Archaeologists Unearth 13,000-Year-Old Bones of of Ancient, Extinct Species of Bison

Scientists have unearthed what they believe to be bones of a 13,000-14,000-year-old ancient, extinct species of bison in what is known to be one of the oldest and most archaeological digs in North America at the Old Vero Man Site in Vero Beach, Florida.

According to Science Bulletin, archaeologists from Florida Atlantic University's Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute made the discovery just 10 feet below the ground's surface during the final run of the 2016 excavation efforts at the site. The bone was found under a layer containing material from the Pleistocene period when the last ice age was thought to have happened. Archaeologists identified it as the bison using an upper molar, which is considered of a Bison antiquus. It is considered to be direct ancestors of the American bison that circled North America until it became extinct.

Bisons were grassland-adapted animals, and because of this, almost 100 percent of their bones decomposed after death unless preserved in some way. "This finding is especially significant because of the meticulous documentation that has been involved," said James M. Adovasio, Ph.D., principal investigator. "Along with the fact that bones like these have never been found on land as part of a calculated archaeological effort. Others like these have all been found underwater, in sinkholes or streams," he added.

Bison antiquus, often called the "ancient bison" was the most common large herbivore in the North American continent for more than 10,000 years, and is a direct ancestor of the living American bison. They were described to be approximately 8 feet tall, 15 feet long and weighed close to 3,500 pounds. "We couldn't have asked for a better representative species from that era," said Andrew Hemmings, Ph.D., lead archaeologist. "We now know that people were here in Vero Beach at that time."

Science Daily reported that the bones of the ancient bison have been moved to FAU's Ancient DNA Lab at Harbor Bran for further study and examination. The lab was set up in 2011 to investigate the population biology, genetic diversity, and species composition of the past ecosystems. Scientists have also found other bones at the site from mammals of different sizes. Other bones are believed to have come from mammoths, mastodon, sloth, or bison. Pieces of charcoal and a head of a fly was discovered when the excavation began in February.

The Old Man Vero Site was originally discovered in 1915 after construction efforts on a drainage canal exposed the well-preserved remains of late Pleistocene flora and fauna in association with human remains and artifacts. The archaeological dig was led by Harbor Branch and FAU's Department of Anthropology within the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, in partnership with the Old Vero Man Ice Age Sites Committee (OVIASC).