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The La Prele Mammoth site (48CO1401), located in Converse County, Wyoming, contains a Clovis-age occupation associated with the remains of a subadult mammoth (Mammuthus columbi). In this paper, we present the geochronological and geoarchaeological context of the site. The La Prele Mammoth site is buried in an alluvial terrace of La Prele Creek, a tributary of the North Platte River, which acts as an important migration corridor through the Rocky Mountains. Archaeological remains, buried by a series of flood deposits, occur within or below a well-developed buried A horizon, referred to as the Mammoth Soil. Bioturbation of the site has resulted in vertical artifact movement, though peaks in artifact density are evident in vertical artifact distributions and likely represent the occupation surface. Radiocarbon dating of this occupation, including several new dates, suggests an age of 12,941 ± 56 calendar years ago (cal yr BP).
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This content will become publicly available on December 6, 2025
Mammoth featured heavily in Western Clovis diet
Ancient Native American ancestors (Clovis) have been interpreted as either specialized megafauna hunters or generalist foragers. Supporting data are typically indirect (toolkits, associated fauna) or speculative (models, actualistic experiments). Here, we present stable isotope analyses of the only known Clovis individual, the 18-month-old Anzick child, to directly infer maternal protein diet. Using comparative fauna from this region and period, we find that mammoth was the largest contributor to Clovis diet, followed by elk and bison/camel, while the contribution of small mammals was negligible, broadly consistent with the Clovis zooarchaeological record. When compared with second-order consumers, the Anzick-1 maternal diet is closest to that of scimitar cat, a mammoth specialist. Our findings are consistent with the Clovis megafaunal specialist model, using sophisticated technology and high residential mobility to subsist on the highest ranked prey, an adaptation allowing them to rapidly expand across the Americas south of the Pleistocene ice sheets.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2310505
- PAR ID:
- 10627308
- Publisher / Repository:
- Science Advances
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Science Advances
- Volume:
- 10
- Issue:
- 49
- ISSN:
- 2375-2548
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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