Mastodon bones unearthed on southern Indiana farm

SEYMOUR, Ind. -- A construction crew came across some very old bones when digging on an Indiana farm.

The workers were installing sewer lines when they unearthed a collection of large fossilized bones.

The family sent photos of the bones to the Indiana State Museum, where they learned the fossils likely belonged to an ice-age animal who stood about nine feet tall and weighed as much as 12,000 pounds.

"Tony and I both thought well it's a chicken bone, cow bone, something like that. The conservation officer was telling me that this is probably a mastodon or a mammoth," said Joe Schepman, the brother-in-law of the farm owner.

The bones include most of a tusk, part of a skull and a jawbone with teeth.

"It's amazing to think about something this large roaming around this area," Schepman told the Seymour Tribune.

They plan to donate the bones to the Indiana State Museum in Indianapolis.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.