CWU Offers Field School For Mammoth Research

June 7, 2005

Contact: Jake Shapley (509-899-1503/fax 509-963-1047/e-mail:shapleyj@cwu.edu)

ELLENSBURG, Wash. - In February, the upper arm bone, probably from a Columbian Mammoth of the late Pleistocene era (1.2 million to 10,000 years ago), was found near Selah, Wash.

Central Washington University will offer a summer field school, called "Investigating the Wenas Mammoth," to begin a comprehensive, scientific analysis of the site in order to learn more about mammoths and the environment in which they lived.

Participants in the six-week field school will conduct excavation, mapping and geological investigation of the location, using techniques from paleontology, archaeology and geography. It will be held weekdays, June 27 through Aug. 5, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Enrollment is limited to 18 students. Transportation will be provided from and back to the Ellensburg campus daily.

"This is a rare opportunity to join in the scientific investigation of a mammoth find," Dr. Dr. Patrick Lubinski, CWU anthropology professor and one of the field school instructors, says.

Lubinski, an archaeologist who specializes in "zooarchaeology," which is the identification and study of animal bones found at archaeological sites, adds, "It's not known how many more bones are on site. Discovering the number will be one of the principal goals of the investigation. Another major goal is to determine the geological context of the recovered arm bone, which is unknown for most other mammoth bones found in the state."

While isolated mammoth bone finds are not uncommon in central and eastern Washington, typically the remains are pieces that have been dug up from their original locations. That hampers scientific investigation.

To register for the CWU field school, for more information, or for persons of disability to arrange for reasonable accommodation call 1-800-720-4503, or (for hearing impaired) TDD 509-963-2143. Additional information is also available at www.cwu.edu/~masters/mammoth.html. In addition, Ellensburg housing is available to field school participants through the CWU Conference Center. For housing information, call 1-800-752-4372.

CWU and Mayo Ranches, which owns the land where the remains were found, recently signed an agreement allowing for research work on site. Luft Trailer Sales, L&S Fencing of Yakima and Jerrol's Book and Supply Co. are sponsors of and donors to the CWU field school.