What do you think this object is?
Hint: This object was discovered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Hint: It was recovered from property once belonging to Benjamin Franklin.

(approximate size: 6 inches long x 5 inches tall x 4 inches wide)

Answer: This is a fossilized mastodon tooth. Mastodons are elephant-like animals that lived more than 10,000 years ago. Benjamin Franklin studied and wrote about fossilized mastodon bones and teeth. Learn more about this tooth...at:

Benjamin Franklin's Mastodon Tooth: Artifact Spotlight

This free downloadable podcast tour (at Archaeology at about.com is accompanied by 6 linked pages of photographs and written text.

(Photography by Peter Harholdt 2004, courtesy of the Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary Consortium and Independence National Historical Park)  Page Content prepared by P.L. Jeppson, January 2005.