- Island 35 Mastodon
The Island 35 Mastodon was discovered on Island No. 35 of the
Mississippi River in Tipton County,Tennessee ,United States .In 1900, a
prehistoric mastodon skeleton was excavated approximately 3 mi (4,8 km) east of Reverie,Tennessee and 4 mi (6,4 km) southeast of Wilson,Arkansas . In 1957 the site was reported as destroyed.cite book | title = The Island 35 Mastodon: Its Bearing on the Age of Archaic Cultures in the East | author = Williams, Steven | year = Apr., 1957 | location= | publisher= American Antiquity, Vol. 22, No. 4, pp. 359-372 | id = doi:10.2307/276134]Prehistoric Mastodons
Mastodons are members of theprehistoric , extinctgenus "Mammut", they resemble modernelephants .Native toNorth America they are said to have lived on the North Americancontinent from almost 4 million years ago, in the theTertiary period, until their eventual disappearance about10,000 years ago . [cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6913366.stm|publisher=BBC News|title=Greek mastodon find 'spectacular'|date=24 July 2007|accessdate=2007-07-24]Island 35 Mastodon
In 1900,
archaeologist Dr. James K. Hampson documented the discovery of skeletal remains of amastodon on Island No. 35 of theMississippi River , Tipton County,Tennessee .The site of the prehistoric find was approximately 3 mi (4,8 km) east of Reverie,
Tennessee and 23 mi (37 km) south of Blytheville,Arkansas .Discovery of the skeleton
During heavy rain in June 1900,
sand at the point bar of Island No. 35 had been washed away, exposing the mastodon skeleton from thesediment when thewater retreated from thesandbar in July of the sameyear .John Pendleton, a resident of Island No. 35, notified his neighbor Dr. James K. Hampson about unusual
bones he had found exposed by the retreating water at the head of the river island. Reportedly, Hampson visited the site of the find "2 or 3 weeks" after theprehistoric bones had been discovered. By the time of Hampson's arrival, many of the bones had beenstolen and the skeleton had been considerably damaged by "curiosity seekers" and "ivory hunters". The remainder of the skeleton ("mainly parts of the hindleg andpelvis ") could beexcavated by Hampson with help of a pick to separate the mastodon bones from thegravel andpebbles in which they had been resting "cemented together by aclay ".Modern
In 1957 the site was reported as destroyed.
It is unknown if the remaining mastodon bones are on display or part of a private collection. The Tipton County museum in Covington does exhibit some mastodon fossils.
ee also
*
Dr. James K. Hampson
*Wilson, Arkansas
*Reverie, Tennessee
*Nodena Site
*Hampson Museum State Park
*Mastodon References
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