A dog untrained in cadaver search has made an astonishing find on a beach in Suffolk, UK—the remains of a Woolly Mammoth, more than 11,000 years old!
Daisy, a Miniature Dachsund, made the find while walking along the beach with her owner, Dennis Smith. The bone is thought to have been uncovered by recent storms. Smith says Daisy "looked quite pleased with herself" after making the extraordinary find.
This recent find trumps the age of an accidental find by Rowan, a black Labrador, who uncovered a Neolithic stone axe head at Drum Estate, in Scotland. The National Trust for Scotland estimated the age of the axe head to be between 4000 and 6000 years old.
Which begs the question—are dogs useful in archaeology?
Adela Morris from the Institute for Canine Forensics thinks so. The ICF even has specialized Historical Grave Detection Dogs, a group of highly trained dogs and handlers who find historical grave sites and burial grounds for historical and conservation reasons.
However, questions have been raised about the use of dogs in archaeology with some studies revealing large variances in the effectiveness of different dog and handler teams, at least in intentional attempts at making finds! It would seem the biggest problems are ruling out false positives, and recognizing alerts when given by the dogs.
There is, however, no doubt about a dog's ability to recognize even extremely old scents buried underground. This leaves open the possibility of better results through better training.
But when good luck shines on our four-legged archaeologists, we hope they still get their rewards!
