Burning Tree Mastodon facts for kids
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Imagine finding the bones of a giant, furry elephant that lived thousands of years ago! That's what happened at the Burning Tree Mastodon site in Heath, Ohio. This special place in Ohio is where the most complete skeleton of an American mastodon was discovered. This amazing find is about 11,500 years old. Scientists also think that people were living in the area when this mastodon was alive.
Contents
How the Mastodon Was Found
The Burning Tree Mastodon was found on December 12, 1989. A worker from Flower Excavating Company was digging a new pond. This was happening on the grounds of the Burning Tree Golf Course. His big digging machine accidentally hit and damaged the mastodon's skull.
Digging Up the Ancient Bones
After the discovery, scientists worked quickly to dig up the fossil. They spent three days carefully uncovering the bones. It was a very cold and windy winter. The Ohio Historical Society and other groups helped with the excavation. Many volunteers also joined in to help.
Where It Was Found
The mastodon was found at the Burning Tree Golf Course. This is located on the south side of Heath, Ohio. It's in southern Licking County, in central Ohio, USA.
Meet the American Mastodon
The American mastodon (scientific name: Mammut americanum) was a huge mammal. It is now extinct, meaning it no longer lives on Earth. Mastodons were related to modern elephants. Today, the only living relatives are the African elephants (like the bush elephant and forest elephant) and the Asian elephant (Elephas maximus).
What Mastodons Looked Like
American mastodons lived all over North America during the Ice Age. Their fossils have been found from Alaska to Florida. They were most common in eastern America. An average mastodon was about 15 feet long. They stood 9 to 10 feet tall at the shoulder. They weighed around 8,000 to 10,000 pounds. Unlike today's elephants, mastodons were covered in thick, brownish hair. This thick hair helped them survive in the very cold Ice Age winters.
The Burning Tree Mastodon's Story
More than 150 mastodon remains have been found in Ohio. But only about a dozen are mostly complete. The Burning Tree Mastodon is very special because it is 90-95% complete! It was a male, about 30 years old when it died. Only a few bones were missing, like a rear leg and some toe bones. Scientists found healed injuries on its lower spine and ribs. These injuries might have come from fights with other mastodons.
Signs of Early Humans
Scientists found cut marks on some of the mastodon's ribs. These marks suggest that early humans might have butchered the animal. This means people used tools to cut meat from the mastodon's body. However, no stone tools were found directly at the site.
How Old Is It?
Scientists used special methods to figure out the mastodon's age. They dated wood found near the skeleton. This wood was between 11,450 and 11,660 years old. They also tested the mastodon's bones directly. The bones were about 11,390 years old. This means the mastodon lived during the Wisconsinan Glacial Interval. This was a very cold period near the end of the last Ice Age.
What Did It Eat?
The Burning Tree Mastodon is amazing for more than just its completeness. Scientists found preserved food inside its stomach and intestines! This showed that the mastodon ate moss, seeds, leaves, water lilies, and swamp grass. Before this discovery, scientists thought mastodons mainly ate twigs and cones from evergreen trees. This find changed what we knew about their diet.
Ancient Bacteria Found
Scientists also found 38 different kinds of living bacteria in the mastodon's gut contents. For a while, these were thought to be the oldest living organisms ever found. But later, even older living bacteria were found in ancient amber and rock salt.
The original Burning Tree Mastodon skeleton was sold in 1993. It went for over US$600,000. It is now displayed in a museum in Japan.
Images for kids
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The near complete skeleton of Mammut americanum - Burning Tree Mastodon (Upper Pleistocene, 11.39 ka) at the Burning Tree Golf Course
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Burning Tree Mastodon excavation (mid-December 1989), Burning Tree Golf Course, Heath, east-central Ohio, USA
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Burning Tree Mastodon Exhibit at the Akron Fossils & Science Center
