Publication: University of Wyoming Archaeological Field School
Author: Todd Surovell, Spencer Pelton, Madeline Mackie,, & Chase Mahan
Date of Publication: 2021
PDF File: Surovell-et-al.-11.-THE-LA-PRELE-MAMMOTH-SITE-CONVERSE-COUNTY-WY.pdf
URL: https://dx.doi.org/10.15496/publikation-55590
Description
The La Prele Mammoth site is a Clovis archaeological site in Converse County, Wyoming (U.S.A.) that preserves chipped stone artifacts in spatial association with the remains of a subadult Columbian mammoth (Mammuthus columbi). The site was discovered in 1986 and initially tested by George Frison in 1987, but work ceased there until 2014 due to a disagreement with the landowner. In the intervening years, questions arose as to whether the artifacts and mammoth remains were truly associated, and the site was largely dismissed by American archaeologists. Recent excavations have not only demonstrated that La Prele was the location of a mammoth kill by Clovis hunters around 12,850 years ago, but it also preserves a campsite in close proximity to the kill.