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Benjamin Franklin's Mastodon Tooth

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Ancient Elephants and 18th Century Rationalists
Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin as depicted in the frontispiece of: "Life of Benjamin Franklin as written by himself," edited by John Bigelow, 1875.

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Franklin’s letters reveal that over his lifetime he obtained several samples of mastodon bones and teeth. He wrote to fellow scientists in the colonies and in Europe about the mysterious creature which did not live in America but whose bones could be found there. Franklin refers to these fossil fragments as being from "ancient elephants from before the flood", since the term mastodon was not in use at the time.

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