Prehistoric Elk Remains in Cranberry Prairie, Mercer County, Ohio

Abstract

A nearly complete elk (Cervus elaphus) skeleton was excavated in a peat and marl deposit on the Ron Stucke farm, Cranberry Prairie, Mercer County, Ohio. Although elements in the molluscan fauna indicate a late Pleistocene age, a radiocarbon date of 9370 B.P. ± 70 yr was obtained from a bone sample. Unusual features of the adult skeleton are extreme dental wear on the lower first molars; incomplete ossification of the scapula; and a hole punched through the left scapula, probably due to a prehistoric hunting weapon.