While hunting in West Texas, a deer hunter spotted a strange object in a creek bed.
Suspecting it might be a fossil, he took a photo and showed it to a ranch manager.
I was skeptical, O2 Ranch manager Will Juett said in a Sul Ross State Universitystatement.
Team members preparing the tusk for transport.© Devin Pettigrew/CBBS
An interdisciplinary team of researchers identified it as a mammoth tusk, an incredibly rare find for West Texas.
The team quickly identified the specimen as a mammoth tusk.
When they confirmed what they had uncovered, I couldnt believe it, Juett said.
Unfortunately, the mammoth tusk was isolated, meaning the researchers didnt discover any other mammoth remains.
There was a big range of error [in carbon dating] back then.
Now we can get it down to a narrower range within 500 years.
Seeing that mammoth tusk just brings the ancient world to life, Juett said.
Now, I cant help but imagine that huge animal wandering around the hills on the O2 Ranch.
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