42 ancient mastodon bones dug up in a Bellevue Township excavation site late last year are set to go on display at the University of Michigan Museum of Paleontology after they are officially handed over later this month, according to the Lansing State Journal.
The director of the museum Daniel Fisher, who has vetted the find, says the donation of the 42 ancient mastodon bones to the institution will give researchers the opportunity to determine exactly how old the bones are. Nonetheless, Fisher estimates that the bones belonged to a 37-year-old male mastodon, who lived in the area between 10,000 to 14,000 years ago.
According to Fisher, markings on the bone indicate that the mastodon may have been killed. "Preliminary examinations indicates that the animal may have been butchered by humans," he said.
The 42 mastodon bones found includes a leg, pieces of the animal's rib cage, shoulder and hip bones, as well as parts of its vertebrae and tusk.
Daniel LaPoint, a contractor, reportedly chanced on the 42 mastodon bones in Nov. 2014 after he detected one of the animal's rib bones sticking out of a pile of dirt he had excavated from a neighbor's backyard.
Fisher has indicated that there is a possibility that there are more bones where the find was made. If indeed the animal was butchered, it would explain why only pieces of its remains were found at one site.
LaPoint and Eric Witzke, who lives nearby, reportedly spent up to 4 days digging up the huge bones from the earth.
"I spent quite a bit of money to go on hunting trips," LaPoint explains. "All the sudden this became a hunting trip right in the neighbor's backyard."
Although LaPoint and Witzke will keep some souvenirs from the 42 ancient mastodon bones found, but they say the 'once'in-a'lifetime' experience will stay with them forever.
Mastodon, are distant relatives of elephants which are believed to have weighed up to 5 tons. They lived predominantly in North and Central America thousands of years ago. Although scientists have held that their extinction was caused by the environment, new discoveries are hinting that they may have been killed off by humans into extinction.
The 42 ancient mastodon bones found will hopefully shed some light on this.
