Waco Mammoth National Monument, Waco, Texas

We last visited the Waco Mammoth National Monument in 2016, and today we went again with our son and his family while they were visiting over Easter. This time they had a ranger who gave a long talk about the history of the female herd that was found in this spot. The bones were found in 1978 by two men, Paul Barron and Eddie Bufkin, while exploring the dry creek bed when they spotted a bone sticking out of the ground. They knew they had found something unusual, so they took it to the Strecker Museum at Baylor University. Strecker Museum staff member David Lintz quickly identified it as part of a leg bone from a Columbian Mammoth.

Paul Barron and Eddie Bufkin

Jim's hip was hurting him quite a lot the day we went, so Josh got him a wheelchair and pushed him on the path to the Dig building, and then back again to the parking lot.

We stopped at the Junior Ranger table on the way back so the grandchildren could get their badges.

Construction of the Dig Shelter

Sam Jack McGlasson, who owned this land, saw the importance of these mammoths and donated the land to the City of Waco in 1996. The City and Baylor University helped form the Waco Mammoth Foundation which raised money to build the Dig Shelter, Welcome Center, and other improvements. The Waco Mammoth Site opened to the public in 2009, welcoming visitors from around the world.

Columbian mammoth remains are found all over North America. The Waco mammoths are extraordinary because 18 of them represent the only nursery herd of females and juveniles ever found.

1978 to 1980 ~~ The first Columbian mammoth bone is discovered by Paul Barron and Eddie Bufkin. By the end of 1980, the remains of five Columbian mammoths are excavated by Strecker Museum staff and volunteers.

Diagram of nursery herd fossil assemblage
excavated from 1978 to 1990

One of a Kind ~~ The bone was such an exciting find that staff from the Strecker Museum of Baylor University began excavating immediately. For two years, David Lintz and volunteers carefully explored the creekbed. Then from 1984 to 2001, Strecker Museum Director Calvin B. Smith and museum staff and volunteers resumed excavations and uncovered the remains of at least 23 Columbian mammoths. Eighteen of these were grouped in what the National Park Service called "the nation's first and only recorded evidence of a nursery herd of Pleistocene mammoths."

The mammoths discovered here are thought to have been a nursery herd consisting of females and juveniles -- the only known example of a Columbian mammoth nursery herd in North America.

1984 ~~ Calvin B. Smith, Director of the Strecker Museum, oversees the excavation of the ten additional mammoths.

1985 ~~ A 16th mammoth is discovered.

1990 ~~ Baylor University's Strecker Museum encloses the specimens in protective plaster jackets and removes them to protective storage.

1991 ~~ The remains of an additional five mammoths are discovered, including a bull mammoth with a juvenile on its tusks.

1994 ~~ The remains of a 22nd mammoth, a camel, and a baby tooth from a saber-toothed cat are uncovered.

1996 ~~ Sam Jack McGlasson donates a 4.93 acre area, which includes the excavation site, to the City of Waco. A 23rd mammoth is discovered.

2000 to 2001 ~~ With gifts from M.N. "Buddy" and Virginia Bostick and Don and Pam Moes, Baylor University purchases 55 acres of land connecting the site to the Bosque River. Baylor University also purchases the remaining land encompassing the site to extend the buffer around the excavated area. Congressman Chet Edwards introduces legislation for a Special Resource Study of the Waco Mammoth Site.

The Mayborn Museum Complex's collection storage area houses
the nursery herd fossils and preserves them for future research

2004 ~~ The Mayborn Museum Complex opened on the Baylor University campus. Though excavation and research continued at the site through 2007, the jackets removed from the site in 1990 have been stored at the museum in state of the art cabinetry and under environmental conditions which help to preserve the fossils for future generations of researchers.

2006 ~~ Fundraising for the construction of a protective shelter over the site begins with Congressman Chet Edwards securing a $200,000 Save America's Treasures grant.

2008 ~~ The Waco Mammoth Foundation reaches its fundraising goal and collects over $3 million dollars. Construction begins on the Dig Shelter, Visitor's Center, and other amenities.

2009 ~~ Waco Mammoth Site opens to the public on December 5th.

Mammoth Q

Mammoth Q

Western Camel (upper left) and Mammoth V

Mammoth S

Digging for Answers -- Even the dirt tells part of the story here.

Wondering what those orange dots on the ground are? They are grid markers that paleontologists use to map out the space. When excavations resume, they can connect the dots with string to recreate the grid.

Older layers are deeper in the ground. The nursery herd and camel were buried in older layer C, while Mammoth Q was buried in a younger, higher layer.

Core sampling throughout the site revealed sediments consistent with at least two separate death events. The nursery herd died 65,000 years ago, while the bull mammoth died more recently.

Mammoth V and Mammoth R

Mammoth Q

Giant Tortoise

Mammoth C

Mammoth W

Clues to the past ~~ careful study of these mammoth bones reveals details about the animals and how they lived. 

Reading the Bones ~~ We can learn the mammoths' ages and genders by examining their remains. Mammoths developed six sets of teeth during their lifetimes, and each set got progressively larger. We can tell from the size of Mammoth W's molars that she was on her fourth set of teeth, putting her in her early 20's when she died. Female mammoths had smaller tusks than the males, and the shape of Mammoth W's pelvis also tells us that she was female.

Mammoth W's teeth also give us clues about her diet and the climate she lived in. Her large, ridged molars were specialized for crushing and grinding, which would have been necessary to consume the 500-700 pounds of grass she needed to eat every day. This is consistent with geologist's findings, which indicate that this area may have been covered in grass, not ice, during the Ice Age.

The presence of a giant tortoise shell also suggests that the prehistoric climate here was frost-free and relatively mild.

You can tell the difference between female and male mammoths based on the size of their pelvic openings. Females are wider so they can give birth to young. This is also true in humans.

Even-toed mammal and Sabertooth Cat

Protecting the Past for the future ~~ The Waco Mammoth National Monument preserves these unique fossils so that we can continue to learn from them.

Scientists already know that more mammoths are buried here. This site will reveal new information about the lives and deaths of the Waco mammoths and the other animals that shared this landscape.

The Waco Mammoths are the only Columbian mammoth nursery herd in North America, and it is located within an unusual site of multiple flooding and death events. With such a long and complex history of events that happened here, this site has the potential to teach us much more about the past.

The Dig Shelter that protects the Waco mammoths is
equipped with state-of-the-art features

Care and conservation with special tools preserve
fossils for future generations

Untold Stories ~~ Before the Dig Shelter was constructed, most of the nursery herd bones were removed from the ground to protect them from water damage. Today, these bones are stored at Baylor University's Mayborn Museum Complex, now a repository for the the National Park Service. The National Park Service oversees the ongoing scientific research, education, and preservation of the fascinating Waco mammoths.

Back at the Visitor's Center area, they had a tent set up with bones and fossils along with descriptions:

Texas had more than one type of saber-tooth cat. The most famous one is the Smilodon. Scientists think they hid in trees and bushes to surprise their prey.

Dire wolves were about the same height as gray wolves but had some differences. Dire wolves had thicker bones and heavier muscles. They were stronger than gray wolves but not as fast. No dire wolves have been found at Waco Mammoth, but their fossils have been found near Austin and Dallas.

Bear and Wild Bore

Giant Camel

Titanotylopus is an extinct genus of camel in North America from the Pleistocene. It was one of the last surviving North American camels; after its extinction, only Camelops (like those found at Waco Mammoth) remained. 

Giant short-faced Bear

Also called the bulldog, the giant short-faced bear may have been the fastest running bear that ever lived. It was about five feet at the shoulders when walking and stood as tall as 12 feet on its hind legs. No short-faced bear fossils have been found at Waco Mammoth but are found further north.

The fossils at Waco Mammoth are from the Pleistocene Epoch, often called the Ice Age. The Ice Age started 2.6 million years ago and ended just 12,000 years ago. Many areas were colder during the Ice Age, but this area was a warm grassland. These are replicas of animals that lived here during the Ice Age.

Can you guess who the big jawbone belongs to? It's from a Columbian mammoth. The two large, flat features are teeth. Notice all the ridges on the teeth? Because of those ridges, we know that Columbian mammoths ate grass. They ate between 400 and 700 pounds of grass a day.

American mastodons looked a lot like mammoths. They were not the same. Mastodons were shorter and stockier. They had strange looking teeth for chewing twigs, leaves, and fruits. Mastodons liked to live in wooded areas. No mastodons have been found at Waco Mammoth, but their fossils have been found in the Greater Waco Area.

Gayle, Jason, Juliella, Josh & Jim