'Oh boy we've got something': Girl, 5, finds possible ancient bison tooth at Riding Mountain National Park

When five-year-old Sylvia Huska was digging through the sand at a beach in Riding Mountain National Park the last thing she expected was to be on an archaeological dig.

But the young girl found what could be a 2,000-year-old bison tooth.

"She stood there a little bit dumbfounded with big eyes like, 'Oh boy we've got something,'" said her dad, David Huska.

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The family from Grunthal went for a little vacation at the national park in Manitoba last Wednesday. The next day they were at the main beach in Wasagaming taking in the sun and the sand.

"Our daughter was digging in the sand at the main beach and looked over at my wife and said, 'Mom! Look at the rock I found' and my wife looked at that and said, 'That's no rock,'" David said.

The family was a bit shocked. David said right away they knew it was some kind of tooth but they didn't know from what or from when.

"You [could] see the black and the fossilization and we knew it was old, but didn't quite know what we were dealing with," David said.

They took the tooth to the main administration building in the park and were directed to the museum, which sits right beside.

David said the museum staff took a look at the tooth and estimated it could be a 2,000-year-old bison tooth.

After taking some photos of their find, the Huska's left the tooth with the museum. David said staff told him they were going to pass it on to an expert and later it may actually be displayed at the museum.

For his family, including his three-year-old and 11-year-old kids, the find was inspiration to take a closer look at their surroundings.

"I think I have three young archaeologists on my hands. They definitely can't help but look at the ground a little bit more now," he said with a laugh.

Needs to be studied: Park

A park spokesperson said at this time they could not confirm if it was a bison tooth or its age, it will require further study,on occasion people do find items that they think might be artifacts.

If you do find something in the park that you think might be an artifact, don't remove it, the spokesperson said. Take note of the location of it and bring it to the attention of park staff.

According to Parks Canada, archaeological evidence shows Indigenous peoples have lived in the park area for at least 6,000 years. It's believed the Ojibway settled in the Riding Mountain area because of the fur trade as well as for hunting and fishing, according to the Parks Canada website.