Tag: ancient whales
-
What Looked Like Mammoth Fossils for Decades Were Actually Ancient Whales
Discovery in the Drawer: How a Routine Check Uncovered a Surprising Truth For decades, two small bone pieces sat quietly in a museum drawer in Alaska, labeled as mammoth remains and largely forgotten. They were collected in the 1950s, catalogued, and stored with confidence. No one questioned them much. They looked old. They felt like…
-
From Mammoths to Monkeys: How Two Alaska Bones Turned Out to Be Ancient Whales
Discovery That Challenged a Long-Standing Belief In a quiet Alaska museum, two seemingly inconspicuous bone fragments spent decades tucked away in a dusty drawer. Labeled as mammoth remains and catalogued with routine care, they attracted little attention beyond routine preservation. It wasn’t until modern techniques and a fresh wave of curiosity that researchers re-examined these…
-
Ancient Whales Mistaken for Mammoth Fossils: Discovery in an Alaska Museum
How a Quiet Mislabeling Unfolded For decades, two small bone fragments sat in a dusty museum drawer in Alaska, catalogued as mammoth remains and largely forgotten. Collected in the 1950s, they were treated as routine relics of the Ice Age, filed away with confidence and minimal scrutiny. The museum staff, accustomed to the era’s fossil-hinding…