As I have posted before on the
possible presence of a living mastodon, however unlikely that may seem, we now
get to read these items outlining the history of mastodon sightings in the Americas . It becomes apparent that remnant populations
existed right up to and well past first contact.
The animals were clearly hunted
using traditional methods, but once the use of firearms became possible, they were
quickly wiped out. The remaining question is whether any were able to survive
in refugia anywhere to this day. What I find
extremely encouraging is that it was oh so recent. During the past four centuries, the native
population of hunters was also in severe decline, making refugia a good
survival bet for a forest dweller that remained cautious.
The mastodon relied on forest
growth rather than grasses and this provided a natural edge. If it happened to be able to eat evergreens,
then its winter fodder is also taken care of.
Thus a mastodon could live in a surprisingly small range as long as
ample forest existed to browse on. That
still left plenty of oversized game trails and large footprints to stumble over
but I no longer will argue that it is impossible.
Any refugia will need to be
mountain terrain as agriculture must not be possible and distance from human
activity is necessary. Thus we will have
to look closely in some of the deepest nooks of the country. Besides, the animal is smart and will have no
trouble hiding in woodland, where it is possible to hide a few feet away. One may have to get close enough to hear the
sound of its browsing and that may not be so easy.
It is also observed that the five
toed llama is also a recent extinction and it appears that in Central America , the mastodon was kept as a pet in at least one
instance. This suggests that the
mastodon may be fairly easy to domesticate.
That could turn out to be actually a benefit to woodland management in
keeping forests open.
Extinct Llamas and Elephants - Village Pets
http://paranormal.about.com/gi/o.htm
According to conventional theory, the camel family appeared on the scene in Eocene times, and then underwent rapid changes. By Oligocene times (26-38 million years ago) the feet were two-toed, the other three toes having completely disappeared. Also in the camel family are the llamas which have two toes, but at a very early stage of their evolution they had five (Colbert, 1955, p.386).
According to conventional theory, the camel family appeared on the scene in Eocene times, and then underwent rapid changes. By Oligocene times (26-38 million years ago) the feet were two-toed, the other three toes having completely disappeared. Also in the camel family are the llamas which have two toes, but at a very early stage of their evolution they had five (Colbert, 1955, p.386).
The Tiahuanacan empire in Bolivia predates the Incas. About
1920 an archaeologist was digging in the ruins of two coastal sites which
belonged to this empire. Here he came upon pottery jugs with representations of
llamas. The llamas had five toes, which seemed most strange, since by no
stretch of the imagination could the Tiahuanacan civilization be made out to be
that old. According to theory man evolved many millions of years after the last
five-toed llama lived.
The mystery deepened when the same archaeologist discovered the
skeletons of llamas at the sites, all with five toes (Honore, 1964, p.164-165).
The mastodon elephant arrived in
Rock carvings of the mastodon was found in
In 1929 the skeleton of a mastodon was found in
In 1928 a Mayan workshop was uncovered in
One paleontologist believed that mammoths still lived in the interior of the American continent at the time of the first Spanish explorers. He supported his belief by the fact that such bones are found under a few inches of peat. Many accurate descriptions of the elephant have been collected from various Indian tribes in
David Ingram, an English adventurer, was put ashore with 113 other men between Mexico and Florida in 1568, and he wandered for years in the American interior before making his way to the east coast of the American colonies. In his report to the state secretary of Queen Elizabeth, he described precisely and drew accurate pictures of elephants as well as bison and other animals he and his companions had observed during the journey. Ingram could not have known that some centuries later, elephant bones (mastodons and mammoth) would be discovered all over the continent. This account is not taken seriously, but it is a curious fact that 200 years later President Jefferson was informed by a delegation of Indian chiefs that hunting in the interior lands included animals described as elephants. It is a matter of record that President Jefferson asked Lewis and Clark to be on the alert for elephant herds during their exploration of the West (Wendt, 1956, p.525-526).
The curious reports above fit in well with the concept of a young earth. There seems to be no need to invoke an old earth to explain any of the finds.
This page last updated 6/5/1999
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