Woolly Mammoth Bones found in Michigan field

While digging in a southern Michigan soybean field, James Bristle and a friend discovered what seemed like a bent fence post, covered with mud. Soon they found that it belonged to a pelvis from an ancient woolly mammoth that used to live up to 15,000 years ago.

This week, a group of paleontologists from the University of Michigan and an excavator successfully recovered nearly 20% of the animal's skeleton in Washtenaw County's Lima Township. Besides pelvis, they have also discovered the skull and two tusks, along with a number of vertebrae, ribs and both shoulder blades.

On Friday, Daniel Fisher, the scientist who led the dig, said, "We think that humans were here and may have butchered and stashed the meat so that they could come back later for it". He added that 3-basketball-sized boulders, discovered near the leftovers, may have been used to anchor the carcass in a pond.

In North America, mammoths and mastodons, another elephant-like creature, were common in before disappearing about 11,700 years ago. Fisher mentioned that leftovers of nearly 300 mastodons and 30 mammoths have been found in Michigan. However most of the found mammoths weren't as complete as the one that has been discovered in Bristle's field.

While talking to the Ann Arbor News, Bristle said that he bought the property 2 months back, and that he along with his friend discovered the odd object when they were digging to make path for a new natural gas line.

Bristle added that when his 5-year-old grandson visited the site and saw the pelvis, he got surprised and just stayed still with his jaw wide open and stared.

"When my 5-year-old grandson came over and saw the pelvis, he just stood there with his jaw wide open and stared. He was in awe," Bristle said.