--- title: Woolly Mammoth Discovery: Michigan Man Digs Up Bones description: A paleontologist confirmed the discovery canonical: https://time.com/4059460/michigan-woolly-mammoth-bones/ author: Nolan Feeney article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-10-02T15:25:07.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:41:39.968Z article:section: Science og:title: Michigan Man Accidentally Digs Up Rare Woolly Mammoth Bones og:description: A paleontologist confirmed the discovery og:url: https://time.com/4059460/michigan-woolly-mammoth-bones/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt35dda97573bcf37e/698866ab524fc0f44cdf4d88/mammoth.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: MLIVE.COM og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Michigan Man Accidentally Digs Up Rare Woolly Mammoth Bones twitter:description: A paleontologist confirmed the discovery twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt35dda97573bcf37e/698866ab524fc0f44cdf4d88/mammoth.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Michigan Man Accidentally Digs Up Rare Woolly Mammoth Bones > Sponsored content. 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It reaches 40,000 subscribers with a 34.2% open rate and a 2.1% click rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I follow the energy transition as a business story? Future Proof covers climate and energy as an economic and business story rather than only an environmental one. It publishes every Friday and is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who writes Future Proof? Justin Worland, a senior correspondent at TIME and an award-winning climate journalist, writes Future Proof. #### Is Future Proof free? Yes. Future Proof is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: Waking the Dead: Bringing Extinct Species Back to Life [Watch (HLS stream): Waking the Dead: Bringing Extinct Species Back to Life](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/7mURxfr4.m3u8) (4:03)  _Published 2014-03-12. Conservationists and scientists have a saying, "extinction is forever." But soon biologists will clone long-gone animals in the hope to redefine that axiom to "DE-extinction is forever."_  by [Nolan Feeney](https://time.com/author/nolan-feeney/)  ## Nolan Feeney Oct 2, 2015 3:25 PM UTC  University of Michigan professor Dan Fisher and a team of Michigan students work to excavate a woolly mammoth found on a farm in Lima Township, Oct. 1, 2015. University of Michigan professor Dan Fisher and a team of Michigan students work to excavate a woolly mammoth found on a farm in Lima Township, Oct. 1, 2015. Melanie Maxwell—MLIVE.COM /Landov  by [Nolan Feeney](https://time.com/author/nolan-feeney/)  ## Nolan Feeney Oct 2, 2015 3:25 PM UTC A Michigan farmer stumbled upon [the bones of a woolly mammoth](http://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/index.ssf/2015/10/wooly%5Fmammoth%5Fbones%5Ffound%5Fsout.html) this week. James Bristle was digging up a soy field near Chelsea, Mich., when an unusual bone caught his attention. At first he thought it was a mere fence post, but closer examination confirmed it was no ordinary find. “We knew it was something that was out of the norm,” Bristle [told Michigan Live](http://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/index.ssf/2015/10/wooly%5Fmammoth%5Fbones%5Ffound%5Fsout.html). “My grandson came over to look at it, he’s 5 years old, he was speechless.” Dan Fisher, a University of Michigan professor who studies the extinctions of mastodons and mammoths, drove out to the site and confirmed the discovery on Thursday. He said the creature was about 40 years old and was probably killed by humans, who then stashed the remains in a pond as a means of meat storage 10,100 to 15,000 years ago. The discovery is a major one. Fisher said there are only 10 sites in Michigan where such significant remains of a mammoth skeleton have been uncovered. \[[_Michigan Live_](http://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/index.ssf/2015/10/wooly%5Fmammoth%5Fbones%5Ffound%5Fsout.html)\] ### See Mysterious Photos of Water on the Surface of Mars  Recurring slope lineae (RSL) are a type of dark streak seen on Martian slopes and are thought to form from flow of liquid water. This image shows RSL in the Aram Chaos, acquired on Jan. 11, 2015. NASA/JPL/University of Arizona  This image shows the central peak in Porter Crater, acquired on April 17, 2015. NASA/JPL/University of Arizona  RSL may be due to active seeps of water. These dark flows are abundant along the steep slopes of ancient bedrock in Coprates Chasma. Acquired on Dec. 31, 2013. NASA/JPL/University of Arizona  Ravines (or very large gullies) are actively forming on Mars during the coldest times of year, when carbon dioxide frost aids mass wasting. In this image, acquired on March 25, 2015, we see warm-season flows in cold-season ravines. NASA/JPL/University of Arizona  An image of the southeast rim of Hale crater, acquired on Nov. 13, 2014 NASA/JPL/University of Arizona  This RSL is one of the most active sites known on Mars in the central peaks of Hale Crater, acquired on Feb. 20, 2015. NASA/JPL/University of Arizona  A RSL in Raga Crate, acquired on Feb. 9, 2015. NASA/JPL/University of Arizona  A surprise landslump in Melas Chasma, acquired on Jan. 15, 2014. NASA/JPL/University of Arizona  An image of the southeast rim of Hale crater, acquired on Nov. 13, 2014. NASA/JPL/University of Arizona  This image was acquired in southern winter over part of Asimov Crater, on March 15, 2014, showing the equator-facing slope of a deep trough inside the crater. NASA/JPL/University of Arizona  RSL along Coprates Chasma Ridge, acquired on July 7, 2013. NASA/JPL/University of Arizona  Seasonal flows on Palikir Crater, a warm Martian slopes, that may be caused by the flow of salty water on Mars. Acquired on March 15, 2013 NASA/JPL/University of Arizona  RSL in Juventae Chasma, acquired on Jan. 18, 2013. NASA/JPL/University of Arizona  This image displays a site along a Coprates Chasma ridge shows RSL on generally north-facing slopes, acquired on Oct. 20, 2012. NASA/JPL/University of Arizona  Right past the sharp, but warped rim of this ancient impact crater are deposits of winter frost, which show up as blue in enhanced color. Acquired on July 16, 2012. NASA/JPL/University of Arizona  Slope features seen on a wall in Newton crater acquired on May 30, 2011. 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