Team Finds Evidence of Ice Age Horse
The long list of Ice Age animals that once lived near Snowmass
Village continues to grow-with the addition of an Ice Age horse. On
Saturday crews from the Denver Museum of Nature & Science
uncovered a horse ankle bone. Less than three weeks remain in the
seven-week dig at Ziegler Reservoir and the excavation team has
reached the bottom layer of the ice age lake, which contains new
animal species.
The Ice Age horse bone is one of more than 2,300 fossils that have
been uncovered this spring. The bone was found at the very
bottom of the sediment and is thus one of the oldest animals at the
site. Horses were common in North America during the Ice Age and
disappeared from North America about 12,000 years ago.
Over the last few days, the crew found a large number Jefferson
ground sloth bones and claws. On Monday, they uncovered a
complete skull of this unusual animal, which is the size of a
grizzly bear. Measuring over a foot long, it is the first complete
sloth skull discovered at the site.
Scientists and educators from the Museum will share the latest
information about the Snowmastodon Project™ at several upcoming
events, including this weekend's Ice Age Spectacular in Snowmass
Village on June 18 and 19, and presentations by Johnson at Colorado
Mountain College on June 15 and at the Aspen Institute on June
23.
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