Research Results
To date 60 mammoths (56 Columbian, 3 woolly, and 1 unknown) have been discovered as well as 85 other species of animals, plants, and several unidentified insects.
Bones unearthed during the 2009 field season include a minimum of 64 mammoth bones and 541 bone fragments - 25 ribs, 10 vertebra, 2 hyoids, 2 phalanges, 9 inter-vertebral discs, 5 tooth plates, 2 pelves, 3 to be identified long bones, 2 patella, 1 humerus, 1 sacrum, 1 scapula 2 metatarsals and 1 skull, plus 6 specimens which are, as yet unidentified. Non-mammoth bones unearthed include fragments of short-faced bear (Arctodus simus), antelope (Antilocapra americana), prairie dog, and invertebrate remains.
In 2010 a new tusk was discovered as well as a worn short-faced bear tooth. Cranial and post cranial specimens of the antelope from the central portion of the bone bed were also unearthed at the current excavation depth. During the 2010 field season, 64 mammoth bones and 541 bone fragments were discovered and mapped, and evidence of bear, antelope, prairie dog, and invertebrate remains were recovered.
Falkingham, P., Agenbroad, L., Thompson, K., , and Maning, P., (2010) Bird tracks at the Hot Springs Mammoth Site, South Dakota, USA. Ichnos, 17:34-39.
Bryson, R, and Agenbroad, L., (2010) Paleoclimate modeling and paleoenvironmental interpretations for three instances of island dwelling mammoths. Quaternary International, 217: 6-9.
Agenbroad, L.D. and J. I. Mead (eds.), 1994. The Hot Springs Mammoth Site: A decade of field and laboratory research in paleontology, geology, and paleoecology. South Dakota, US: Fenske Publishing