Principia's Mammoth Dig - Progress

The Mammoth News

Volume 3

Summer 2003

The summer season has come to a close with the end of Principia's Summer Session on August 1st. It has been a productive season. We removed the left femur and left humerus from the pit. During Principia's Adult Summer Session, 25 individuals participated in the mammoth class and helped pedestal, jacket, and remove about six bones or clusters of bones. These included ribs and vertebrae. They were thrilled to be able to be a part of the project, and they were wonderful students! You will be amazed at how different the pit looks now compared to mid-May. See photos on the web site.

In the lab, we have uncovered most of what was the underside of the right humerus. With the help of the Summer Sessioners, we removed enough matrix from the underside of the right scapula to see bone in places. There is still a lot of work to be done on it. They also removed the plaster jacket from what was the underside of the left femur and helped remove matrix. Bone is appearing at the ends.

We hosted over 250 visitors at the pit this summer, including Alton Rotarians, archeology students from the Center for American Archeology at Kampsville, IL, Summer Sessioners, and local friends we are making

Principia Mammoth Dig T-Shirts

The Principia College Bookstore sold out of the Principia Mammoth Dig T-Shirts in the first week of Summer Session, but has restocked its supply. You can order one on-line at www.prin.edu/bookstore. Search on "mammoth" for other items too.