Ken Marks is a retired computer programmer. He told Florida’s Fourth Estate hosts Ginger Gadsden and Matt Austin that he had zero experience unearthing prehistoric bones, but now that has all changed.
Marks said he and his wife actually moved from Boca Raton to Gainesville three years ago so they could spend more time volunteering with the Florida Museum of Natural History.
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As volunteers, they get to help uncover things like ancient elephants and sabretooth cats that once called an ancient river near Williston home.
Marks said his favorite find is a 5.5-million-year-old rhinoceros.
He said he spent two months cleaning its teeth.
Marks proudly held up the animal’s jawbone and when you see how big it is, it makes sense that it took so long.
“I always tell people you don’t have to be OCD, but it does help,” Marks said.
Marks has also worked on smaller animals.
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He showed Matt and Ginger something that looked like it could be left on your plate after dinner.
“That may look like a turkey leg bone that I am holding right here, but that’s actually the leg bone of a very tiny three-toed horse,” Marks said.
Marks said when it roamed North Florida the horse was more dog-sized than the large horses you are used to seeing today.
Paleontologist Jonathan Bloch, who works for the Florida Museum of Natural History, said bringing these bones out of the dig site and into the lab takes a lot of work and time.
“I’m happy that we have a lot of volunteers who are willing to help with that,” Bloch said.
To learn more about the dig site, how you can become a volunteer and the rare finds being unearthed, check out Florida’s Fourth Estate. You can download the podcast from wherever you listen to podcasts or watch anytime on News 6+.
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