PHOTOS: Archaeologists Unearth Weird Pot… Make Stunning Find That Defies Extinction

30 Nov, 2015 by Greg Campbell

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Archaeology is not as glamorous as Indiana Jones made it out to be, but the science can yield terrific insight into our past. Things long forgotten or, in this case, extinct, can be unearthed and brought back to life. This story tells the tale of a discovery that gives us an ancient link to our past.

Every so often, a discovery is made that seems to defy all natural laws. This kind of discovery reminds us that there are still mysteries that can be considered nothing but amazing.

A discovery of ancient seeds is such a find. Archaeologists unearthed a clay pot in 2008 on the Menominee Reservation in Wisconsin, which doesn’t seem like much of an earth-shattering discovery.

However, when they opened the pot, they discovered seeds — seeds that were determined to be a form of squash thought to have been extinct for 800 years.

The seeds seemed perfectly preserved in the clay pot.

Students in Winnipeg, Canada, didn’t let the discovery end there. They decided to see what would happen if they planted the seeds. Surprisingly, from the seeds sprouted species of squash thought to be extinct.

The squash was named “Gete-okosomin,” which means “big old squash” in Menominee.

And big it is. The largest squash grown from the batch of seeds measured 3 feet long and weighed in at 18 pounds, according to My Modern Met.

The students are working to cultivate the seeds so this plant won’t become extinct again.

This is truly an amazing discovery because it sheds light on on our ancestors and how they lived.

We can learn a lot about our ancestors through archaeology and while this find may not be as exciting as discovering King Tut or Richard III, it is tremendously significant!