Paleontologists say they have enough funding for one more season of digging at a Wyoming cave where they’re carefully removing a trove of animal bones from the last ice age to discover their secrets.
Scientists led by Julie Meachen at Des Moines University in Iowa have been excavating fossils from Natural Trap Cave every year since 2014. This summer’s haul included wolf, bison, lion and cheetah bones.
Their work is enhancing knowledge about the kinds of animals that roamed North America around the end of the last ice age some 12,000 years ago.
The only way in or out of Natural Trap Cave is a 15-foot-wide hole in the ground. From there, it’s an eight-story drop to the cave floor.
Countless animals fell to their deaths into the cave over thousands of years.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
Wow , that is exciting. I would love to see more an hear more about this.
This is fascinating! Roger, don’t be such a picayune snot. Try accomplishing something of substance yourself. Then you wont have time to nitpick others’ efforts. So what is the language is not perfect? Are you?
This should give scientist a chance to see how much these animals have evolved over time.
The article has a Beginning, no Middle or Ending. Cetainly, other authenticated and unauthenticated facts were discovered. The writer should share those points, subject to further development. Where are the quotes from Professor Julie Meachen?
An English Professor will grade this mini report as a D+.
As long as there is valid info in the report who cares what an english prof. says about it. Too many people love to black out news by saying stupid things.
We have been told there were no primates (monkeys, apes, chimps) in North America, but they found cheetah teeth. How does that square with what we have been told? Could this be the evidence for Bigfoot?
After reading this brief ‘news flash’, I’d expect to hear more details, but—–later, not ‘now’. The brief did what briefs do; explain, with some pertinent factoids, what the event was, what was found, where it happened, etc. No one should expect anything more, at this time. More will come later, either in a further press release, or a professionally written paper. ( Sometimes too wordy to hack through for the armchair archeologists of us). Besides all this, there are sources out there, one should be able to find out more. I first heard of this cave a couple of years ago, in, I believe, Archeology magazine, along with that ‘flash’ that the hole had allowed many animals to become entrapped over time. The only difference there was; that without professionally trained specialists who’d investigate (with the necessary funding &/or permits), they didn’t know how much time, or the number & the variance in species of the animals. THAT, is the amazing thing here. These kinds of things take time to put together, unless. of course, the ‘English Professor himself is willing to fund the operations needed ? Ahh! I thought not! So, ‘Mr. English Professor’, If one is interested in learning more, it’s a click away-move your lazy finger over & check it out ‘fer cryin’ out loud!’. ( Just sayin’ !)
Here’s more on the subject along with photos. The Internet is a wonderful, immense library where you can find just about anything you want.
http://westerndigs.org/wyoming-cave-yields-a-trove-of-ice-age-fossils-and-ancient-animal-dna/
Do these scholars actually believe that same hole has actually been there for over 12,,000 years? Why dig for anything if the land doesn’t change?
I