Though not used to create the skeleton image on the first page of this gallery, this second authentic photo of a New York State mastodon excavation gives another perspective on the dig that served as the foundation for the digital artwork.

The artwork, in turn, inspired false reports of an ancient-giant discovery.

IronKite, the digital artist, had nothing to do with the subsequent hoax.

To create the photo collage, he said, “I kept most of the wood frame from the dig site and replaced most of the muddy dirt with ground from the skeleton picture, using a fuzzy 'brush' to fade the two so no hard lines would be visible."

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