Possible Ice Age horse molar next to bison molar. Science Museum of Minnesota. Another incredible Ice Age find from my good friend Bill in 2018 — New Ulm, Minnesota. Every one of these teeth and bones helps us answer a bigger question: Were Ice Age horses still roaming Minnesota later than we thought? Follow along as we work through all twelve specimens and uncover what the dates reveal. #Pleistocene #Equus #MinnesotaHistory #Paleontology #CitizenScience #IceAgeMinnesota #RadiocarbonDating

Possible Ice Age horse molar. Science Museum of Minnesota.

Possible Ice Age horse molar. Science Museum of Minnesota.

🐴 #FossilFriday — Lower horse molar (SMM P2020.7.34) from my hometown ❤️‍🔥. Specimen 7 of 12 headed for radiocarbon dating. #LostBones updates on Substack: substack.com/@marcusbrand...

👇 What do you think this molar’s age will come back as — Ice Age or more recent?
#Pleistocene #Equus #CitizenScience

The series continues: twelve horse teeth from across Minnesota, each one headed for radiocarbon dating to finally pin down when these animals moved across the state’s post glacial landscape. Pictured is a potential upper Ice Age molar. Occlusal view.

Potential upper Ice Age molar. Side

Potential Ice Age horse incisor. Side view

#LostBones #FossilFriday #Equus #RadioCarbonDating 🐴 In June 1921, crews at the Sagamore Mine near Riverton, Minnesota uncovered a peat layer eight feet down containing a Pleistocene bone bed with a horse molar (#6), a horse incisor, and other late‑Quaternary fossils.

www.crowwinghistory.org

Lower p2 horse molar (side view) found near Olson's Point in Buffalo Lake

Lower p2 horse molar (side view) found in 1976 on Olson's Point south side of Buffalo Lake

Horse molar occlusal view.

#LostBones #FossilFriday! 🐴🐂🦥🐪🐟 Was on the road this week with@dr-crocogator.bsky.social to retrieve this beauty, specimen #4, found on Buffalo Lake in from Wright County, Minnesota.

www.wrighthistory.org
📖 Notes: substack.com/profile/7473...
#pleistocene #equus #palaeontology #citizenscience

Upper horse molar, occlusal view.

Horse molar side view. Shari also found sea shells and her father told her of an enormous inland sea that once covered the valley during the Ordovician—where Shari immediately imagined going for a swim.

Photo Credit: Purple prairie clover central MN / Kelly Povo

#Lostbones Equine molar #3 of 12 will also be radiocarbon dated this year. This one was found in Flower Valley near Redwing Minnesota in the 1960s by ten year old Shari Albers. Read Shari's story in Lost Bones #4

Mammoth molar. Scale is 10cm.

🐘🦥 For #FossilFriday: a mammoth mystery. The Franklin Street tooth was the first of twelve specimens from New Ulm, MN—unearthed in 1912 in glacial drift, it’s the earliest known. New Ulm finds continue! Read more about the “dirty dozen” in #LostBones #3 on my Substack.

marcusbrandel.substack.com

In a glacial outwash channel near Little Sauk, Minnesota, a local naturalist began discovering bison and horse bones in the thick black marl at the bottom of a river on his property. So, as one does, he and a family friend started visiting the river - wading in the neck-deep water feeling for bones with their feet! Eventually, they retrieved enough bones to construct the complete composite skeleton shown here.

Bison skull sideview

Bison skeleton in private collection.

#lostBones This is the fourth full skeleton I’ve written about from the state - all proudly assembled by private individuals without institutional help.

If you know of others, or if you have your own skeleton haunting your basement or garage this Halloween #FossilFriday I’d love to hear the tale!

A reading from my fantasy murder mystery, Lost Bones, Book 1 of the Bone Reader series. Available in e-book, and soon print: www.mabmorris.com

#LostBones #fortunetelling #fantasyfiction #fantasymystery #indieauthor

The camel calcaneus included with specimens form a 2015 study on a southern Minnesota section of the Des Moines which examined bison, horse, deer, and other skeletal remains found in the river, exploring their transport and any human interaction.

Over 800 bones, including this calcaneus, were catalogued.

Camel calcaneus

Camel calcaneus

🐪 #LostBones 🐪 says Hmmm… A recent visit to the Jackson County Historical Society Museum revealed a camel calcaneus in the collection. But was this camel actually in Minnesota? More to come.
Jackson County: www.jchsmn.org
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#FossilFriday #Pleistocene #Camel #Palaeontology #CitizenScience

Rib bones Anoka County Historical Society

Rib bones Melrose Area Historical Society

Rib bones St. Cloud State University

Rib bone Rice County Historical Society

Ribs! The third most common terrestrial mammal skeletal element found during my research in county historical societies - #2 (mandibles), #1 (teeth).

#counting #bones #lostbones #citizenscience

A mastodon tooth.

A mastodon tooth.

Article pertaining to tooth discovery.

A mastodon tooth and a bank robber's ear!? The Northfield Historical Society has both! Defeat Jesse James Days starts this week in Northfield Minnesota.

djjd.org
www.northfieldhistory.org/1876-bank-raid

Read more about the ear and the tooth in #LostBones #2. Link is in my profile. #CitezenScience

Moose, Alcesalces, skull displayed at the Kittson County, Minnesota historical society. The county is known as “where Minnesota begins.”

Bison skullcap - the Kittson County collection includes five bison skullcaps, possibly recovered from the Red River, three bison horn cores, and numerous postcranial elements. Moose, wapiti, and other mammal materials are also represented.

Bison skullcap

🐂 It’s a #Bisonbison #Alcesalces #FossilFriday! 🐴🐘🦥🐪 These #LostBones skulls come from Kittson County, Minnesota—the northeastern most county in the state.

If any of these are your donations and you have more info, please reach out through the link in my profile.
www.facebook.com/KittsonCount...

Horde femurr now housed, along with many other specimens from the project, at the Jackson County Historical Society in Lakefield, Minnesota In 2015 Dominic Delmont would submit a theses on the project - History and Taphonomy of Bison Bones From the Des Moines River

Horse femur. In 2015 Dominic Delmont would submit a theses on the project - History and "Taphonomy of Bison Bones From the Des Moines River"

🐴 #LostBones #FossilFriday 🐟🐘🦥🐪 In the summer of 2012, students from the Geology Department at Gustavus Adolphus College collected over 800 bones along the Des Moines River near Jackson, Minnesota.

This crunchy but beautiful left horse femur was recovered as part of the project.

www.jchsmn.org

The excerpt here was published in a 1983 article in Minnesota Conservation Volunteer and features some wonderful vintage paleoart by Ken Sander. #Cretaceous #Minnesota #Crocodile #Terminonarusrobusta #Palaeontology #CitizenScience Hill Annex Paleontology Project: https://www.facebook.com/groups/373774663482849 More Lost Bones: https://medium.com/@dbrake40

Snout of Terminonaris robusta found at Hill Annex Mine. Contrary to the internet these days, Minnesota does have fossiliferous Cretaceous formations - and yes, even dinosaurs. The major formations, the Windrow in southern Minnesota and the Coleraine in northern Minnesota, are indeed present, though mostly buried well beneath the surface. But iron mining on Minnesota’s Mesabi Range has done some digging for us.

Today’s #FossilFriday - a tribute to Minnesota’s Cretaceous rocks and one of its earliest fossil finds: Terminonaris robusta (originally classified as Teleorhinus). A partial snout of Terminonaris was excavated in 1969 at the Hill Annex Mine, Calumet, MN.

#LostBones #Terminonarus #CitizenScience

Bison sleeton originally displayed at Zapf's Leather Shop in Paynesville, the skeleton was donated to the historical society in the mid-1990s.

Mounted bison skeleton

🐂 #LostBones #FossilFriday An eye-to-orbit visit is always best! Bison skeleton, currently on display at the Paynesville Area Historical Society, reconstructed by William Scheirel after a dredging operation on his farm.

paynesvillehistorical.org

#Pleistocene #Bison #Palaeontology #CitizenScience

Bison mandible Cottonwood river

Bison mandible Pope County

Bison mandibles Pope County

Bison mandibles Melrose Minnesota

🐂🐴 #CountingBones #FossilFriday 🐟🐘🦥🐪 The second most common bison element, above molars, across the state of Minnesota is the mandible.
Lost Bones: medium.com/@dbrake40
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#Pleistocene #Bison #Palaeontology #Fossils #CitizenScience #Mandible #LostBones

🐂 #LostBones #FossilFriday 🐘🦥🐴🐪🍃 This striking bison femur discovered in Glenwood Minnesota near the now-defunct ski hill in Barsness Park was donated to the Pope County Historical Society in 1999.

popecountymuseum.com

#GlenwoodMN #Pleistocene #Bison #Bisonbison #Paleontology #CitizenScience

Full size replica of the Wright Brothers' Wright flyer

This lone Bison occidentalis skull measures 79 m (31 inches) across its horn cores. It was part of a collection of bones unearthed by the Alexander Construction Co. along a creek in Pine County in the spring of 1968. After a study conducted by the University of Minnesota, this skull was the only specimen from the unearthed bone bed that returned to Pine County.

Construction site inspector holds the bison skull in 1968 after its discovery.

Just you average wooden car.

🐂 #LostBones #FossilFriday The huge Pine County History Museum in Askov (MN) occupies an entire high school, features a café, a full-sized replica of the Wright brothers' plane, and a Bison skull!
www.pinecountyhistoricalsociety.org
medium.com/@dbrake40

#Pleistocene #Palaeontology #CitizenScience

Bison molar display with a couple equine molar nestled in the rear middle.

Sweet bison horn core

Some nice bison specimens but what species is that humerus? ;)

🐂🐴 #LostBones #FossilFriday Bison specimens from Martin County, MN. I was short on time, so this museum will need a revisit as there are some equine specimens along with the bovine here—spot them? 😉

www.mchsmn.org
medium.com/@dbrake40
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#Bison #Horse #Palaeontology #CitizenScience #Pleistocene

Bison and horse bones along with some artefacts.

A mammoth tusk and tooth.

Along with my favorite mammoth, bison, and horse specimens, the museum features exhibits on three prehistoric Native American cultures that once inhabited the area, as well as displays highlighting the city's history, military memorabilia, and pioneer life in Winnebago and the surrounding townships.

🐂 #LostBones #FossilFriday Small museums that pack a punch? The Winnebago Area Museum in southern MN. spans three buildings in Winnebago. It also holds the distinction of being completely volunteer-run since 1977!
www.winnebagoareamuseum.org
medium.com/@dbrake40
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#Pleistocene #CitizenScience

🐂 #LostBones #FossilFriday 🦴

The Southern Minnesota Museum of Natural History has acquired the Cherney bison collection! Bison skulls and bones from the early '90s Ham Lake site will help build a full skeleton for an upcoming exhibit. Support the project here:

www.smmnh.com/donate

#CitizenScience

#FossilFriday 🦥 Bison bones, found east of Melrose, MN in Apr 1967 by Ivan Brouwer near I-94, were shared with his friend Bob Freeman Sr. Rumored plans for a full skeleton mount by Bob remain unconfirmed. The skeleton's existence is still under investigation!

#LostBones:
medium.com/@dbrake40/lo...

#LostBones In a 1945 paper, Clifford R. Stauffer documented the discovery of an ancient horse tarsal bone, likely Equus caballus, found 31 feet deep in glacial deposits during 1939 well drilling in Marshall, MN. Its location remains unknown. See Lost Bones #4 (link in profile) for details.

An image of a horse tooth on a ruler.

Lost Bones #4 (A Dip with the Sea Creatures)
#LostBones #Pleistocene #Mammoth #Equuscaballus #MinnesotaHistory #Paleontology #CitizenScience

open.substack.com/pub/marcusbr...

#LostBones #FossilFriday 🐘1921 Sagamore Mine in Minnesota. Workers exposed a bed of bison bones. Skulls, vertebrae, ribs, and limb bones were sent to the Smithsonian Institution.

Today, this skull remains, displayed at the Crow Wing County Historical Society in Brainerd.

www.crowwinghistory.org

Bison horn core. ✨ For the incredible story of other megafauna specimens from around the Midwest check out my Lost Bones series here: https://linktr.ee/lostbones.

Topside of partial skull and horncore

Specimen photo of horncore

🐂 #LostBones #FossilFriday 🐘🦥🐴🐪🐟🍃This crusty chunk of bison skull and horn core was discovered within the city limits of Glenwood, Minnesota in Barness Park. Donated to the Pope County Historical Society in 2020 and now on display.

popecountymuseum.com
#Paleontology #Bisonbison #CitizenScience

Horse tooth.

Horse tooth.

Horse tooth.

Horse tooth.

🐴 #Minnesota #FossilFriday A beautiful horse molar discovered by a friend near New Ulm, Minnesota. Based on its preservation, it may date back to the Pleistocene epoch. This find has been donated to the Science Museum of Minnesota for further study.

#LostBones #Paleontology #CitizenScience

Mammoth molar Pope County Historical Society in Glenwood, Minnesota.

Mammoth molar Pope County Historical Society in Glenwood, Minnesota.

Mammoth molar Pope County Historical Society in Glenwood, Minnesota.

#LostBones I am actively investigating this mystery mammoth molar's discovery location, along with several other donations to Minnesota's Pope County Historical Society. Check the link in my profile for more stories of 'lost' Pleistocene specimens.

popecountymuseum.com

#Pleistocene #CitizenScience

The separated dentin plates of a mammoth tooth. Mammoth teeth are composed of plates of dentine surrounded by enamel. A series of these individual plates is held together by cementum, forming ridges along the lamination boundary, creating a coarse chewing surface ideal for grinding fibrous plants and grasses.

#LostBones #FossilFriday 🐘🦷 These mammoth molar enamel plates have separated. it was found in a gravel pit in Nora Township by a WPA crew in Nov, 1941 and is now housed in the Pope County Historical Society of Glenwood, MN.

popecountymuseum.com
#Mammoth #Paleontology #Pleistocene #CitizenScience

A large mammoth molar

A large mammoth molar and partial jaw found west of Fairbanks, Alaska, on the Tanana River Valley.

Jaw of mammoth found west of Fairbanks, Alaska, in the Tanana River Valley.

#LostBones #FossilFriday 🐘This #mammoth molar/jaw is not from #Minnesota, but you can see it here! Found west of Fairbanks, Alaska, in 1975, it was in a private collection until the fall of 2024, then donated to the Runestone Museum in Alexandria.

runestonemuseum.org
#Paleontology #CitizenScience

Partial bison skull.

Partial bison skull with scale

Partial bison skull

🐂 #LostBones #FossilFriday 🐘🦥🐴🐪🐟🍃Check out this beautiful crusty chunk of bison horncore and skullcap discovered near Barsness Park, Glenwood, Minnesota. This specimen was donated to the Pope County Historical Society in 2020.

popecountymuseum.com
#Pleistocene #Bison #Paleontology #CitizenScience