TRI-CITIES, Wash. – Kadlec Regional Medical Center is playing a unique role in the excavation of 17,450-year-old mammoth bones.
The Coyote Canyon Mammoth Site, operated by the volunteer group Mid-Columbia Basin Old Natural Education Sciences (MCBONES) Research Center, recently received assistance from Kadlec Clinic Northwest Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine, according to a Kadlec release.
Both MCBONES and the Kadlec team collaborated for a unique project on a fragile mammoth scapula at the request of the site’s landowner.
The Kadlec team of Michelle Stigum, Ara Wilson, and Clarissa Carrizales provided their expertise in the utilization of plastic wrap and lightweight fiberglass casting material to protect and support the bone. The casting material is similar to what hospitals use for broken limbs.
“Before we could flip it, we needed a custom support to cradle the bone,” said MCBONES volunteer Neil Mara.
“The bone at one level was very thin, and that was really challenging,” said Carrizales. “It was stationary, so we couldn’t lift it. We did our best to try to mold the fiberglass around it but could not put much pressure on it.”
This collaboration is not the first between Kadlec and MCBONES. A few years ago, a mammoth leg bone was CT scanned at Kadlec to create a 3-D printed replica for educational purposes, said Mara in the release.
The Coyote Canyon Mammoth Site is open to visitors from April to October and provides students, teachers and the public the opportunity to actively participate in laboratory and field-based research, the release added.
The excavation continues, and more volunteers are needed. “There are a lot of bones left to find,” said Mara.
