In addition to the fossilized mammoth tusk and skull, more bones from the extinct animal were dug up by the team. They found a pelvis bone, several vertebrae, ribs, and both shoulder blades. The items were carefully removed from the mud while the fascinated onlookers observed.
Bristle’s grandson was on the scene, and the farmer described the experience: “When my five-year-old grandson came over and saw the pelvis, he just stood there with his jaw wide open and stared. He was in awe.” The remains were then packed up and sent to a museum for further study, which revealed yet another surprise.
In Over His Head
It was at that point that James Bristle decided that he was in over his head and that he needed to bring in some expert help. He reached out to Prof. Daniel Fisher from the University of Michigan’s Museum of Paleontology. The professor was immediately intrigued and agreed to send a team of his students out to help.
The team arrived on site and was forced to work as quickly as they could because Bristle could only spare one day for the excavation. The students worked carefully yet rapidly in the mud, but their jaws dropped when they figured out exactly what they were dealing with.
A Rare Discovery
More help arrived in the form of a local excavator who volunteered his expertise and some specialized machinery to move the project along. He also said something that Bristle will never forget, “He said he’s been digging for 45 years, and he’s seen nothing like this,” Bristle cited the man’s words.
No one could believe it when the bones were finally identified as the remains of a woolly mammoth — the enormous creature from the long-extinct Ice Age. One mystery had been solved, but there were many more discoveries left to be made.
Humanity’s Role
Just like the ancient find in Argentina, the remarkable discovery of the woolly mammoth remains in Michigan begged the question of how and why did the animal end up in that location. Not surprisingly, the human element also played an important part in the place the “Michigan Mammoth” was found.
Dan Fisher, a professor from Michigan, speculated that when the mammoth died, it had been roughly 40 years old. “We think that humans were here and may have butchered and stashed the meat so that they could come back later for it,” he said. However, there was one more astonishing thing still to learn about the long-dead creature.
Mammoths and Mastodons
During the last Ice Age, mammoths and their distant cousins, the mastodons, were among the most eminent species to roam the planet. Mammoths, which are the ancient ancestors of modern-day elephants, evolved roughly five million years ago, and most of them became extinct around 10,000 years ago.
Roughly 20% of the skeleton of the “Bristle Mammoth” was uncovered. This gave researchers quite a bit of data to work with. Prof. Fisher concluded that the bones found in Michigan were between 11,000 and 15,000 years old.