9-year-old Southern Oregon boy makes ancient discovery

WINSTON, Ore. – 9-year-old Jeremiah Longbrake was out in his grandmother’s backyard. While playing in a small creek near the house, he saw something that caught his eye.

At first, he thought it could be some kind of old plastic container, but after he brought it in to show his mom, he realized he had made an ancient discovery.

“She posted it on Facebook, and she had some rock-hounding friends, and 12 or some people commented, it looks like a tooth, and some also said it looked like a mammoth tooth,” said Jeremiah.

Jeremiah’s mom, Megan Johnson, initially thought the object was a piece of petrified wood. She was inspired by the Facebook comments and reached out to an archaeologist with the Museum of Cultural and Natural History in Eugene.

She said the archaeologist confirmed the object was a fragment of a tooth from a mammoth.

“I was shocked to find out that this was a mammoth tooth it was mind-blowing,” said Johnson.

Jeremiah’s grandmother said the areas around the creek are no stranger to erosion. She thinks the tooth could have become dislodged somewhere upstream before landing in her backyard.

Jeremiah said he plans on keeping the tooth, but he might have more plans for this piece of history in the future.

“I going to ask Mom if she can get a professional to come out here and take off a dime-sized piece and donate it to a museum so they can do further research,” said Jeremiah.