Iowa’s first well preserved Mastodon discovered in the southern part of the state. Wayne County resident contacted the archeologist of Iowa State University in 2022, after finding an extremely large bone sticking out of a creek bed on private property. The bone turned out to be a Mastodon femur. A 12 day excavation started last fall unearthed several more Mastodon bones and early human-made artifacts. Radiocarbon dating estimated the bones at 13,6000 years old. The newly discovered bones will be part of a new exhibit at the Prairie Trails Museum in Corydon once testing and preservation work is completed.
Pictures provided by the Office of the State Archaeologist
