A new study published by an international group of archeologists flips the script on a Utah discovery that made national headlines in 2018.
the skeletal remains of a horse were discovered in the backyard of a home in Lehi, Utah, in 2018 while the homeowners were conducting a landscaping project. Initial reports stated that the remains were estimated to be around 16,000 years old, placing the creature in the most recent ice age.
Now, over two years after the initial discovery, radiocarbon dating revealed that the remains are in fact much younger, dating from sometime after the late 17th century, according to Archaeology.org.
We can only say that this horse died sometime after 1680, likely before the European settlers moved into the Salt Lake region during the mid-19th century,” William Taylor, an assistant professor of anthropology at the University of Colorado Boulder and the lead author of the new study said, via The Science Times.
According to Live Science, the mix up happened because the remains were buried in lake sediments that dated back to 14,000 to 16,000 years ago.
“It was found in the ground in these geologic deposits from the Pleistocene — the last ice age,” Taylor said, via CU Boulder Today.
According to CU Boulder Today, Taylor has a suspicion that the Lehi horse is not the only animal whose remains were mistakenly labeled from the ice age.
“I think there are a lot more out there like this,” the professor said.
