![13,600 mastadon skull found in Iowa creek](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/2048x1365+0+0/resize/1100/quality/85/format/webp/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F22%2Ff8%2F9906effb4f11bee810010c4aff05%2Fmastodon-1.jpg)
Iowa researchers say they’ve excavated the state’s first well-preserved mastodon, a roughly 13,600-year-old specimen that was found in the southern part of the state.
The University of Iowa’s Office of the State Archaeologist said in a Facebook post that the 12-day excavation involving staff and local community members yielded “several mastodon bones,” primarily from the skull.
Radiocarbon dating indicates that this mastodon is roughly 13,600 years old, archaeologists say, and researchers will now scrutinize the bones to look for “any evidence of human activity, such as cut marks.”