Late Pleistocene Mammalian Fauna from Prescott Valley, West-Central Arizona

Abstract

Abstract A collection of large mammals was recovered from Pleistocene sediments in the Prescott Valley, Yavapai County, Arizona, during an excavation in 1984. We described specimens of Mammuthus cf. columbi, Equus cf. conversidens, Camelops, and Bison from this locality. These are the first reported occurrences of E. conversidens and Camelops in Yavapai County. The mammoth and horse were subadults and the bison and camel were juveniles. Excellent preservation of the mammoth indicated a rapid burial and comparisons to other mammoths suggested the individual was a small male. A radiocarbon date of 13,410 years before present, from fluvio-lacustrine sediments encasing the mammoth, provided a late Pleistocene age for the fauna. The grazing nature of this fauna indicates prevalent grasslands during the end of the Pleistocene in Prescott Valley.