Mysterious 10,000-year-old mastodon tooth found in charity's donation pile

Courtesy Within The Image

Footwear, clothing and furniture would be the typical products contributed to non profit organizations every day. But a ten,000-year-old mastodon tooth? Less.

However, much towards the amazement from the folks at Within the Image, a Christian charitable organisation in Grand Rapids, Mich., that is what went down.

John Timmer, an worker in the charity's warehouse, found the traditional artifact there in This summer when studying the day's donations.

"I selected up also it appeared as if a tooth," Timmer, 52, told GoodMorningAmerica.com.

"The main was intact also it was cracked enough which means you often see enamel," added Timmer, of Jenison, Mich. "It certainly appeared as if some kind of tooth. However I did not find out what related to it."

Therefore, he did what any naive worker would do and stowed it away inside a cabinet within the warehouse.

"About per week passed and that i known as the museum to ascertain if they'd somebody who could inform us what this factor is," stated Timmer.

Quickly, among the Grand Rapids Public Museum's curators showed up to get the traditional items, which incorporated a tusk-like piece additionally towards the tooth, to examine exactly what the charitable organisation had inherited from the mysterious donor.

"He stated, 'Yeah, it is a mastodon tooth and it is most likely about 10,000 years of age,Inch Timmer remembered.

Your tooth, that was "quite heavy," based on Timmer, is roughly 10 inches lengthy contributing to how big some bread.

"And there is a sharper piece that appeared as if a tusk, possibly, which one was most likely just a little bigger, in regards to a feet lengthy and perhaps five inches wide," he stated.

The mysterious part is the fact that nobody knows in which the donation originated from.

"We all do pick-ups for donations constantly, mostly at individuals estates if grandfather died and also the family decides to give their possessions to all of us,Inch stated Timmer. "However I suspect whomever contributed it did not realize it was there."

However, the mastodon pieces have discovered a suitable home, getting used being an educational tool for that museum.

"The very fact it will likely be employed for education reasons may be the best factor," stated Jay Starkey, the charity's director. "They are likely to allow the kids feel it, touch it and find out about it. How awesome is the fact that?Inch

And for the financial worth of the pieces in the extinct, elephant-like species, Starkey stated it did not matter.

"It does not appear the worth was, as this educational value is priceless," he stated.