Digging In

The next task is to isolate "islands" -- to determine how best to divide up the specimen for excavation and transport with the least damage. The crew digs down around the edge of the skeleton to just below the deepest layer of bones. The result was five large chunks of the main body parts, torso and limbs and skull plus another 18 smaller pieces, including limbs and feet.

Here you can see the entire mastodon skeleton as an island after the surrounding ground has been removed.