By Josh Siatkowski | Intern
Paleontological breakthroughs could be on the horizon for the Waco Mammoth National Monument as Dr. Lindsey Yann and graduate researchers Dava Butler and Maree Yard aim to ascertain important baseline facts about the 65,000-year-old fossils.
While Butler studies fossils to determine the history of each individual mammoth, Yard analyzes fossils to discover their ages at their deaths. Although their studies are different, Butler and Yard both said their research overlaps quite often, and they share a common goal of deepening human understanding of the time period.
“The more that we learn about this site, the more complete history we get for Central Texas,” Butler said. “Anything we can learn about the site gives us a better picture.”
The Waco Mammoth National Monument’s story began in 1978 when two men, Eddie Bufkin and Paul Barron, came upon a fossil protruding from a ravine along the Bosque River. They took it to Baylor’s Strecker Museum, now known as the Mayborn Museum, for research.
Once the fossil was identified as the femur bone of a Columbian mammoth, excavation began at the site. Staff discovered a nursery herd of mammoths — a group of females and their offspring — as well as numerous fossils of other Ice Age species, including a Western camel and a saber-toothed cat. Since 2009, the site has been open to the public for tours.
While research has been conducted there since 1978, former President Barack Obama’s declaration of the site as a national monument in 2015 was a catalyst for further findings, as it led to the arrival of Yann.
Yann is employed by the National Park Service as a full-time paleontologist at the Waco Mammoth National Monument and is also a visiting scholar in Baylor’s department of geosciences. She said having a full-time paleontologist at the site is important because she helps consolidate all of the prior research for use in new discoveries.
“Each one of those individuals that came before us made a huge impact, but there was nothing there to bring it all together and organize it,” Yann said. “Nobody had the time to dedicate strictly to the site.”
Yann also facilitates projects for other researchers, such as Butler and Yard, who are Bryce C. Brown Research Fellows at the Mayborn Museum and are working to determine foundational facts about the mammoths.
Yann said Butler’s and Yard’s studies are important because they could help to determine important baseline information, such as the exact number of mammoths in the herd. Once this information is settled, they can proceed with more complex research more fluidly.
“They are doing the foundational work that all other studies will use,” Yann said.
Yann said Baylor’s connection with the Waco Mammoth National Monument is crucial in helping the researchers in their studies. The Mayborn Museum is the repository for fossils excavated from the Waco Mammoth National Monument through 1990, and having access to cabinets of well-preserved fossils and laboratory resources is critical for conducting good research.
“This connection between the National Park Service and Baylor means that every single fossil from this site … is accessible within a 10-minute radius,” Yann said. “It’s a unique partnership that helps everybody.”
The Waco Mammoth National Monument is open every day from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. for tours. The public can see fossils excavated since 1990 that remain in their original position in a climate-controlled dig shelter. Yann said research opportunities are also available for undergraduate, graduate and doctoral students who are interested.
“Bring your ideas,” Yann said. “There are so many options that have not been explored.”
