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  3. The name game ~ Wooly Mammoth who?

The name game ~ Wooly Mammoth who?

In this handout photo provided by the Rafn Company, a mammoth tusk is fully exposed after being excavated overnight and into early Friday morning, Feb. 14, 2014. The mammoth tusk was discovered days earlier during work at an apartment construction site just north of downtown. Measured at eight and one-half feet, the tusk appears to be one of the largest and most intact specimens ever found in the area. The plaster protects the tusk from bending and cracking throughout the drying process, which may take up to 12 months. (Craig Leckness / Rafn Company)
In this handout photo provided by the Rafn Company, a mammoth tusk is fully exposed after being excavated overnight and into early Friday morning, Feb. 14, 2014. The mammoth tusk was discovered days earlier during work at an apartment construction site just north of downtown. Measured at eight and one-half feet, the tusk appears to be one of the largest and most intact specimens ever found in the area. The plaster protects the tusk from bending and cracking throughout the drying process, which may take up to 12 months. (Craig Leckness / Rafn Company)

Last week Bertha excavated her way through downtown Seattle and into history when the tunnel-drilling machine struck ancient gold...ummm…ivory.  

The find: an ancient mammoth's tusk that measures 8.5 feet in length and will be carbon dated to determine its age, estimated between 22,000 and 66,000 years. For now, the tusk will dry out naturally at Seattle’s Burke Museum – a process taking a year, maybe two.

Curators talk about naming the creature who left us part of itself.  Freeway Franny? Alaskan Way Wilma?  Bertha’s Babe?

The drilling of the tunnel has become more mystery than science with machine breakdowns and uncertain roadblocks. The process planned for easier traffic flow in the future. Who would have guessed we would, instead, travel so far back in time?

(S-R: In this handout photo provided by the Rafn Company, a mammoth tusk is fully exposed after being excavated. )

Spokesman-Review features writer Rebecca Nappi, along with writer Catherine Johnston of Olympia, Wash., discuss here issues facing aging boomers, seniors and those experiencing serious illness, dying, death and other forms of loss.