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BROKEN MAMMOTH
Ancient Hunting Site
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The
mammoths and horses depicted in the Museum's
diorama exhibit may have been present, or have
recently become extinct. None of their bones
have been found at Broken Mammoth or other late
Ice Age sites. But the surviving tusks were
useful as tools, and the legends of the mammoth
must surely have remained.
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The bones of the animals at the Broken Mammoth
site were preserved because of unusual soil
conditions in the unglaciated central Tanana
Valley. The large deposits of glacial silt that
buried the site contain limestone. This in turn
neutralized the acids produced by the spruce
trees that later grew on the site.
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This
site depicts some of the animals whose remains
are most commonly found at the Broken Mammoth
site - bison, elk (wapiti), caribou, mountain
sheep, snowshoe hares, Arctic foxes, wolves
whistling swans, Canada geese, as well as the
mammoth and horse that may have been present.
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The Museum diorama is a reconstruction of the
Broken Mammoth site, where hunters stood more
than 11,000 years ago on a 30-meter bluff overlooking
the Tanana River. While the animal bones are
Ice Ages specimens found from other discoveries,
the fireplace rocks are actual ones found from
hearths at the site dated at over 10,000 years
old. Artifacts found at the site include Paleoindian
spear points, mammoth ivory points and spear
throwers decorated with red ochre, and an eyed
needle. Large workshop areas for stone tool
manufacture were also found.
All Illustrations by Mark Matson
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