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The Angus Mammoth: A Decades-Old Scientific Controversy Resolved

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Steven R. Holen ,
David W. May  and
Shannon A. Mahan
Steven R. Holen
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, Denver Museum of Nature & Science, Denver, Colorado 80205 (sholen@dmns.org)
David W. May
Affiliation:
Department of Geography,University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, Iowa 50614
Shannon A. Mahan
Affiliation:
United States Geological Survey, Denver, Colorado 80225
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Abstract

The Angus Mammoth site in south-central Nebraska has been controversial since its discovery in 1931 when a fluted artifact was reported to be associated with the mammoth. For nearly 80 years it has not been known if Angus was a paleontological site predating the human occupation of North America as has been asserted by some geologists and paleontologists, or an archaeological site dating to the late Pleistocene as has been advocated by some archaeologists. Geomorphic study and luminescence dating have finally solved the problem after nearly eight decades. Although microwear and technological analyses have determined that the Angus biface is an authentic artifact, TL and IRSL dates have shown that the matrix above the mammoth is much too old for a mammoth/fluted point association to be valid.

Resumen

Resumen

El sitio de mamut de Angus ha sido polémico desde su descubrimiento en 1931 cuando se reportó que un artefacto estriado estaba asociado al mamut. Por muchos años ha sido debatido si el sitio de Angus es un sitio paleontológico más viejo que Ia ocupación humana de Norteamérica, como ha sido afirmado por algunos geólogos y paleontólogos, o un sitio arqueológico que data al final del pleistoceno como piensan algunos arqueólogos. Estudios geomórficos asociados con dataciónes de luminiscencia finalmente han solucionado esta problemática después de casi ocho décadas. Estudios de microdesgaste y otros análisis tecnológicos han determinado que el Angus bifaz es un artefacto autêntico. Estudios de la geomorfologia del sitio de Angus y las fechas de TL y de IRSL han demostrado que Ia matriz sobrepuesta al mamut es demasiada vieja para que una asociación mamut/artefacto estuado sea considerada válida.

Type
Articles
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 76 , Issue 3 , July 2011 , pp. 487 - 499
Copyright
Copyright © Society for American Archaeology 2011

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