A team of Materials Faculty including Profs. Kevin Jones, Jack Mecholsky and Dr. Jerry Bourne co-authored a recent publication verifying the first example of Ice Age Art discovered in the Americas. The bone fragment was discovered in South Florida. On the fossilized fragment was an engraving of a Mammoth or Mastodon believed to have been carved approximately 13,000 years ago.

Using optical and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) in both secondary  and back scattered imaging modes along with chemical (energy dispersive x-ray) analysis,  the team showed there were no indications the carving was modern.  The publication in the Journal of Archaeological Science is co-authored with other scientists at UF, Texas and the Smithsonian institution. A press release from the Smithsonian Institution on this discovery can be found at http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/06/110621131334.htm.