By Tim Binnall
A construction project in Iowa came to a sudden stop when a stunned engineer noticed that workers had unexpectedly unearthed a woolly mammoth tooth. According to a local media report, Justin Blauwet spotted the ancient object while supervising an excavation at a site belonging to Northwest Iowa Community College in the city of Sheldon. While a woolly mammoth tooth might have gone unnoticed by most people, Blauwet just so happens to have a lifelong interest in fossils and ancient creatures, which led him to immediately recognize the significance of the specimen. Convincing his boss of the discovery, however, was not quite so easy.
Initially thinking that he was the subject of some kind of clever prank, Sam Johnson of DGR Engineering conceded that "I was pretty skeptical" of Blauwet's claim until he was finally sent a picture of the odd discovery and a Google search indicated that it was, indeed, a woolly mammoth tooth. “In my short career here at DGR, it is definitely the craziest thing I have heard of," he marveled. To their credit, the company carefully removed the tooth from the worksite and contacted the University of Iowa about the surprising discovery. The university's paleontology repository instructor, Tiffany Adrain, subsequently confirmed the nature of Blauwet's remarkable find.
In a press release detailing the discovery, she noted that the manner in which the tooth was recovered was particularly fortuitous as, upon being exposed to the elements, unearthed mammoth bones and teeth "can fall apart and disappear quickly because they are not completely fossilized." Fortunately, Blauwet's fast action kept the ancient object from crumbling into dust and Adrain was able to provide instructions on how to best preserve the mighty molar, which weighs a little over 11 pounds and measures nearly a foot in length. Now the proud owners of a woolly mammoth tooth, Northwest Iowa Community College plans to put the ancient piece on display at their Sheldon Prairie Museum, where one hopes that Blauwet will be credited for his role in saving the object from being lost forever.