• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to content

Carnegie Museum of Natural History

One of the Four Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh

  • Visitor
    • Visitor Information
    • Exhibitions
    • After Dark
    • Calendar
    • Things to do
    • Tell Us About You
    • Ask a Scientist
    • Store
    • Visit Powdermill Nature Reserve
  • Educator
    • Resources for Teachers
    • Field Trips
    • Field Trips to Powdermill
    • Bring the Museum to You
    • Educator Workshops
    • Scouts
    • Homeschool Classes
    • Educator Loans
    • Ask a Scientist
  • Researcher
    • Scientific Sections
    • Senior Research Staff
    • Research at Powdermill
    • Scientific Publications
    • Research Initiatives
    • Specimen and Artifact Identification
  • Join & Give
  • Shopping Cart
  • search

Gift from Underground

By Patrick McShea

Hairy-tailed Mole in the Hall of North American Wildlife
Hairy-tailed Mole in the Hall of North American Wildlife

Do wild creatures ever participate in gift giving? Their very presence can be thought of as a gift, of course. Think only of what the chorus of bird song adds to a spring dawn, or how a trotting red fox transforms a frost white meadow.

One spring morning more than a decade ago, however, I found something in the freshly churned soil of a mole hill that I’ve come to regard as a kind of peace offering gift. As I used my right foot to spread the damp earth flat, a sliver of pale gray flashed briefly in the otherwise peanut butter colored pile. Bending down to investigate, I found an irregularly-shaped, quarter-sized piece of chert that a quick spit wash and pants wipe revealed to be the lower portion of an arrowhead.

Stone point fragment next to an intact point
Stone point fragment next to an intact point

The broken artifact was certainly an unintentional gift, mere tunnel debris to be pushed skyward by the shovel-like front paws and sharply pointed nose of the creature who last encountered it. For me, however, the tool fragment has become a magical kind of time capsule, holding without revealing information about its ancient creator, its use, and eventual breakage.

Since that morning I’ve looked patiently but without success for the arrowhead’s other half in every mole hill I’ve smoothed out. I’ve also spent a lot of time wondering about what the arrowhead maker called the unusual mammal whose tunnel making is the basis for our acquaintance.

Patrick McShea works in the Education and Visitor Experience department of Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Footer Navigation

Skip to primary navigation Skip to content

About

  • About
  • Museum History
  • Senior Staff
  • Strategic Plan
  • Image Permission Requests

Get Involved

  • Carnegie Discoverers
  • Membership
  • Volunteer
  • Donate
  • Employment
  • Upcoming Events

Bring a Group

  • Group Tours
  • Field Trips
  • Birthday Parties
  • Sleepovers
  • Summer Camps
  • Scouts

Powdermill

  • Visit Powdermill
  • Field Trips to Powdermill
  • Research at Powdermill
  • Powdermill Staff
  • Museum-wide Research Initiatives

More Information

  • Press
  • Image Permission Requests
  • Blog
  • Accessibility
  • Shopping Cart
  • Contact
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Our eNews features information on exhibitions, upcoming events, and subscriber-only special offers!

Get eNews
Rad works here logo
One of the Four Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh | ©2018 Carnegie Institute | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Accessibility