Teacher's Guide
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Waco Mammoth National Monument Teacher’s Guide Waco Mammoth National Monument is a proud partnership: COVID-19 Safety Notice Wearing a mask is required in federal buildings. The Dig Shelter building at Waco Mammoth National Monument has a maximum capacity of 25 individuals. This document updated 5 May 2021. 1 Park Information Address: 6220 Steinbeck Bend Drive Waco, Texas 76708 Front Office: 254-299-2663 Unload buses at the and then use the BUS PARKING. Bathrooms are in the . The walk from the to the DIG SHELTER is 300 yards. No food or drink is allowed in the DIG SHELTER. Map data ©Google, 2021. All photos and illustrations in this guide, unless otherwise stated, have been provided by the City of Waco. 2 I. Dig Shelter Guide Begin at the entrance bridge, shown in the image below. The following pages provide a helpful script as well as critical thinking questions for your students. 3 A. History of the Site All the fossils you will see today are from the Pleistocene Epoch, or the Ice Age. The Ice Age started 2.6 million years ago and ended just 12,000 years ago. SAY IT TOGETHER: PLY-stuh-SEEN EP-uck This bridge crosses over the first dig site. In 1978, two young men named Paul Barron and Eddie Bufkin came to explore this creek, hoping to find fossils, or possibly some arrowheads. They found a very large bone near the embankment you see by the bridge. They didn’t know what the bone was, so they took it to Baylor University. There, David Lintz identified the fossil as a mammoth femur, or thigh bone. Teams from Baylor University dug here from 1978 until 1990, using tools like trowels and brushes. The 16 different mammoths they found were all adult females and young calves, a nursery herd. The Waco Mammoth herd is the only known nursery herd of Columbian mammoths in the world. Some scientists think the nursery herd may have died in a flash flood, becoming trapped in thick mud. This area was a popular watering The southern half of the site, before bones were removed. hole during the Ice Age, but it sits Photo by Nick Cirincione, 1990. Used with permission. between two rivers. When these rivers flooded, this area may have become a trap. Scientists have found evidence that several groups of animals were buried at this site over time. 4 This site was under a tent for many years, and sometimes it would flood during rainstorms. The water could do a lot of damage to the fossils. For this reason, the fossils were wrapped in plaster and removed in 1990. After removing the fossils, scientists found more! They began digging a second site, and the people of Waco raised money to build the Dig Shelter, Fossils being prepared for removal. which protects the site from the Photo by Nick Cirincione, 1990. Used with permission. weather. PLEASE READ BEFORE YOU ENTER THE DIG SHELTER Help us protect the fossils! • Leave food and drinks outside. • Throw away gum, candy, and tobacco. • Leave wet umbrellas and raincoats outside. • Secure your hats and sunglasses. Help us protect others! • Wear a face covering. • Cover your nose and mouth with your elbow if you cough or sneeze. • Use hand sanitizer as needed. Photography is allowed. 5 B. Columbian Mammoths Mural painted by Lee Jamison. This is a life-size mural of an adult male Columbian mammoth. ASK: Standing next to this mural, how tall are you? Do you know of any animals that live today that are this big? (Elephants.) That’s right! A mammoth is not a dinosaur—it is an extinct member of the elephant family. Columbian mammoths were much larger than woolly mammoths. This male is 14-feet tall. It would have weighed about 10 tons, the same weight as a school bus. These giants ate 300-700 pounds of grass and drank 50-75 gallons of water every day. There are many things scientists don’t know yet about Columbian mammoths. The artist who painted this mural had to make some educated guesses. ASK: Can you see something the artist had to guess? Examples of correct answers: • Color of hair • Length of trunk • Color of eyes • Amount of hair • Size of ears • Number of toenails 6 Photo by Jean Fioca. Illustration by Carl Buell. Photo by Dava Butler. Used with permission. Used with permission. Used with permission. A. Asian elephants are the B. Woolly mammoths, also C. African elephants are taller Columbian mammoth’s closest closely related to Columbian than woolly mammoths were. living relative. They would stand mammoths, were just slightly They would be almost at the up to the mammoth’s chin. larger than an Asian elephant. Columbian mammoth’s eye. In the other mural, you can see the nursery herd. A nursery herd only has females and their babies. Males leave the group when they become adults. In modern elephants, each herd has a matriarch, the oldest female of the group. This “grandmother” has the most experience finding food and Murals painted by Lee Jamison. defending against predators, so she leads and protects the group. You also can see what the environment was like. Texas was warm during the Ice Age, with many open grasslands. 7 C. The Science Behind the Site Look around—this is an in-situ site. ASK: What do you think in-situ means? (The fossils have not been moved from where they were found.) The fossils are buried in sediment. Sediment is a mix of rocks, minerals, and other small particles. If you look at the sediment, you may notice it has layers. Each layer was left behind by a natural event. Strata diagram. ASK: What are some ways sediment might be moved by natural events? (Rivers, storms, wind, etc.) The layers build up over time, so which is the oldest? Top or bottom? (Bottom!) Out of the many levels scientists uncovered here, two of them have produced fossils so far. 1. The lower level has more mammoths from the nursery herd. It also produced some other animals, which you’ll see as you walk further into the building. According to test results, these fossils are 65,000 years old. 2. The upper level has produced 3 mammoths so far, including the site’s only adult male, labeled Mammoth Q. Test results show these fossils are 50,000 years old. ASK: Can you find Mammoth Q? Point to him! 3. Another level contains prehistoric sediment that has not been dated yet. This is one of the places scientists want to explore next. 8 i. The Lower Level Lower level diagram. Look at the lower level. Mammoth S and Mammoth T are part of the nursery herd that was found outside. The channel is a path that scientists can walk and know they aren’t stepping on any fossils. The column is undisturbed sediment that has been left in place. This shows a scientist which level he or she is excavating. Also in the lower level—a camel! You will see it better as you walk further. Several of these two-toed animals have been found at this site. The camel family originated in North America. The camel you see at this site is called a Western camel. Their scientific name is Camelops. SAY IT TOGETHER: CAM-ul-OPS Camelops. 9 ii. The Upper Level Mammoth Q diagram. Everything in the bottom level was buried 65,000 years ago. Moving up a level is like moving up in time. Mammoth Q is in the upper level, buried 50,000 years ago. Mammoth Q is an adult male mammoth. He is the only adult male mammoth found at this site. The pelvis is the best way to tell males and females apart. The opening of a male’s pelvis tends to be circular, while a female’s pelvis tends to have a diamond- shaped opening. Tusks are a less reliable way to tell males and females apart. Female tusks are usually thinner than male tusks, but not always. The tusk’s length is not a good way to tell males and females apart. Can you think of why? (Broken tusks are short. Young males’ tusks have not had time to grow.) One of his ribs has a large lump where it had broken. Broken ribs are a common injury in males. In modern elephants, males hit and jab each other in the side with tusks, breaking ribs. This probably caused broken ribs in mammoths, as well. Q survived a fight, and he was healing. One of Q’s teeth is visible inside his jaw. Mammoths were born with 4 teeth, which were replaced 5 times in their life for a total of 6 sets. Scientists can tell how old a mammoth was when it died by looking at the teeth. Q is on set 5, so he was about 45 years old. 10 Walk to the center of the suspended walkway to compare Q to a female mammoth. Mammoth W is a female. ASK: Do you remember how to tell the difference? (Hips and tusks.) Scientists do not know yet whether she is in the same level as Mammoth Q. Looking at W’s teeth, scientists can tell she was in her twenties when she died. One of W’s tusks was removed to be examined. The inside of a tusk can tell scientists the health of an elephant or mammoth. How does her overall size compare? (She is smaller.) A small fossil sits against the wall behind W. This is a piece of a giant tortoise shell.