the museum has a working record of reported fossil discoveries around the state.
"The bones discovered could be 100,000 years old or more," she said.
Two digs have been held so far. In addition to the bones found by the landowner, volunteers have since uncovered the mammoth's feet bones, as well as its floating and thoracic ribs.
"The femur is about 4 feet long. The ribs of the diaphragm that move when you breathe are 2 and half feet each. The ribs that connect to the breast bone are 4 feet. You could use one for a walking cane," Semken said.
But what will happen to the mammoth's bones once they've been all dug up?
"The bones really belong to the land owner," said Semken. "Our agreement with him is we get the science."
Semken is interested in finding how the animal died, but more importantly, how it lived.
He plans on studying the pollen samples and seeds lodged within the bones, as well as the compound make up to understand the environment the mammoth lived in, what it fed on, where it fed in terms of grassland as opposed to forest.
Semken says the digs should progress through the summer. He plans to enlist the help of volunteers from William Penn College in Oskaloosa, the local county conservation board, as well as rock clubs around the state to partake in the digs.

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  News & Politics

[Alec Baldwin]

What a dickhead...

[CrazyNews88]

I know you think he would give it to a museum or School for learning, but no he wants to hang it in his house.

[Vwxddddddd]

Scientist found woolly mammoth bones yesterday in San Francisco and there also trying to make a clone of it

[surplusagent]

My thoughts are , what if the animal had been moved by water when it was whole, shortly after death , or even been caught in a flood while still alive. I'm sure the archaeologists are far better educated than I , but I believe that their observations can only be classified as speculation or hypothesis at best

[urbaneabe]

I think that they believe this because both the large and small bones are there. If they had been moved by water or ice etc., then the large bones would have moved differently than the smaller bones.  If it was just debris that had moved from another place it would seem likely that while traveling over distance that the bones of other animals would have been mixed in.

[Advan z]

At the start the narrator said everyone has skeletons in there closet O.O

[surplusagent]

"It's pretty exciting-partially because the mammoth is being discovered where it died.....

I love how scientists suggest that the animal died in the spot they found it. I've suggested for years that these animals could have been any number of places before finally coming to rest where they are discovered. I think the recent discoveries of Japans Tsunami debris on the west coast of the US and Canada are proof enough that things can easily find their way thousands of miles from their origins.

[doudson1]

How much can u sell it for

[Srekwah]

Far out!