This mastadon skull and other bones were recovered in Wayne County. (photo from State Archaeologist’s FB page)
Dolly the mastodon is back in southern Iowa’s Wayne County where the partially exposed bones were found in a creek bed in 2022.
State archaeologist John Doershuk says he and his team have been working for two years to strengthen the skeleton so it can be in a museum. “This is the most complete mastodon skeleton we have from Iowa. Now surrounding states do have more remains than Iowa so far. Now, there’s tremendous areas that have never been explored and there’s great potential for additional finds of this magnitude,” he says.
The bones are estimated to be roughly13,600 years old, which in archaeology is very young. So young, that Dolly isn’t a fossil and the bones are still bone, not replaced by rock. But thanks to preservation techniques, the fragile bones are now strong enough to be displayed at Prairie Trails Museum in Wayne County.
Brenda DeVore is the museum director. “I was there when we did the dig. I remember all the clay and getting it up out of the ground. It’s been a two year process. Time has gone pretty fast. I’m excited. I’m excited it’s coming back to Wayne County. Everyone else is as well,” she says A ribbon cutting for the new exhibit is this Saturday at noon.
Doershuk and DeVore made their comments on the “Talk of Iowa” program on Iowa Public Radio.
