Mastodon – Not a Stranger to the Hudson
River Valley
I.
Background
a.
Name: American Mastodon (Mammut american)
b.
Size: 6 to 10 feet tall; 6 to 8 tons each (females at smaller end of spectra)
c.
Other physical characteristics: Shaggy
coats, upward curved tusks
d.
Habitat: Alaska to Brazil, though thrive in marsh-like
areas, especially Hudson River Valley
e.
Lifespan: 60 years
f.
Reason for extinction: Not known –
lived until 10,000 years ago
g.
Living relative: Elephant (proboscidia
family)
h.
Not a dinosaur, though frequently confused as one
II.
Mastodon Finds In the New York’s Hudson River Valley
a.
Orange County, NY is the source of first complete Mastodon skeleton, and the
most fossils in New York have been found in this county
b.
Peale and Founding Fathers
i.
First mastodon in the country found in Hudson River Valley
ii.
Second mastodon found in the world
iii.
1801 Charles Wilson Peale ‘excavated’ the Hudson River Valley near Newburgh,
NY at the farm of John Masten
1.
Mastodon was a “Symbol of National Identity”
2.
Paul Semon wrote about this, and how the founding fathers, particularly Thomas
Jefferson, were very interested in this animal, and ‘wanted to see it as a
carnivorous beast – a symbol for the aggressive, growing nation…’ in his book
“American Monster”
3.
Children’s book of the dig “The
Great Unknown”
iv.
Peale’s Famous Painting – “Exhuming
of the Mastodon"
v.
Skeleton went into Peale’s Philadelphia Museum, then sold to France, and now
rests at Hessisches
Landesmuseum in Darmstadt, Germany
vi.
More
information On Peale
c.
Cohoes Mastodon
i.
Found in 1836 in Cohoes, (between Troy and Schenectady)
ii.
Were excavating for Mill No. 3 of the Harmony Mills
iii.
Replica is on display at the Cohoes Public Library
iv.
Original was on moving exhibit, and has been restored
v.
VISIT him: New York
State Museum
d.
Warren’s Mastodon
i.
Found in 1845 near Newburg, NY
ii.
First entire American mastodon skeleton found in the United States
iii.
One of the most complete mastodon skeletons known, still today
iv.
VISIT at the American
Museum of Natural History , where it has been since 1925
e.
Shawangunk
Valley Mastodons
i.
Montgomery, 1845
1.
“perfect”’ skeleton
2.
unusually large, at 11 feet high, 20 feet long
3.
VISIT at Boston
ii.
Mount Hope, 1872
1.
Smaller and less complete versus Montgomery Mastodon
2.
VISIT New Haven County
iii.
Other places, less complete, generally fragments
1.
Crawford
2.
Ward’s Bridge
3.
Masten
f.
Baisley Park Mastodon
i.
Found in 1858 in Jamaica, Queens
ii.
Five teeth and a few bone fragments found
iii.
Not much in that region and Long Island due to water-saturated soil
iv.
Today there’s Mastodon Art at Baisley Park
g.
Museum Village Mastodon
i.
Found in 1952 near Monroe
ii.
Large, very old male
iii.
VISIT him: Natural History Building
of Museum Village (www.museumvillage.com
)
h.
Sugar Loaf Mastodon “Sugar”
i.
Found in 1972 on Warwick-Chester border
ii.
20 feet long male; 9 feet tall (at
pelvis); unusual tusk at lower jaw
iii.
Radiocarbon dated between 7910 BC – 8135 BC
iv.
VISIT him: housed at SUNY Orange in the Bio-tech building since 1976
v.
Currently, trying to restore him because old methods of preserving trapped
moisture in the bones and he is decaying
i.
Hyde Park Mastodon
i.
One of the most complete skeletons of an American Mastodon ever found
ii.
95% of bones recovered
iii.
Unearthed August 1999 – 2000 (Read the daily logs: August-October
2000 and June
2000 )
iv.
Adult male, 30 to 40 years old
v.
Weighed 10,000 to 15,000 pounds when alive
vi.
Lived 11,500 years ago (radioactive carbon dating)
vii.
Sediment samples help reconstruct climate during his life - Sediment
Core
viii.
Very popular:
1.
Media
Coverage
2.
Featured
on the Discovery Channel
ix.
August 2002 – sent to University of Michigan for molding and studying
x.
February 2003 – sent to Canada for mounting
xi.
May 2003 – sent to Ithaca, NY for display
xii.
VISIT him: Museum
of the Earth
j.
Gilbert’s Mastodon
i.
The first time mastodon and mammoth fossils found together
ii.
Located in North Chemung County, South of Watkins Glen
iii.
1999 found and excavated by Cornell University
iv.
35 year old male
v.
Lived 10,000 – 14,000 years ago
vi.
Recovered 80% of skeleton
vii.
Studied, prepared, and on display at PRI
viii.
VISIT him: Museum
of the Earth
k.
North Java Mastodon (between Rochester and Buffalo)
i.
Found July 2001
ii.
Small, juvenile most likely female
iii.
Age unknown
iv.
Photos
From the Dig
l.
Ellenville, NY
i.
Mastodon tooth found
ii.
Wawarsing Township
iii.
McElhone's Pond
m.
Bear Mountain Park Trailside Museums and Wildlife Center
i.
Geology Museum houses mastodon bones found near museum
ii.
VISIT them: Bear
Mountain Zoo
III.
New Jersey Area Mastodon Finds
i.
Random molars and tusks have been recovered from the coast off the sea floor,
some even found several hundred miles from the shore under hundreds of feet
of water
ii.
Some skeletons/fragments found mostly between Vienna and Hackettstown, NJ
ii.
Unnamed
a.
Found in 1869 – very complete
b.
Located in a bed of gray marl in Mannington
Township, Salem County, NJ
c.
22 feet long
d.
9 feet 8 inches high
e.
10,000 years old
f.
One of the finest specimens of mastodon
found in NJ
g.
VISIT is in the Museum
of Rutgers University
iii.
Matilda
a.
Found in 1954 intact with teeth
b.
Exhumed from South of Vernon, NJ in Sussex County
c.
Young female
d.
8 feet tall at shoulders
e.
15 feet long
f.
Lived around 9000 BC
g.
VISIT her at the New
Jersey State Museum
iii.
Ortlip’s Hackensack Mastodon
1.
Discovered in 1962 while constructing Route 80
2.
VISIT at The
Bergen Museum
iv.
Dwarkill Mastodon
1.
Discovered in 1973
2.
VISIT at The
Bergen Museum
b.
Native Americans
i.
Much folklore was based upon fossils of prehistoric creatures
ii.
Read
some stories for yourself!
IV.
Resources
