9-Year-Old’s Childhood Stumble Reveals Astonishing 1.2 Million-Year-Old Stegomastodon Fossil in New Mexico
You ever trip over something and think, “Well, that’s odd,” only to find out you’ve just unearthed a 1.2 million-year-old Stegomastodon tusk? Yeah, me neither — but nine-year-old Jude Sparks sure did. While out on a family hike in New Mexico’s Orange Mountains, Jude stumbled on what looked like “fossilized wood” but was actually a massive prehistoric relic. His brother wasn’t sold, calling it “just a big fat rotten cow,” but Jude, with a hunch that it wasn’t quite ordinary, set off a chain of events that led to unearthing an entire skull of these elephant cousins. Turns out, sometimes being clumsy isn’t just embarrassing — it’s historic. Ever wonder how many ancient giants might still be hiding just beneath your feet, waiting for someone—or some kid—to trip over them?
“I didn’t know what it was,” the boy said. “I just knew it wasn’t usual.”
Peter HoudeDr. Peter Houde with the Sparks brothers during the Stegomastodon excavation.
There are benefits to being clumsy. For example, when you trip on something in a New Mexico desert and it turns out to be a Stegomastodon fossil from 1.2 million years ago.
That’s what happened to 9-year-old Jude Sparks when he was exploring the Orange Mountains with his family.
Jude’s brother, Hunter, originally wasn’t convinced that the find was impressive. “Hunter said it was just a big fat rotten cow,” Jude told KVIA TV. “I didn’t know what it was. I just knew it wasn’t usual.”
To him, the discovery looked like “fossilized wood.” His parents agreed and contacted Peter Houde, a professor at New Mexico State University, who returned with the family to the site the next day.
Post Comment