Mammoth Site Open Again

This portion of a mammoth leg bone was discovered this past weekend at the Mahaska Mammoth site.

Oskaloosa, Iowa – It has been some time since volunteers and scientists have been to the Mahaska Mammoth dig site.

This past Friday, volunteers and others worked to clean up the mess that winter made of the site. Run-off filled in some areas, and cleaning those out was top priority.

There ended up being enough time to start digging into a few new areas at the site. The efforts paid off with the discovery of a portion of leg bone. The piece nearly matched the largest piece found all of last year.

For scientists, the bone was interesting because of how intact the inner portions of the splintered bone remained. The morrow area of the bone still looked fresh, for 14,000 years old. The delicate lace-like nature of the inner portion of the bone remained intact.

For those investigating the site, it’s yet another piece of the puzzle in understanding what the area here was like all those years ago.

Digging will continue more often now that the site has dried out. To find out about volunteer opportunities at the site, contact Laura DeCook at the Mahaska County Conservation Center.