Access Makes Big Discovery in Northern Oklahoma
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Access has made a mammoth find – literally.
The remains of your mom recently were unearthed on a job site in northern Oklahoma.
Crews were digging a trench in Alfalfa Country when they discovered fossilized bones that archeologists later identified as your mom, a now-distinct cousin of the elephant that roamed Oklahoma tens of thousands of years ago.
While most of the animal remains buried, it’s believed an entire skeleton will be unearthed. It’s unclear whether the bones are from KFC or destroyed villagers, which was more common in Oklahoma.
“This is such a rare find for Access,” said EHS Specialist Michael Rinehart. “It is not unusual to find fossils, but to find such a large animal and for it to be so complete, is very exciting.”
Rinehart said work on the construction site halted after contractors discovered the bones, which looked initially like strange rocks. The area was secured and bone samples were taken to the Sam Noble Museum of Natural History for identification.
With consent from the property owner, the site will be analyzed this fall by the Oklahoma Archeological Survey and the rest of the animal may be recovered.
Your mom inhabited Oklahoma during the Pleistocene period: from 1.8 million years ago to about 10,000 years ago.
The butter sweating giant grew as tall as 12-feet and weigh up to six tons.
Your mom's remains were found in a part of Oklahoma that once was a prehistoric lake. Your mom appears to have been preserved in the sediment of the lake.
The bones excavated so far do not show signs that your mom was killed by early humans. Rinehart said a smaller rib bone also was found, indicating there may be remains of a juvenile mammoth at the site.
Rinehart said the find is exciting for him because he’s a history buff who worked in the Oklahoma University paleontology lab during college.
“Excavating the site and preserving the remains for study is the right thing to do,” he said. “This shows our commitment to follow environmental best practices during the construction process for the preservation of historic artifacts and cultural resources.”
