The Orange County Mastodon & America’s ‘Founding Fossils’

In the latest episode of A New York Minute in History, Devin Lander and Lauren Roberts dig into the 19th Century discovery of a mastodon skeleton in Orange County.

The “Orange County Mastodon” was one of the earliest, if not the first, complete mastodon skeletons discovered in the U.S. These large fossils captured the attention of many Americans who were determined to dispel the myth of American degeneracy.

Guests include Dr. Robert Feranec, director of Research and Collections, curator of Pleistocene vertebrate paleontology, and curator of mammalogy at the New York State Museum; and Dr. Bernard K. Means, project director of the Virtual Curation Laboratory at Virginia Commonwealth University, and co-author (with Maggie Colangelo) of Founding Monsters and Founding Monsters Tales

A New York Minute In History is a production of the New York State Museum, WAMC, and Archivist Media, with support from the William G. Pomeroy Foundation. This episode was produced by Jesse King. Our theme is “Begrudge” by Darby.

For a full list of this week’s New York Almanack podcasts announcements click HERE.