Diggin’ Up Bones
The Carroll County Mastodon
Dig
In the early 1970s, Carroll County’s
largest (and possibly its only) prehistoric find was unearthed near the Harmony
Community located close to the Carroll/Leflore County line. Without repeating the contents of the
following articles, I have presented them below.

Article 1 – March 2, 1972
Article 2 – March 16, 1972
Article 3 – July 16, 1972
CLICK HERE to see
what the Mastodon would have looked like
The
Mastodon is on display at the Cottonlandia Museum in Greenwood, MS. The museum
has graciously granted me permission to take digital photos of the display,
which will be forthcoming in the very near future. In addition, the museum provided me with an
article from the Forestry Forum, (Pp.
16, 30) describing the find. No dates or
other cites appear on the article, and it is presented as it was sent to me,
with nothing omitted, except parts of an unrelated article that appeared on
page 30.
Forestry Forum, P. 16, Date Unknown (Part 1)
Forestry Forum, P. 30, Date Unknown (Part 2 – Continued from P. 16)
Cottonlandia Museum
Description of the Carroll County Mastodon
In
addition, the museum forwarded two Web Site addresses concerning comparative information
between elephants and the mastodons/mammoths of the past. They are entitled as follows: Mastodons, Ancestors of Elephants, by
Beverly Eschberger, November 5, 1999, which can be found at http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/4003/28213,
and Mammoths, Mastodons, and Elephants,
also by Beverly Eschberger, October 29, 1999, which can be found at http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/4003/27944.
UPDATE: On June 3, 2002, I finally
had a chance to visit the Cottonlandia Museum in Greenwood. If you have not been there, GO ! The museum is fantastic, and would put many
museums twice its size to shame. I
immediately felt at home when I entered the front door, and was treated like
family while I was there. It would be
well worth the trip from 200 miles away, and it is a great way to spend an
afternoon (or morning). Due to time
constraints, I was only able to stay an hour or so, and could have easily spent
three or four hours looking around. The
staff is excellent, and it is a great place to visit. Pictures of the mastodon remains are listed
below.
THE COTTONLANDIA MUSEUM MASTODON
DISPLAY
Photo 1 Photo 2 Photo 3
Photo 4 Photo 5 Photo 6
Depiction of Mastodon Skeleton
Depiction of Mastodon Hunters
Cottonlandia Brochure
(Outside)
Cottonlandia Brochure (Inside)