The first lecture of the 2024 Hosmer-Williams Lecture Series was presented on Thursday, March 21, at 7:00 in the evening in Farley’s Music Hall, 37 Mill Street, Elsah, Illinois.
The lecture, Meeting Mike: Mammoth or Mastodon, was given by Andrew Martin, Professor of Archaeology and Anthropology at Principia College.
Some years ago, the partial skeletal remains of a Wooly Mammoth were discovered on the Principia campus. Nicknamed “Benny” after the worker who first came across the remains, the Mammoth was an important part of the college curriculum, ending with a major exhibit in one of the college’s science buildings. Now comes “Mike,” an ivory tusk recently uncovered like “Benny,” by chance, and once again an opportunity for student learning. Andrew Martin leads the effort at the college, in cooperation with Illinois State Museum staff. His lecture described what’s happened to date, and where the “Dig” is going.
Here is a recording of the lecture:
The Hosmer-Williams Lecture Series is a major contribution of Historic Elsah Foundation to the understanding of local history. The Series is underwritten, in part, by Liberty Bank of Alton, Illinois, by Federal Steel of East Alton, Il, by anonymous donors, and by the membership of Historic Elsah Foundation.