Maybe you have heard of Andrews University’s very own mammoth, a large beast whose remains are currently housed in the basement of the Science Complex. Okay, that kinda sounds like a horror story beginning. Let's try that again. The Andrews University Museum of Natural History contains a myriad of interesting specimens, ranging from exquisite butterflies to various mammal specimens. Most are donations from alumni and friends of the university, or they were collected during Andrews tour trips. One such donated specimen, the highlight of the museum, is the large mammoth skeleton.
The Prillwitz mammoth* was discovered in Eau Claire, Michigan, in 1962, after Wesley Prillwitz hired Carl Harris, a local excavator and crane operator, to expand his pond. While excavating, Harris stumbled across what seemed to be a large log, but upon further inspection, the two men realized that this was not just a log—it was a bone. Additional digging brought up more bones and a massive skull. Judging by the size, the animal must have been huge and, based on the bones, likely a mammoth. Amos Green, a local amateur archeologist, inspected the find and agreed that it was a mammoth. Many people helped with the excavation, including some Andrews students who dived in the pond in search of more bones.
Once all the bones were dug up, they were shipped to the University of Michigan, as the Prillwitz family wanted to give them to any institution that could make use of them. While there, the skeleton was cleaned up and hardened. However, it was never put on display due to changes in the museum's policy, which put all the emphasis on dinosaurs. The rest of the specimens were moved to storage. The Prillwitz family, however, was very insistent that the mammoth be displayed, so in 1973, the mammoth skeleton was transferred to Andrews University and, after much deliberation, was mounted in the basement of the Price Hall, in the area that is now called the Museum of Natural History.
So, what is so important about this mammoth? Well, for one thing, this is a very complete mammoth. Most mammoth finds include solitary bones or maybe a tooth, and it is not common to find such a complete specimen where every bone is from the same mammoth. Also, the Prillwitz mammoth is actually very geologically young. That means it has a young radiocarbon C-14 date. There were two dates taken. The first time, it was dated by the University of Michigan, and it was estimated to be 8,260 ± 300 C-14 years. This was young for a mammoth, especially for a Columbian mammoth in North America, as they went extinct 11,000 to 13,000 years ago. Actually, it was a bit too young. Another date was taken in 2017, giving it an age of 11,300 ± 100 using accelerated mass spectroscopy. However, even those second dates make it very young, one of the youngest mammoths in North America. The completeness and geologically young age of the Prillwitz Mammoth make it a specimen of interest for paleobiology, shedding light on the state of mammoths in North America near their extinction.
To see the Prillwitz mammoth, one can reach out to the assistant curator, Roshelle Hall, by email at hall@andrews.edu. If you are interested in volunteering, contributing to research or making a donation to the Andrews University Museum of Nature & Science, you can also reach out to Roshelle Hall regarding these inquiries. For more specific information regarding the Prillwitz mammoth and the current research being conducted, contact Thomas Goodwin at goodwin@andrews.edu or Anna Rybachek at annar@andrews.edu.
*All the historical information regarding the Prillwitz mammoth was acquired through paper documents, copies of letters and correspondence, newspaper articles and clippings, and other similar sources with no digital copies available.
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