The 17,000-cal yr BP Wenas Creek Site in Washington State: Bone Taphonomy and Mammoth Paleontology

Abstract

ABSTRACT The Wenas Creek Mammoth site was excavated in 2005–2010 near Selah, Washington, USA, yielding bones of mammoth and bison dating ∼17,000 calendar years ago (cal yr BP), and two lithics resembling chipped stone debitage. Prior publications have reported on dating, possible lithic artifacts, and bison remains, but the mammoth remains have not been described. The 58 mammoth elements, primarily vertebrae, limb elements, and ribs, were disarticulated and scattered within a stratum of loam colluvium on a hillside. Neither mammoth nor bison remains show any clear evidence of human modification although some mammoth bones exhibit notches, depressed fractures with ring cracks, or butterfly fragment morphology sometimes associated with human agency. A possible non-human cause for the dynamic breakage could be collisions during debris flow. As with earlier reports, the site continues to provide an uncertain association of 17,000 cal yr BP paleontological materials and human activity.