New Context from an Old Site: Collections Research on the Colby Mammoth Clovis Site

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Since the first discovery of projectile points associated with mammoth remains, the iconic recreation of Clovis life has been a group of hunters stalking this multi-ton animal. However, despite nearly 100 years of research, questions remain about traditions associated with Pleistocene megafauna hunting including its frequency and importance. In the 1970s excavations at the Colby Mammoth site (48WA322) recovered the remains of at least seven mammoths along with diagnostic Clovis materials in two piles interpreted to be meat caches. Since this time the site has consistently been featured as a widely accepted mammoth butchery site but has been the focus of little additional research apart from radiocarbon dates. More than 35 years later we return to the original collection to address lingering questions about the site’s use and chronology. Using enamel stable isotope analysis (O, C, and Sr) and radiocarbon ages we evaluate the relationship between the Colby mammoths to reconstruct herd dynamics and mobility and test if the mammoth remains are the result of a single hunt or the persistent use of the site over multiple seasons. This legacy collection research provides insights into both mammoth ecology and Pleistocene hunting traditions.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts   •
• Society for American Archaeology 88th Annual Meeting, Portland, OR (2023)

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 36544.0