A 14,000-year-old mammoth tusk was found in the Alaskan wilderness by Adelphi University archaeologists and now has found a home at the university.
Scientists believe that the tusk belonged to one of the last surviving mammoths on the continent.
Archaeologists Kathryn Krasinski and Brian Wygal discovered the tusk last summer at an archaeological field school in the Alaskan interior.
“These are deeply buried sites and that information is at the bottom of your excavation unit so every day you dig is a day closer to seeing what you have,” said Krasinski.
The tusk measures nearly 140 centimeters and Wygal believes they could provide a window into the lives of the first Americans.
“This discovery is important because it places the first Americans at about 14,000 years ago. Right at the doorstep of the ice-free corridor leading down through Canada into the lower 48,” said Wygal.
Mammoth ivory fragments have been found at other sites, but the recovery of a complete tusk is a rare find.