Ed was disappointed but respected their educated opinion and
offered to leave the specimen in the Smithsonian's possession.
When one of the experts asked why, Ed explained that
perhaps, if the interior of the jaw like area was examined, teeth
possibly might be found. His response drew sarcastic chuckles and,
consequently, he took the specimen back home.
It is interesting to note that, had the Smithsonian accepted
the invitation to keep the specimen -- even if it dropped it into the
nearby dumpster soon after the visitors had left -- Ed undoubtedly
would've thrown in the towel and today there would be peace, not heated
controversy, about Ed's claim of having discovered petrified bones,
including human remains, in strata dated at more than 280 million years
old.
However, instead of giving up, Ed expanded his exploration
of the same strip-mined area and kept finding more and more objects
which bore a similarity, in appearance, to the contour of bone. Many of
them were attached to -- or embedded in -- slate (or shale), meaning
they obviously were older than the material that had formed around
them.
Meanwhile, Ed had penetrated the jaw-like area with a
nail-like tool and, using a coat hanger fashioned into a miniature
shovel, was amazed that he was able to remove soft, mud like
material.
Eventually, there was a sizeable cavity inside the "jaw"
and, after that portion was broken off, Ed learned that the
interior contained a pair of hardened inclusions on what resembled a
dental arch.
A photos was taken of one of the inclusions, then blown up
and forwarded to Wilton Krogman, author of "The Human Skeleton in
Forensic Medicine" and one of the world's foremost human comparative
anatomists.
Krogman excitedly identified it as a premolar tooth,
explaining that he could easily see that it possesses a pair of
cusps.
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