Mastodon Tusk; Nice find!

[Michael Strahan]

Hi folks,

I ran across this old photo of a mastodon tusk that was found in the Squirrel river back in the mid 1970's. Pretty cool stuff you find around Alaska!

I'm curious if anyone else out there has found something like this and would care to post a photo.

Also wondering if anyone has found things like spear points and the like. Makes me wonder what it must have been like here way back then...

-Mike

 

[martentrapper]

There are several places around Norton Sound, and the Seward Pen where one can find tusks after storms. Sometimes lots of them. Villagers in these areas often hunt these places right after a storm.
There is also a place on the Yukon R. below Tanana, called the Palisades, where the river erodes a high permafrost bank. Tusks are regularly found there as well.
Technically it is illegal to remove bones, tusks, artifacts, etc. from any govt land.
Large solid tusks are easily saleable and worth several thousand bucks.

 

[AKDoug]

I have a mastadon molar I found on the Wulik River near Kivilina. That same summer we found a jade scraper and an interlocking ivory carving in the river that we turned into the Maniliq Corp who we were working for at that time.

 

[alaskamokaiman]

Found a brass harpoon point made from old prop down from the mouth of the Big Su.

 

[Wes Walker]

Found half of a wooly mammoth molar about halfway down the Aniak River one year. Hindsight is 20/20- should have marked a waypoint for the spot. We were in a big hurry to get off the river before we were reported as overdue. WW

 

[twodux]

Bristol Bay

Bristol Bay

There are Mastadon tusks to be found in Bristol Bay. I found a 3 ft chunk in the 70's near Copenhagen Creek. The fellow I was with had a setnet site there and said in the spring it's not uncommon to find whole tusks that erode out of the banks along the beach.

Copenhagen Creek is in the Kvigak District across from Naknek.