New Piece Of History Found Near Wichita Mountains in Oklahoma

It's crazy to think that after thousands of years of discovering things about our history, we're still learning new things every day. Another major piece of fossilized history has been found near the Wichita Mountains in southern Oklahoma. According to sources, the world's oldest piece of reptilian skin was found in a cave in the Wichitas.

Not many other things have been discovered at the Wichita Mountains, but this discovery is one that supercedes them all. According to the Smithsonian, "the newly uncovered fossils are the oldest record of preserved skin yet found, about 130 million years older than the previous record holder."

Now, southwest Oklahoma has the credit of having rare insight into what the earliest amniotes looked like, which are animals that develop into mammals, reptiles or birds.

How did Oklahomans uncover carefully preserved skin in the Wichitas?

In a complicated way, the soil and build up in the Richard's Spur quarry has made for a historical gold mine for paleontologists. Because of the way the sediment retained the skin, those who finally took a look under a microscope were blown away by their find.

According to Popular Science, "oxygen-poor sediments and the presence of oil seeps in the cave system helped to preserve the prehistoric animals and carcasses  that happened to fall in." Which means that the skin was "mummified" in a way that allowed it to stay in near perfect condition until it was collected.

What other things have been found in the Wichita Mountains?

Although there aren't many major discoveries, scientists have been able to find an incredible amount of history in southwest Oklahoma.

• A few notable things that have been uncovered at or near the Wichitas are:
• Cooperton mammoth site that has been long debated if humans were involved.
• Mummy cave where a mummified six year old child was found in 1902.

After the recent find, it would be no shock to see paleontologists and archeologists making their way to the Wichitas to search for more pieces of history. What do you think they'll find?