Cleveland . . . Cut marks found on Ice Age bones indicate that
humans in Ohio hunted or scavenged animal meat earlier than previously
known. Dr. Brian Redmond, curator of archaeology at The Cleveland Museum
of Natural History, was lead author on research published in the Feb.
22, 2012 online issue of the journal
World Archaeology.
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| http://www.cmnh.org/site/Img/AboutUs/Pressroom/Sloth/View1.jpg |
Redmond and researchers analyzed 10 animal bones found in 1998
in the collections of the Firelands Historical Society Museum in
Norwalk, Ohio. Found by society member and co-author Matthew Burr, the
bones were from a Jefferson's Ground Sloth. This large plant-eating
animal became extinct at the end of the Ice Age around 10,000 years ago.
"This research provides the first scientific evidence for
hunting or scavenging of Ice Age sloth in North America," said Redmond.
"The significant age of the remains makes them the oldest evidence of
prehistoric human activity in Ohio, occurring in the Late Pleistocene
period."
A series of 41 incisions appear on the animal's left femur.
Radiocarbon dating of the femur bone estimates its age to be between
13,435 to 13,738 years old. Microscopic analyses of the cut marks
revealed that stone tools made the marks. The pattern and location of
the distinct incisions indicate the filleting of leg muscles. No traces
of the use of modern, metal cutting tools were found, so the marks are
not the result of damage incurred during their unearthing. Instead, the
morphology of the marks reveals that they were made by sharp-edged stone
flakes or blades.
The "Firelands Ground Sloth," as the specimen is named, is one
of only three specimens of Megalonyx jeffersonii known from Ohio. Based
on measurements of the femur, tibia and other bones, it is one of the
largest individuals of this species on record. It had an estimated body
mass of 1,295 kilograms (2,855 pounds).
The sloth bones were first described in a 1915 scientific paper
by geologist Oliver Hay. The collection was made known to Hay by Roe
Niver, a University of Illinois student who lived in Huron County and
died in July 1915. The bones were donated to the Firelands Museum before
1915. The only documentation with the remains indicates they were found
in a swamp in Norwich Township. The exact locality where the bones were
first discovered is uncertain.
More images:
http://www.cmnh.org/site/AboutUs/PressRoom/PhotosArtLogo/mar12redmond.aspx
"This From George - Civil War Letters and One Man's
Perspective on his American Civil War Experience” will be presented at the
Susquehanna River Archaeological Center (SRAC) on Tuesday, April 3rd
from 6:30pm – 7:30pm by Eileen M. Patch from Endwell, NY. The presentation is
based on a book authored by Ms. Patch recently..JPG)
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We emptied our lecture hall for the Eastern African Exhibit and now have
reloaded new cases with a very special exhibit from the Ted Keir
Collection at SRAC - with hundreds of fossils and seashells!
