Excitement Continues At Mahaska Mammoth Location

Volunteers and scientists work at the Mahaska Mammoth dig site this past Friday.

Oskaloosa, Iowa – At a rural Oskaloosa farm, volunteers and scientists visited the Mahaska Mammoth dig site with a renewed energy. The past two weeks have seen new discoveries come to light.

Last year was a quiet year at the site for the discovery of new bones. Lots of scientific data about Iowa 14,000 years ago was collected by geologists, but bones draw the crowds and support.

Since opening up the site this year, excitement has been building as new bone discoveries have been made.

On Friday, approximately 30 people from all over were at the site, digging along a per-historic rock line that, to this point, has been providing the latest discoveries.

Recently, a rib bone and a vertebrae were discovered in that rock line. Dave Brenzel, of the Indian Creek Nature Center, said that more than likely the bones will remain in the ground for an additional week. The hope is to photograph the site after work is completed over the weekend. Those photos would then be sent off to the geologists to gain their perspective on the site, and where future digs may yield more clues.

“The rib is from the first rib of the Woolly Mammoth, and the vertebrae is from its tail. That kind of mixture has been a hallmark of the site, which has yielded the remains of at least 3 of the per-historic animals. The site is part of a creek area that mixed up the bones over time during different flood events, but all three radio-carbon dates of the bones are virtually identical,” says Brenzel.

“No matter how deep the rock strain goes, we’re gong to follow it,” says Brenzel.

The bones being discovered have been getting a high-tech treatment that measures them, turning them into a file usable on 3-D printers. This opens up the possibilities for greater research by scientists that don’t have access to the original bones. The 3-D models generated by the printer are accurate to within the width of a human hair, and make possible the study of fragile bones, like the one Brenzel was showing. The bone of a mammoth voice box (hyoid bone) is a rare find, a large bone, but not very thick and in turn quite fragile. The new 3-D model allows study of the bone, without the danger of damaging the bone.

Mahaska County Naturalist Laura DeCook has been leading the efforts as well at the mammoth site, and helps to coordinate the volunteers for the digs.

Some of the 30 volunteers at the site were there last weekend. They knew about the bones and wanted to be a part of the discovery process again.

The renewed interest is helping keep spirits high, and the digging is moving along at a quick but cautious pace.

Those that are interested in being a part of the mammoth dig need only contact DeCook at the Mahaska County Conservation Center. You can also contact her at decook@mahaskacounty.org or call her at 641.673.9327 to get placed on the list for updates about dig possibilities.

The next scheduled dig is August 14th. “We have room for several more people,” says DeCook.