Life-size Columbian & Woolly Mammoths

Think what it was like to swim around this pond with one of these huge beasts also treading water and looking for a way out. Now, if you want, turn right and walk down the shorter staircase to the lower platform. From there you can view more detail about Napoleon. The bones you are looking at are exactly as we found them. Head back up the stairs and turn right toward the two brown doors that take you into the exhibit hall…but don’t leave yet. Look back towards the excavation area.

Old Layers

Look across the sinkhole excavation to the wall below the overlook. Layer upon
layer of sediments can be observed on the far wall and our scientists are constantly updating their findings based on new technology. Scientists have now determined that the excavated areas of the sinkhole are approximately
140,000 years old. They used to believe the site was a mere 26,000 years old but this was based on an older, radiocarbon technology. It is important to assess this critical fossil locality using the newest and most refined technology.

Leaving the Bonebed, Next Up: Exhibits

And this is it – you have traveled all around the sinkhole pond, the Bonebed, and are now back to the spring conduit – the source of the water filling the pond. Did you know that The Mammoth Site has a well-equipped Micro-Fauna Lab where researchers can study the skeletons of small mammals in addition to the tiny bones of lizards, frogs, salamanders, and snakes found during the screen washing of the pond sediment? The lab also has a large comparative collection of snails and clams. All these remains help scientists reconstruct the local environment of the Ice Age. The Self-Guided Tour that you just finished provided you with a snapshot of the essence of the natural history recorded in this sinkhole pond. You are more than welcome to walk around the Bonebed again, at any speed you want. Take pictures. Revisit select stops and view the wall displays for more information.

Proceeding through the double doors will send you into the Muller Ice Age Exhibit Hall. Want to learn about frozen mammoths of the Arctic? How do scientists know the diet of mammoths and what their hair was like? Where do researchers find remnants of hair, hide, and even dung? Find out about the unique fossils discovered in the Arctic permafrost of Asia, Alaska, and Canada along with the dry, dusty caves of the American Intermountain West. Did you know that caves are often nature’s warehouse, containing secrets from the
past? You’ll find all this and more in the Exhibit Hall. Many thanks for visiting us here at The Mammoth Site.

Be sure to look around the Exhibit Hall and the Gift Shop. Restrooms are located at the entrance area, in the back of the gift shop, and downstairs in the 3D Lab viewing area via the elevator in the Exhibit Hall. All staff members can help direct you to the closest restroom if needed. Thank you for visiting and we hope to see you again.