Episode 579, A Very Old Elk Skull Found In Michigan Lake

Aug 3, 2020

This week the guys talk with Michael Bleau who lives near Mike and Danny who found a really old elk skull in his lake!

1. How he found the elk skull
2. Only one loop around the antlers held it
3. Covered in muck
4. Everyone in the neighborhood went nuts
5. In about 30 to 40 feet of water
6. Fully intact except for lower jaw
7. Local archaeologist took a look at it
8. How did it get there
9. What did it score
10. Cranbrook Institute took it to preserve it and Carbon Date it
11. Elk went extinct in this area in the mid to late 1800's
12. What is the age of the lake and how did that contribute to preserving the lake

The Carbon Dating Process

1. The process of finding someone to carbon date the skull
2. Cranbrook Research Institute reached out to Michael
3. Had to preserve the skull first
4. Used a small piece of the skull to carbon date it
5. Can they use the teeth to give an age estimate of the animal?
6. 2 1/2 weeks to get carbon date results back
7. The preserving process
8. When will it be on display for the public to see?
9. What's still down there?

How old is it?

1. The Great Fire in Michigan and how that affected the forests
2. How that time frame correlates to the elk
3. No other bones found due to currents and water species feeding on it
4. 220 years old +/- 30 years
5. 1770-1830
6. An Eastern Elk species
7. Oliver Hazzard Perry's hunting adventures in this exact area in nearly the same time frame of the 1840's

Have you had any interest in selling the skull?

1. Several people interested in purchasing it
2. Might sell it or auction it at a later time
3. 7x6 skull
4. When you can see it