Grand Rapids Public Museum Unveiling Mastodon Discovery This Week

One of the most profound discoveries ever made in Michigan, and among the archaeological community, was found entirely by accident. It started as a simple drainage project in Michael and Courtney Clapp's backyard.

Within a few hours of the initial discovery, members of the University of Michigan and the Grand Rapids Public Museum were on site, helping unearth the nearly complete skeleton of a young Mastodon. 

Now, three years later, the public will be able to see the skeleton for the first time as the family has graciously donated the find to the museum.

The Clapp Family Mastodon

On August 11, 2022, a construction crew digging in the Clapp family's backyard during a drainage project discovered something under the surface. After all the bones were removed, it was discovered that over 70% of the skeleton remained intact, an exceedingly rare discovery. Even the most complete t.rex fossil skeleton, SUE the T. rex in Chicago, has 250 of the 380 bones (65%).

From the moment of discovery, the Clapp family has been committed to donating the bones to the GRPM, keeping them local and in the area where they were found. (You can view drone footage of the excavation here)

According to the Grand Rapids Public Museum website, the team held the bones in the Museum Collections while painstakingly 3D scanning and then printing each bone to reconstruct the skeleton, keeping the real bones safe. This recreation will be a permanent exhibit in the museum for years to come. The mastodon exhibit will open on September 11th.

The Difference Between Mastodons and Mammoths

Woolly mammoths were the definitive North American species during the Ice Age. These enormous beasts once roamed most of North America and were a vital source of food and tools for the nomadic peoples who inhabited the region.

READ MORE: The Reason Michigan Lacks Dinosaur Bones

Mastodons and Woolly Mammoths are similar, but Mastodons were generally smaller in size and had straight tusks rather than the curved tusks that mammoths had. Mastodons are also vegetarians and preferred living in forests, rather than the fields that mammoths enjoyed.

To fully understand the Mastodon and the juvenile mastodon discovered by the Clapp family, be sure to check out the exhibit opening later this week at the Grand Rapids Public Museum.