Orange County is known as New York State’s premier hotspot for mastodon unearthing as approximately one-third of the 150 mastodon discoveries in the state have been in this county. The finding of two teeth and eventual full jaw is a phenomenal happening. The teeth are considered to be 13,000-years old.

Come to SUNY Orange and learn about the importance and intricacies of this discovery. Mastodons were ancestors of modern-day elephants.

“This mastodon jaw provides a unique opportunity to study the ecology of this magnificent species, which will enhance our understanding of the Ice Age ecosystems from this region. Fossils allow us to reconstruct ancient environments and better understand the world around us today. - Dr. Robert Feranec

Through the efforts of Dr. Cory Harris, chair of the Behavioral Sciences Department at SUNY Orange and whose education is rooted in archaeology and anthropology, Dr. Robert Feranec will make two presentations on Wednesday, April 9 on this latest find of mastodon relics in Orange County, this time in Scotchtown, Town of Wallkill. Dr. Feranec is Director of Research and Collections and Curator of Pleistocene Vertebrate Paleontology of the New York State Museum.

The presentations are designed differently with the first being more interactive. However, Q & A time will be offered at the end of the lecture presentation in the early evening.

Entitled Discovery! How the recent Orange County Mastodon Find teaches us about today --an interactive conversation: Learn. Ask questions, this presentation is open to questioning and discusses many practical aspects of the environment including the closeness to the surface at which the jaw was unearthed. The timeframe of this event is 12pm (noon) in the Rowley Center for Science and Engineering, room 112.

The second event, Mastodon Country: the Latest Find -- a lecture with Q&A, examines the importance the current mastodon discovery: how it happened; what has been done so far; what the future excavation involves.  The timeframe of this event is 5:30pm in the Rowley Center for Science and Engineering, room 210.

Both presentations are free and open to the public. Questions may be directed to Cultural Affairs at cultural@sunyorange.edu

The Rowley Center for Science and Engineering is located on the Middletown campus of SUNY Orange at GPS: 10 East Conkling Avenue. Parking is available on campus and on-street.