KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A prehistoric discovery in northwest Missouri may be one of the rarest finds in the Midwest; a local paleontologist uncovered a mammoth bone, taking us back to the ice age when giants roamed the Show Me State.
For over two decades, Jason Howery has searched for ice age remains in northwest Missouri. His finds include giant deer, an ice age horse, ancient bison and now the femur of a Columbian mammoth.
“When I first got there, it was the very first thing that I saw, and I looked down and there it was and I was like, ‘No way,’” Howery explained.
More than 10,000 years ago, glaciers covered northern Missouri and Kansas, creating ideal conditions for humans to hunt the now long-extinct animals. Nodaway County is home to a rare prehistoric butcher site, where evidence of that activity still exists today.
“There have been somewhere around fifty confirmed butcher sites in North America. It’s rare. It’s extremely rare,” Howery said.
Howery also said that this discovery may be his most important yet.
“There’s a specific texture to ice age bone that doesn’t feel like anything else in the world. When you feel it, it has this sticky, glassy texture to it. So as soon as my hands hit it, I was like, ‘I know this feeling,’” he shared.
He also shares his discoveries with community programs and school outreach, aimed at sparking curiosity in the next generation.
“Really, the goal is to inspire kids to put their phones down and get out into nature and explore, because there is so much history that is still out there right below their feet.”
Now, as a self-funded paleontologist, he’s raising money to continue his work, including testing on the bone. Howery said that he’d like to have it CT scanned and radiocarbon dated to determine the age and value of the bone.
While there’s no guarantee of what comes next, Jason says the search is always worth it.
“So many possibilities and you never know what’s going to be there. You don’t always find things, but you find peace, you know?”
