In 1955, mastodon bones were unearthed on the farm of Myles Colgan in the town of Venice. The remains of more than 100 mastodons have been recovered in New York State, but this discovery was the first in Cayuga County. One tusk recovered on the Colgan farm measured more than 10 feet in length suggesting that this particular mastodon may have been as long as 20 feet, not counting the tusks and tail. Radiocarbon dating of spruce wood found at the same level of the pit as the mastodon dates this skeleton to approximately 11,410 years ago. Mastodons inhabited forested areas in the northeast until around 11,000 years ago when they suddenly disappeared. Scientists believe this mass extinction was caused by a combination of over-hunting, climate change, and disease.
