Tidal Exchange
Newsletter of the Elkhorn Slough Foundation
Spring 2011
A Mammoth Finding R
Paleontologists painstakingly clean the bone from a Colombian Mammoth. Photo courtesy of Scott Sady/TahoeLight.com
ecently, while preparing his land for planting, a farmer in Castroville unearthed what he believed to be bone. After contacting Mark Hylkema, the Bay Area regional archeologist for California State Parks, it became clear that the discovery was not just any bone— it was a molar from a Columbian mammoth (Mammuthus columbi). Hylkema quickly formed a team of colleagues with expertise in archaeology and paleontology and set to work excavating and documenting this rare find. The farmer understood the value of the find and postponed planting so the team would be able to excavate as much of the mammoth as possible. The discovery of the tooth, part of the remains of what the scientists believe is a male mammoth in its early 30’s, has led to much more – including bones of a Jefferson’s Ground Sloth (Megalonyx jeffersonii), American Mast-
odon (Mammut americanum) teeth and skull fragments, bones of an ancient American Camel (Camelops hesternus), and the remains of fossil salamanders, snakes and mice. “We managed to recover and organize about one third of the mammoth’s bones in the time we had, including the tusks. They are extremely fragmented, and are currently being meticulously cleaned and studied,” says Hylkema. The remains were found in what was a tributary of Elkhorn Slough. Samples of the sediment there are being studied for microfossils, including pollen grains and fossils of aquatic microorganisms. Analysis is expected to reveal important clues as to what life was like in the vast wetland complex that dominated the lower Salinas, Elkhorn and Pajaro river valleys thousands of years ago. Scientists from UCLA and UC Berkeley will radiocarbon date the remains to
determine the age of the bones, and UCSC researchers are looking at isotopes to analyze the mammoths’ diet. “We’ll be able to tell if they grazed along the coast or in interior grasslands,” says Hylkema. In addition to the bones, the team has also uncovered mammoth hair. The Columbian Mammoth – a larger southern relative of the better-known Wooly Mammoth – did not live in the colder northern locations that tend to preserve hair or other soft tissues, making this a rare find. In fact, there has been only one other suspected find of Columbian Mammoth hair. “Technically, we may have the first-ever reported and verified finding of mammoth hair,” says Dr. Tim King, Project Coordinator for the excavation. “When the DNA results come back, we may be able to officially confirm that we continued on page 7