California Creek Yields 10,000-Year-Old Mastodon Tooth, Stanford Plans 3D Scan

Q: Could the secret location of this massive Ice Age fossil hold even more undiscovered prehistoric giants?

Yes—quite possibly, but scientists cannot say that yet. The tooth’s condition strongly suggests it may not have sat in the creek for all 10,000-plus years. Stanford curator Christine Garcia said it likely washed in more recently from a nearby hillside or buried deposit. If that is true, the secret site could preserve more fossils from the same animal or from other Pleistocene species that lived in the region, including mammoths, ground sloths and camels. That possibility is one reason the exact location is being withheld. Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District says it wants to prevent unauthorized digging in waterways, which could damage scientifically valuable material and the surrounding habitat. Fossils are most useful when experts can study their geologic context, not just the object itself. There is also some regional evidence that more finds are possible. Coastal Northern California has produced several mastodon discoveries in recent years, including another Pacific mastodon tooth near Santa Cruz. Paleontologists say the new San Mateo County molar adds to a growing fossil record showing the Bay Area was part of an active Ice Age landscape. Still, one tooth alone is not proof of a larger bone bed or a cluster of “prehistoric giants.” Researchers need carbon dating, sediment analysis and careful field investigation to determine whether the area contains more remains. For now, the site is promising, not proven.

3 articles · Updated · abcnews.com · Sep 10

An 8.5-inch Pacific mastodon molar in “immaculate condition” was found in a San Mateo County creek during field surveys for a habitat enhancement project.
Paleontologists first mistook the fossil for an oddly shaped rock before confirming it was an intact tooth from an adult Pacific mastodon, a species that went extinct about 11,700 years ago.
Wayne Thompson called it the most complete mastodon molar from the area and the most spectacular mastodon molar he has seen.
Stanford’s Doerr School of Sustainability received the tooth and plans carbon dating and a 3D scan to pin down its exact age and study the region’s Pleistocene ecosystem.