Mastodon Bones Discovered Under Benny the Beaver’s Turf
Construction workers have unearthed the bones of a mammoth and other ice age mammals under the Oregon State University Reser Stadium north end zone.
The Oregonian reports crews working on an expansion around Reser Stadium in Corvallis found a femur from one of the ancient elephants and bones from a bison and camel, all dating back 10,000 years.
A spokesman says OSU associate professor of anthropology Loren Davis believes the 10-foot pit where the remains were found could have been a pond or watering hole. The animals don’t appear to have been killed, Davis said, and there is no other evidence of humans at the site. Since the find does not appear to involve humans or human artifacts, the bones are not considered part of an archaeological site.
Davis says sick animals often went to a body of water to die. He also commented that the find isn’t unusual since thousands of mammoths and other long-gone creatures once roamed the surrounding Willamette Valley.
Construction work has been moved elsewhere while experts examine the bones.
Source: The Oregonian