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Boy, 7, Makes Stunning Archaeological Discovery
A 7-year-old boy and his "Kids Companion" mentor made the archaeological find of the year in Wisconsin on a November day in 2005 while exploring the Wisconsin River bed in Sauk City. The boy, Joshua Bradford, stumbled upon an object stuck in the sand that turned out to be a rare archaeological treasure — the partial skull and intact horns of an extinct Bison occidentalis estimated to be at least 5,000 years old. With help from Josh's mentor Bob Weiss, the pair carefully freed the skull and horns from the sand and carried it home. Now the skull, the eastern-most of its kind ever found, will henceforth bear the name Bradford Bison skull in honor of its young discoverer.
The day began with the two planning an excursion to a local video game arcade that turned out to be closed. So, while driving beside the river, Weiss noticed the water level appeared at the lowest ebb he'd ever seen, with a large expanse of exposed sand that proved too inviting to ignore. With Josh in the lead, the two began exploring the river bottom, Weiss picking up some fishing lures and Josh gathering up some clam shells and other items usually inundated by water. That's when Josh spotted the tips of the horns protruding from the sand.
Once they got the object home, the unlikely archaeological sleuths decided to take their discovery to someone with the expertise to identify what they had found. They began with archivist Verlyn Mueller at the local Sauk-Prairie Area Historical Society, who put them in contact with archaeologists at the Wisconsin Historical Society. Archaeologists John Broihahn and Steve Kuehn traveled to Sauk City and, based on the shape and curvature of the horn cores, plus the overall size of the specimen, identified it as Bison occidentalis. And since that species became extinct approximately 5,000 years ago, the skull and horns date back between 5,000 and 6,000 years. Only carbon dating could precisely identify the object's age.
The rarity of the discovery is underscored by the few examples of similar discoveries in Wisconsin. While several Bison occidentalis sites have been identified in the Upper Midwest and the northeastern Great Plains, Wisconsin lies on the eastern edge of suitable habitat for the species and the only other discoveries in the state occurred in Buffalo and Polk counties near the Mississippi River. Those discoveries date to the 1930s.
Josh's discovery puts him in the proud company of the young Bosch brothers who, in 1897, came upon the bones of a mastodon in Boaz, Wisconsin, about five miles west of Richland Center. A historical marker stands near the site of the mastodon discovery.
News of Josh's discovery made him somewhat of a local celebrity, including newspaper and television news coverage of his find. Society staff members, including Director Ellsworth H. Brown, traveled to Josh's school to present him with a certificate of appreciation, and his classmates gathered around to see the Bradford Bison skull for themselves and to congratulate him. Later, Josh and Bob Weiss turned the skull over to Wisconsin Historical Society archaeologists, who will immerse the ancient artifact in a watery, glue-like solution that will permeate the skull and horns, thereby conserving it for long-term preservation. And, as weather and water levels permit, Historical Society archaeologists plan to return to the site of the discovery to see whether they can determine if any more bison remains can be located.
:: Posted January 27, 2006
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