Construction workers at a sports stadium in the western state of Oregon made a surprising discovery during recent efforts to expand the American football facility.
On Monday, at Reser Stadium at Oregon State University, workers unearthed bones likely from a woolly mammoth that had been buried for more than 10,000 years.
“There are quite a few bones, and dozens of pieces,” said Loren Davis, an associate professor of anthropology at OSU. “Some of the bones are not in very good shape, but some are actually quite well preserved."
According to a news release, mammoth bones are relatively common in the Willamette Valley area of the state.
In addition, the university says there were also remains of “bison and some kind of camel or horse."
“Animals who were sick would often go to a body of water and die there, so it’s not unusual to find a group of bones like this,” Davis said. “We had all of these types of animals in the Willamette Valley back then.”
Those observations seem to be backed up by the lack of evidence of humans in the area, meaning the beast was likely not hunted.
Davis says that in the short term, the bones will be soaked to prevent damage and that some samples will be sent out to be carbon dated.
