17th July, 2018
A museum in Turkey’s central Yozgat province on Tuesday says it has discovered a fossil believed to come from an eight-million-year-old mammoth.
“Paleoanthropological works are under way to determine the exact age of a jawbone brought to us by a farmer yesterday.
“Initial signs show it is around eight million years old.
The fossilised teeth belonging to a mammoth were found by farmer Alper Dusunceli while he was ploughing his land,” Yozgat Museum Director, Hasan Senyurt, said.
He said that the fossil was brought to the museum after discovery.
“We will request help from related universities to examine the bone in detail,” Senyurtsaid.
Turkey sits on some of the world’s leading archaeological sites, including Gobeklitepe, a site in south-eastern Turkey, which was recently added to UNESCO World Heritage list, according to the Turkish Foreign Ministry.
Some areas of Turkish tourism are fuelled by the country’s diverse historical and archaeological heritage.