A "Mammoth Alliance" for the BLM-Kanab District In the fall of 1999, Rick Oyler, a Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Range Management Specialist at Utah's Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, was walking along the edge of an arroyo (wash) in the Kanab District, when he spotted a portion of a large bone. His instincts told him that this was no ordinary bone -- say, from an unlucky cow. And, in fact, to the delight of the paleontologists invited to the site, Oyler's find was part of the skeleton of a Columbian mammoth. This extinct animal resembled today's Asian elephant, but was larger, weighing as much as ten tons, and had much longer tusks. This discovery is important because it establishes that mammoths once lived in Kane County, south-central Utah, on what is now the Skutumpah Terrace, a Grand Staircase "step" that is located at an elevation of about 6,500 feet. The Skutumpah mammoth has brought together the BLM, the Museum of Northern Arizona, and the Flagstaff Arts and Leadership School for painstaking site excavation and specimen analysis. Researchers hope to uncover indications that humans might have been in this area of Utah at the same time as the mammoths. Radiocarbon dating of bone fragments places the animals there around 11,500 years ago, a time when they might have been some interaction with humans.. Overviews of the mammoth discovery site. BLM scientist Doug McFadden, the lead archaeologist on the excavation, is conducting the dig in such a way that if there is some sign that human beings once interacted with this animal, he will be able to distinguish the evidence. Archaeologists are hoping to determine whether this was a "kill" or butchering site, either of which discoveries would document an association with humans. Several large bags of soil have already been taken to the laboratory in Flagstaff to process in order to determine if they contain tiny flakes of rock tools, which would be proof of humans' participation in this mammoth's death.
David Gillette, a paleontologist who is the Culbert Curator of Paleontology at the museum, is also hoping to glean substantial information from the few bones that have been excavated so far. A piece of what is believed to be part of a femur and some rib bones have been removed and taken to Flagstaff to be stabilized with chemicals. Gillette thinks the bones are in good condition for being over 11,000 years old, but they still required physical support in the form of plaster casts before they could be transported from the site. In the lab, the plaster will be removed, the bones will be glued together, and, Gillette hopes, some determinations will be made. For example, scientists will examine the bones for marks left by primitive tools or by the teeth of predators.
Gillette believes that present-day vegetation in the area is similar to what was here 11,500 years ago. Mammoth remains are most often found in areas that were covered by grasslands during the last Ice Age; in this area, there were likely both conifers and grasses, probably fed by a good water source. The mammoths co-existed with other now-extinct species, such as saber tooth tigers, giant ground sloths, musk oxen, camels, horses, tapirs, and lions. Gillette is hoping there also might be signs of these other types of animals within the Columbian mammoth excavation.
It's still too soon to tell if much of this mammoth's skeleton was transported downstream by floods in the wash, or if there is more of the skeleton left to uncover at the excavation site. Only a tiny part of the area has so far been exposed, so there may be additional finds to come. Last year, rotating crews of high school students from the Flagstaff Arts and Leadership School, a charter institution located on the museum's campus, helped with the excavation, as well as soil screening and preparation of the bones for shipment. The students, who viewed the dig as a priceless opportunity for hands-on science, were onsite for seven days at a time in two crews, each comprised of four students and a teacher. Student crews will also assist in the laboratory with fine-screening of soil for micro-refuse, and will ultimately help to prepare the bone for storage or display. Though last year's students were excited about the project, they found out firsthand that winter weather can prove challenging to expeditions such as this. The sun shone directly into the arroyo for only five hours a day; before and after that period, it was too cold for the crew to work. Fortunately, museum and BLM personnel are planning to return with student assistants to resume excavation of the mammoth site in early October 2000. For more information, please visit the BLM-Utah website at http://www.ut.blm.gov ,or contact Rick Oyler or Doug McFadden at Bureau of Land Management, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, 180 W 300 N, Kanab, Utah 84741, e-mail Ricky_Oyler@blm.gov and Doug_Mcfadden@blm.gov. The Museum of Northern Arizona's website is located at http://www.musnaz.org.
Last Updated: July 15, 2003 For questions about our programs contact Bibi Booth
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