A Community-Inspired (and Energized) Mastodon Excavation in Southern Iowa

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Collaborative and Community Archaeology" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Wayne County is a relatively remote and lower population density (96th of 99) rural county in Iowa but features the vibrant and well-managed Prairie Trails Museum that enjoys strong community support. A 2022 discovery by an area resident of a complete and surprisingly well-preserved mastodon femur in a drainage in the southwest part of the county led to a community-initiated research project that ultimately included the landowners, museum staff, University of Iowa Office of the State Archaeologist (OSA) personnel, and local interested avocationals. Initial project development took the traditional form of requests to OSA to “please come do a dig!” that typical time and especially cost constraints rendered almost impossible to contemplate. As key community leaders came to understand the realities of the logistics and expenses associated with the scientific recovery of an unknown quantity of potentially well-preserved megafauna remains—particularly if approached archaeologically (a condition of OSA involvement)—the tenor of the relationship evolved significantly into a real collaborative enterprise. Local control emerged and energized the project, continuing today into the conservation, analyses, and exhibition design phases. This presentation serves as a practical case study focusing on how the project was organized, funded, and operationalized.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Collaborative and Community Archaeology   •
• Society for American Archaeology 90th Annual Meeting, Denver, CO (2025)

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 51291