Faculty Publications

The Angus Mammoth: A Decades-Old Scientific Controversy Resolved

Document Type

Article

Journal/Book/Conference Title

American Antiquity

Volume

76

Issue

3

First Page

487

Last Page

499

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 paleontológica! 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. Copyright ©2011 by the Society for American Archaeology.

Department

Department of Geography

Original Publication Date

1-1-2011

DOI of published version

10.7183/0002-7316.76.3.487

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