I have the cast rolled over on its side, and I can't lift it by myself. So, I loaded it on my two-wheeler and fastened it to my bumper with one of the nylon straps and towed it almost two miles to find a ditch I could back down into and roll the cast into the pickup. Believe it or not I got it loaded that way.
This is the final jaw collected. It's ready to have the plaster cast sawn off and prepared.
The cast has been removed, and now the fun begins - to see what I've collected.
This jumbled pile of bones are from the first lower jaw I collected.
This jaw is being reconstructed from the bones in the picture above. Note the large root of one of the molars in the foreground.
Jaw is going back together better than I expected.
The jaw in the previous picture above is at the far right in this display. So, you can see reconstruction was successful. In the upper left corner is the posterior portion of one of the skulls. In the center is the skull that contained the lone molar. The rib and thoracic vertebra at a far right. Near the lower left front are the rib, the lower tusk and the large piece of ivory I found at the site in 2004. The 5 1/2 foot tusk is on the floor at the front of the display, in front of the "foxes".
This is the pelvis display with the six lumbar vertebra along the front. To be in the proper position the pelvis should be standing up, then the two side of the pelvis would join, but the bone is too fragile and is displayed in the position found. The hip socket is larger than a softball.
The first stage of the lower jaw reconstruction.
Nearing the end of working on the jaw.
I don't believe this was an older adult, as the last molar hasn't erupted, and is still below the gum line. At the time now to decide how to display the jaw.
The mandible is finished and on display with the other fossils from the site. This jaw is 36 inches long and weighs about 100 pounds. With this side view it is apparent that the last molar hasn't erupted.
Digging will resume this spring and if more fossils are found they will be added as they are acquired.
There should be 23 more long bones, 7 tusks, and numerous ribs and vertebra. Check back often to see what I've found in the mean time
