THE COLBY SITE, located 2½ miles east of Worland, Wyoming, is one of the largest known mammoth kills in North America and provides the only undisputed evidence of the earliest human occupation of the lower 48 states. The Colby Site is also the only known site in North America where Clovis projectile points were found with a meat cache (a place for concealing and storing provisions).

IT SHOULD BE STRESSED that the mammoth bones found were Columbian mammoth, not Wooly mammoth. There is a difference in facial structure as well as in size. The Columbian have a more pronounced head dome, they are a great deal larger, and it is not proven if they had hair or not.

(Click on photos for larger view of image)

N 1962 a fluted projectile point identified as Clovis point was unearthed by a heavy equipment operator, Donald Colby of Worland, during the construction of a reservoir. Mammoth tooth plate and tusk fragments were identified at the site by a team from the University of Wyoming and the State Archaeologists Office led by Dr. Frison, after heavy rains exposed a lower jawbone.


IN 1962 a fluted projectile point identified as Clovis point was unearthed by a heavy equipment operator, Donald Colby of Worland, during the construction of a reservoir. Mammoth tooth plate and tusk fragments were identified at the site by a team from the University of Wyoming and the State Archaeologists Office led by Dr. Frison, after heavy rains exposed a lower jawbone.

TWO DISTINCT PILES of bones were discovered, which included parts of at least seven mostly immature mammoths and one fetal mammoth. Other animal bones included with the caches were rabbit, Mexican ass, pronghorn, camel, bison and artiodactyl, these were perhaps part of the food supply or used to protect the rest of the meat.

A TOTAL OF 463 bones were found concentrated along a stretch of an ancient arroyo. Although some of the bones were scattered for 180 feet suggesting they were deposited there by water, uneven weathering of the bones, the dominate number of bones from meat bearing portions of the carcasses and the bone placement all indicate human activity. It is thought that the skulls were placed on top to protect the meat cache from predators. Evidence suggests that one cache had been opened and the meat retrieved. The other meat cache remained intact, perhaps having spoiled.
TWO DISTINCT PILES of bones were discovered, which included parts of at least seven mostly immature mammoths and one fetal mammoth. Other animal bones included with the caches were rabbit, Mexican ass, pronghorn, camel, bison and artiodactyl, these were perhaps part of the food supply or used to protect the rest of the meat.

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THE COLBY SITE reveals very interesting and valuable information on Clovis hunting and storage methods. A limited number of Clovis sites have been discovered in North America and date approximately 11,200 years.

Visit these Washakie Museum exhibits...

Pioneer Room
Designed to allow the museum visitor to experience an era in time through a hand-on approach.		 Washakie Room
"Evolution of a Basin" offers a quick view of the geology of the Big Horn Basin -- an ideal outdoor textbook for geological study.

 

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