When you are a farmer, you can expect to do a lot of digging while on the job. However, these two farmers had no idea that they would stumble into something other than crop, rock, and dirt! These men come from different continents, but they got to share something special. Both of them found a relic of history from thousands of years ago. How were their findings related?

Two Strange Objects Found At The Same Time On Opposite Sides The Globe
We humans think we know a lot about the world, but the truth is that there are many things we have yet to find out. Indeed, mother nature has yet to reveal everything about both the past and the present.
A Fine Christmas Morning
Jose Antonio Nievas got up early on Christmas day of 2015. This is pretty routine for the Argentinian man. He was running on Christmas spirit, so he thought it would be nice to go for a walk on his ranch.

A Fine Christmas Morning
He just passed by the stream running through the property when he noticed something out of the ordinary. What was this huge rounded stone that he found at the bank? His curiosity was piqued, so he approached it to take a closer look at the stone. Upon further inspection, he realized that this was actually no stone!
Asking For Help
After making this bizarre discovery, he tried removing the mud caked around it to take a better look at the strange object. He hoped that this would help him get an understanding of what it was.

Asking For Help
However, it was not possible for him to simply wipe off all the mud on the object. It was then that he called Reina, his wife. Perhaps she could figure out what the object was.
Working On It Some More
Together with his wife, Jose returned to the site and tried to clean and unearth this mystery object. They took it slowly to ensure that they would not damage it. It’s a good thing they had the tools they needed.

Working On It Some More
As they went on with the excavation process, they then realized just how big this object was. After working on it as much as they could, they agreed that they needed the help of other people to solve this mystery. In the end, they hit up the police for assistance.
Everyone Heard About It
Even though Jose and Reina asked only the police to take a look at it, the news spread through the city. Soon enough, it seemed like the entire city met up by the stream to see it for themselves. However, the police and the locals could not tell what it was either.

Everyone Heard About It
The authorities were confused. They had no logical explanation for this object. It was a good thing that Jose brought his dog when he took them there. The pooch ended up leading them to the right direction!
An Excited Pooch
When the dog went to the riverbank and joined the crowd there, it had a reaction! He started to sniff and bark! Slowly, he moved closer to the mystery object.

An Excited Pooch
For most people, the reaction he had was the first sign that it was going to be something important. After all, animals did not normally get excited over stones or plants. What could it be?
The Professional Opinion
The police took note of the way the dog reacted, so they decided it was high time they got in touch with specialists. They asked two local archaeologists to drop by.

The Professional Opinion
They knew that it was important to conduct a proper scientific investigation. This meant that they had to take it to a lab. The archaeologists then organized the transport of the object so that they could do this.
Digging It Out
When the archaeologists attempted to dig it out of the riverbank, they found out that it was very heavy. They also learned that it was an egg that was made with a hard material of some sort.

Digging It Out
In the end, the digging had to take a lot of time. The object was simply enormous! Can you imagine just how hard it must have been to take it to the lab?
Discoveries
Upon their arrival, the experts claimed that it did not come from this period. As a matter of fact, it was quite ancient.

Discoveries
The archaeologists had to use a microscope to gain a better understanding of the object.
What It Was
What they learned after doing so excited them! Apparently, it was a fossil. To be specific, it was a large turtle shell.

What It Was
The craziest thing is that this discovery was linked to another discovery that happened at the same time on the other side of the world!
A Michigan Man
This was happening all the way in Argentina at the same time that a farmer by the name of James Bristle made an amazing discovery of his own. He lived on a farm in a small Michigan town when it happened.

A Michigan Man
The two farmers in the article do not know each other. However, the two of them were going to come together after making comparable discoveries around the same time!
Digging In
James had been looking for the best place to install a natural gas line on his property. He decided that it was none other than a soy field on the property that hardly saw any action. The farmer began to work on it.

Digging In
If you plan to make a natural gas line, you will have to dig a lot. However, he had no idea what he would find there.
Using Proper Equipment
He started to dig for the installation of the natural gas line. In order to do this, he had to bring over heavy-duty digging equipment. Specifically, he needed a backhoe.

Using Proper Equipment
It was not going to take a short time, but he was determined to wrap it up by October.
On A Time Crunch
After all, he knew it was going to be inconvenient if he was not done by the time snow started to fall. However, he hit a hard object when he used the backhoe!

On A Time Crunch
He knew he needed to work quickly if he wanted to figure out what this mystery object was.
Hitting Something Hard
He knew that the soy field had fertile and soft soil without deep roots or large rocks. This is the reason he was so surprised to feel the backhoe come into contact with a hard object.

Hitting Something Hard
James was so curious that he ended up getting out of the machine to check what was there. He began to dig using his hands until he felt the smooth and hard object. There was no way it was a root or a stone.
Way Too Big
James carried on doing this until he cleared the mud around the object. After cleaning the area, he saw that it was a bone! What made it so interesting was that he had never seen a bone like this before.

Way Too Big
To him, it looked a lot like a rib bone. However, the size of it indicated that it came from a creature much larger than the ones they normally saw in the area.
Back In Argentina
Let us see what the other farmer has been up to. The researchers learned what the strange object they found in Jose’s place was. Are you ready to feel amazed?

Back In Argentina
It was around when the dinosaurs were here!
Curiosity Got The Best Of Him
It was so big that he knew it did not come from a horse or a cow. His curiosity overpowered him, so he started digging around some more.

Curiosity Got The Best Of Him
Jose had no idea that he was going to stumble into a fossilized shell of the armadillo-like creature called a glyptodon when he went on a walk that Christmas morning.
Meanwhile In Michigan
In Michigan, the excavation went on for yet another day.

Meanwhile In Michigan
Everyone was astonished when they found a second bone on the property! It was also huge. In fact, the object was a lot longer than the one James found first.
An Archaeological Site
They were digging 10 feet into the ground by then! What started out as a trench for a natural gas line eventually turned into an archaeological site.

An Archaeological Site
The news of the discovery sent everyone in town abuzz with excitement. News outlets also heard of it.
The Word Got Out
We all saw what happened in the small town in Argentina. The same thing happened in the small town in Michigan. Rumors and theories about the bones started to pop up left and right.

The Word Got Out
There was even a popular rumor that it came from a monster that been buried there a long time ago…
Something Unbelievable
When they found a huge skull in the area, everyone felt confused. What they found came with tusks attached to it! Incredibly, it was as long as an entire human being.

Something Unbelievable
Everyone wanted to find out how an elephant made it all the way to a farm in Michigan.
A Phone Conversation
James quickly learned that he was out of his depth in this situation. This is the reason he reached out to a professor at the University of Michigan. He knew that Daniel Fisher could help.

A Phone Conversation
After all, he was the director at the Museum of Paleontology at the university.
Time To Begin
They spoke on the phone first. The following day, the professor showed up at the site with a group of students. We are sure they were thrilled to spend the day digging!

Time To Begin
Together with some of his students, Daniel Fisher arrived at the site.
A Thrilling Discovery
They were filled with excitement when they found out what the bones were. They also determined the time period they came from. It turns out that a woolly mammoth had been buried there the whole time. They were amazed to find it intact.

A Thrilling Discovery
Their Brilliant Idea
Finally, they came up with a brilliant plan to get the bones out of there without inflicting any damage.

Their Brilliant Idea
With the use of an excavator, straps could gradually lift the skull from 10 feet deep into the ground! After doing this, they could finally get the bones assessed and cleaned.
With Bated Breath
A crowd got together there to watch as the ginormous skull was lifted from the ground before it was then placed onto the truck flatbed.

With Bated Breath
They almost succeeded with this risky attempt when something unfortunate happened…
Almost An Accident
As they were putting it on the truck flatbed, one of the straps holding onto it snapped all of a sudden! Everyone in the crowd let out a gasp.

Almost An Accident
After this, they managed to get the skull on the truck bed. It was driven off to the museum, where they could examine it some more.
The Mysteries Keep Opening Up
A tusk had been inches away from crashing into the truck, but the other straps supported it enough to stop that from happening.

The Mysteries Keep Opening Up
Who would have thought that they had yet to learn the biggest surprise?
A Lot In Common
The entire situation was definitely strange. Isn’t it incredible that two farmers from very different areas found something similar at the same time?

A Lot In Common
Just how much of the entire ordeal was a mere coincidence? In order to understand the situation, it is important to learn the history of these findings.
Around The World
Argentina is not the only place where people have discovered glyptodon shells.

Around The World
Over the past century, they have been uncovered on nearly every continent in the world. The remains of the curious creatures have been found in places like Australia, China, and Antarctica. Just what are they?
Meet The Glyptodons
Glyptodons were fascinating creatures that boasted of amazing defensive capabilities. There is some reason to believe that they were the strongest creatures roaming the earth when they were still alive.

Meet The Glyptodons
These things were also durable and tough, which made them perfect for protection against their predators.
Learning More
After more research, they learned that Glyptodons were around at the same time as humans. In fact, some believe humans caused their extinction.

Learning More
The shells on their backs could be compared to tortoise shells.
Human Hunters
Their shells were enough to keep them safe from most predators. They became targets of human hunters, however.

Human Hunters
The size of such a shell made it an accessible and perfect form of protection against cases of terrible weather.
A Modern Iteration
Even though sketches of these animals bear a physical resemblance to tortoises, glyptodons actually had more similarities with armadillos.

A Modern Iteration
Both of them are land-dwelling mammals with long snouts as well as bony coverings atop their heads.
From Prehistoric Times
They originated from South America, although they eventually made their way to Guatemala.

From Prehistoric Times
It was most likely that the one they found in Argentina died or got stuck in riverbank after getting covered by wreckage from a storm.
How About The Mammoth?
After the mammoth was taken to the University of Michigan, the team found some exciting things during the investigation.

How About The Mammoth?
Aside from excavating the bones, they dated them so that they could be put on display in a museum. However, just how did the mammoth get to the area in the first place?
Incredible History
Even though the body was no longer there, the shell did not go anywhere thousands of years later. Now, what about the Michigan mammoth?

Incredible History
They sorted through the tusks they found on the property.
From South America
The theory holds that the Mammoths originated from South America before they moved out. They eventually disappeared about 11,700 years ago.

From South America
In reality, this one was not the only Mammoth discovered in the state. As a matter of fact, there have been 30 found there already. However, the discovery James made was the biggest of its kind.
Finding Human Handprints
During their research, the team learned that human hands have gone over the skeleton at some point.

Finding Human Hand Prints
Giving It Away
The discovery of the Mammoth bone came as a shock to everyone involved, but James did not have any use for what he found on his property.

Giving It Away
Once In A Lifetime
Both findings also gave people from all over the world the chance to learn more about the prehistoric ages.

Once In A Lifetime
James and Jose were both simple farmers who made an incredible property on their properties. In the end, they ended up joining the ranks of the best archaeologists the world has ever seen!
Two Unbelievable Discoveries
We cannot deny that a huge distance separated the two discoveries we talked about. Despite this, they both revealed fascinating things about the history of the areas they had been found in!

Two Unbelievable Discoveries
It might be a good idea to start digging in your backyard as well. After all, who knows what might be lying directly under your feet at this given moment?