Woolly Mammoth Bones

Three sets of woolly mammoth bones were found in Mahaska County in 2010 by a man and his son who originally saw something that looked like a bowling ball. This ended up being the femur of a woolly mammoth. After they started to excavate they found teeth, a skull and other bones.

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Mahaska County

Iowa Core Standard

HS-LS2-6

Evaluate the claims, evidence, and reasoning that the complex interactions in ecosystems maintain relatively consistent numbers and types of organisms in stable conditions, but changing conditions may result in a new ecosystem

Driving Question

What type of bone is this?

Probing Questions

Is this a mammal or dinosaur?
How do we know that it is a mammoth?
Why would we find a mammoth here in Iowa?
Why did the woolly mammoth die?

Classroom Suggestions

Students could:

Research how scientists determine that this bone is a woolly mammoth.
Provide evidence that mammoths could have been in Iowa.
Compare woolly mammoth teeth to Asian elephants.
Look at maps of the last ice age to see where glaciers would be.
Write a claim with evidence and reasoning as to why the mammoths would have died at the excavation site.

Resources

University of Iowa Museum of Natural History | Mahaska County Mammoths: This article describes the discovery of mammoths in Iowa.
Iowa Now | Discovery of Mammoth Proportions: This article describes the discovery of mammoths in Iowa and how they were excavated.
Mahaska County Conservation Board: Learn more about Mahaska County and the Mahaska County Conservation Board.
New Visions for Schools | Woolly Mammoth Unit This middle school storyline explores the extinction of mammoths and includes a full teacher guide and student materials.

Contributors

Submitted by Kala Miller

Pictures provided by Laura DeCook, Naturalist, Mahaska County Conservation Board