A remarkable discovery of an ancient mastodon tooth was made by a homeowner in Scotchtown, N.Y., and has shed new light on these prehistoric creatures. Dr. Cory Harris, an archaeologist at SUNY’s Orange County Community College, was called upon to examine the find after it was reported that the teeth were remarkably well-preserved ice age remains. The mastodon jawbone, containing two enormous yellowed teeth, was found 14 inches below the surface of a backyard.
Scientists believe that the house’s location in an ideal region for mastodons allowed for their preservation. Mastodons roamed North America until they went extinct around 10,000 years ago. Dr. Robert Feranec, director of research and collections at the New York State Museum, said that this find is part of a larger collection of discoveries made in Orange County over the past two centuries, with about 60 mastodon specimens found so far.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/19/nyregion/mastodon-teeth-new-york.html