JAMESTOWN, Va. — Iguanas at historic Jamestown is not a phrase we ever thought we'd write. But experts say a recent discovery is pointing to what could be the earliest appearance of the scaled lizard in North America.
After a major excavation of the first well at Jamestown in 2009 — which dates to 1608 — around half a million artifacts were discovered. Of those, nearly 300,000 were animal bones.
Watch: Scientists discover remains of four Jamestown colony founders
“Finding something like an iguana, which you probably wouldn’t normally consume, shows just how challenging that period of time was,” said Leah Stricker, senior curator.
Fast forward to today, where experts have identified two of the bones as belonging to an iguana — potentially decades years earlier than iguanas were first thought to have appeared in what is today the United States.
Zooarcheologist Stephen Atkins points out the dentary and the maxillary — parts of the iguana's jay — as he discusses its remains.
"They are certainly not native to this region," said Stricker. Iguanas are endemic to the Caribbean, Central America and South America.
But the question, Atkins posits, is how did it get here?
Watch: Roof placed on 17th century Jamestown church tower for first time since American Revolution
We know early colonists first stopped in the Caribbean on their way to North America. But it's still somewhat of a mystery.
“It’s exciting, it’s different when you find something like that that’s different from what you’re expecting to find," Atkins said.
But they're going to keep digging for answers.
“Findings like this help to mold the past into our present," Stricker says, "and help us to really understand a little more about what life was like 400 years ago.”
