Archaeology talk about Mammoth Kill Site Nov. 15 in Pinedale
Update on the 2016 archaeology field season at the La Prele Mammoth Kill site near Douglas, Wyoming
by Upper Green River Basin Chapter – Wyoming Archaeological Society
November 1, 2016
The Upper Green River Basin Chapter of the Wyoming Archeology Society will be having a meeting on Tuesday, November 15th at 6:30 pm at the Museum of the Mountain Man in Pinedale. There will be a short business meeting followed by a presentation by Todd Surovell of the University of Wyoming starting at 7 pm. Todd’s program is "The La Prele Mammoth Site with New Findings from 2016 Field Season."
This is a opportunity for those who might have missed Todd’s fascinating presentation last winter, and an opportunity to hear about new findings from the 2016 field season. Everyone is welcome. Please invite your friends.
The La Prele Mammoth site was discovered in 1986 in cut bank on La Prele Creek northwest of Douglas, Wyoming. In the spring of 1987, George Frison and a small crew tested the site and recovered more than 80 skeletal elements of a young Columbian mammoth, one flake tool, and fourteen flakes. This initial work suggested human interaction with mammoth, but due to a dispute with the landowner, investigations at the site were halted abruptly. No work was done at the site for the next 26 years. In 2014, archaeologists were able to return to the site, and now have completed three additional field seasons there with the University of Wyoming Archaeological Field School. The site has produced several enigmatic and unprecedented findings for a mammoth kill in North America including a large stain of red ocher, a diversity of stone tools, bone needles, and a bone bead. Furthermore, the site is much larger than initially believed. Although there is still much to be learned about the site, what is increasingly clear is that the La Prele Mammoth site is much more than just a mammoth kill.
Todd Surovell is a Professor of Anthropology and Director of the Frison Institute at the University of Wyoming. He received his B.S. in Anthropology and Zoology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and his M.A. and Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of Arizona. He is an expert in Paleoindian archaeology, New World colonization, lithic technology, and geoarchaeology. He has worked throughout the Rocky Mountain west and Great Plains. He has also participated in fieldwork in Denmark, Israel, and Mongolia. He has three active field projects, two in Wyoming and one in northern Mongolia.
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