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Mastodon tusk partly reassembled
Partly reassembled mastodon ivory from the Page - Ladson site in northwest Florida . Curvature and size show this is an upper remaining tusk of a ripe male mastodont . ivory pieces held in billet by Jessi Halligan of Florida State University ( left ) , with aid from Jason Bourque of the Florida Museum of Natural History and Cynthia Darling - Fisher of the University of Michigan .
Transverse cut marks on mastodon tusk
Closeup of an epoxy glue dramatis personae of thwartwise cut marks on the base of the Page - Ladson mastodon tusk . Diagonal characteristic is a fracture through the outer level .
Section of upper outer surface of mastodon tusk
Part of the upper , outer surface of the tusk base , surround by modeling mud in formulation for teem a silicone polymer mold . At center - left is a group of cryptic , parallel , thwartwise Mark made with a endocarp tool as part of the tusk removal process . Diagonal fall guy to the left and right field of emasculated mark were made by bone fragment catch in the space between the tusk surface and the alveolar off-white , when the tusk was rotated back and forward while attempting to withdraw it from the socket .
Search party in waiting
Surface boats and screens at the Page - Ladson dig site , which is 26 feet underwater in a sink in the Florida ’s Aucilla River , not far from Tallahassee .
Divers reemerge
diver amount to the control surface at the subaqueous Page - Ladson digging site in Florida .
Excavation site
oecumenical site picture of the Page - Ladson underwater excavation site in Florida .
Ancient knife
A 12,600 - year - previous stone knife found at the Page - Ladson internet site in Florida .
Underwater excavation site
submerged photo of the dig at the Page - Ladson site in Florida . A frogman turn over with a trowel and a hose breastfeed deposit to the surface , where it is screened .
Assistant Professor Jessi Halligan and fossils
Assistant Professor Jessi Halligan and a research squad recuperate several pearl and Harlan F. Stone tools from the Page - Ladson site on the Aucilla River .
Valérie Brosseau prepares to dive
Valérie Brosseau , an anthropologist at the University of Toronto , makes concluding preparation before her descent .
Investigating fossils
Co - principal police detective Michael R. Waters ( right ) and CSFA educatee Morgan Smith ( lead ) examining the biface — a type of prehistoric stone creature — in the theater of operations after its breakthrough .
Part of the upper, outer surface of the Page-Ladson mastodon tusk base, surrounded by modeling clay in preparation for pouring a silicone mold. Over 14,000 years ago, people removing the tusk scraped deep, parallel grooves in it with a stone tool.
