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First US mastodon skeleton displayIn 1801, the first complete skeleton of a mastodon found in the U.S., mounted in the "Mammoth Room" of Peale's Museum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was opened for exhibition to the public. It was the museum's centrepiece and became an overnight success. The massive bones had been discovered in Hudson River Valley of New York state, in the Spring of that year, described only as Incognitum ("unknown"). They were acquired by Charles Willson Peale who travelled there to supervise their excavation. The site was depicted in a well-known painting by Peale, whose career included working as a portrait artist. Periodically, from then until now, additional complete skeletons of mammoths have been unearthed in the state of New York.«[Image: detail from Disinterment of the Mastodon painted by CW Peale in 1806.] |
