Ancient Ozarks Museum Report

[Jesuslover340]

It's been awhile since we actually visited this museum, but I'm just getting around to posting a few things  This museum is situated in the "Ozarks" near Hollister, Missouri, and is thus aptly named the "Ancient Ozarks Museum". We actually had no idea it was there when we ( @Ash and I) went to Hollister for our honeymoon at Paradise Point, but leave it to a couple amateur paleontologists to find the one fossil shop and fossil-related museum in the area  Funnily enough, I saw a Razanandrongobe tooth for sale in the fossil shop before all the news articles came out on it, putting it in the spotlight-I had never heard of it before, and we actually looked up what it was (speculated to be dinosaurian at that time) due to its intriguing nature. Funny how such things coincide...

However, the main subject of this topic is the museum. We actually learned about by accident while eating at the Buzzard's restaurant at Paradise Point by flipping over a menu and noticing a terror bird tearing after its prey with an ad for the museum. So, we determined then and there we would have to visit. And it wasn't a disappointment! Though a quaint museum with few actual fossils, the few it had were spectacular, and the life-size dioramas were portrayed in amazing detail. Moreover, the building was made of a deep, rich-colored wood, reminiscent of the studies and museums of old. So perhaps there was little quantity-wise, but there was much quality-wise. It also had thousands of Native American and Civil War artifacts, but I'll focus only on the fossils here, as to write on everything is a fairly daunting task.

The first thing we were confronted with was a skeleton of a giant ground sloth-I must admit I did not realize how odd this creature was until I saw its skeletal vestige in person, with its low, wide hips, blocky skull, wide-spaced front teeth, and large, angled claws. How this thing walked is beyond me...

Next, we came across our first mesmerizing diorama-and I was amazed at how much detail and effort was put into these, let alone how huge the Daeodon and "Bear Dog" were! The Bear Dog reminded me of some amorphous cross between a variety of predators-cat, dog, bear, etc. And then, across the hall, the Terror Bird! Its beak was about as large as my head, and its eyes seemed to follow you; the feather and head detail made it look like it had been stuffed just the day before. I admit I wasn't much impressed with the Giant Beaver (Castoroides?) skeleton, but I did appreciate seeing it, as I haven't heard of many complete skeletons being on display. With each added animal, I became more dubious that these animals once lived in the mountainous area, let alone had been found here (most were found in caves). Throughout the museum, I will say my respect-though already founded-deepened for the Native Americans' perspective on life and society. I also felt a twinge of sorrow that their perspective has largely not survived into today's society's mindset. But I digress and will continue onward with this report...

The next diorama we came across was that of a North American Jaguar hunting a Stag Moose (Cervalces sp.), which, to my surprise, was actually a deer-a very large one. I've added a photo of myself just to give an indication of scale, though my small figure may nullify that (I'm only 5'3").

The last diorama we saw on the lower floor of the museum was that of a Short-faced Bear facing a Clovis man, which was awe-inspiring. You don't really understand what the early Native American peoples had to face until something like this looms over you. I imagined a young Native American bragging about his victory over a modern bear, only to have an elder put him in his place with his own story of defeating a Short-faced Bear before they disappeared altogether. How many saw giant beavers or made pelts out of them. What of encounters with North American Lions or Jaguars? The stories told of them? Do the ghosts of those encounters remain in more modern Native American tales?

Upon finishing the lower floor, we headed back up to the main hall, where a Short-faced bear skeleton, mammoth skeleton, and North American Lion skeleton were on display. We were admittedly amused that the bear skeleton on the main floor was female-there was one on the lower floor (of which I haven't included a photo of) which had us in shock, as a single bone made it decidedly male (shocked because we've never seen markedly 'male' fossil skeletons, which then makes you realize you've been staring at fossil skeletons that have all been portrayed as female up until that point). The mammoth, we learned, had actually been bought from an auction after being taken off the black market and had been dubbed 'Monty'. Lastly, we were faced with the grin of a North American Lion. He looked happy to see us, I thought. Almost as if he were posing for the camera and saying, "Cheese!" before having a snack. Needless to say, we kept our distance

 

It's been awhile since I've made a decent trip report, so I hope you all enjoyed this venture with us!

[ynot]

Nice report and pictures!

Thanks Skye.

[Ash]

Well worth visiting! Great post, Skye! Brought back so many memories

[Fossildude19]

Thanks for the report, Skyelar.  

Regards,