About this Event
Join us for our April Lecture Series talk, First Peoples of the Rocky Mountain West at the La Prele Mammoth Site, as part of the ASA Calgary Lecture Series! Secure your spot now!
Presenter: Dr. Todd Surovell
Date: April 15, 2026
Time: Lecture start at 7:00p.m. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.
ABSTRACT:
The La Prele Mammoth site, about 12 km northwest of Douglas, Wyoming, along a tributary of the North Platte River, preserves an Early Paleoindian archaeological locality dating to approximately 12,950 BP. Here, we’ve found evidence of a subadult Columbian mammoth K*ll, around which a large Early Paleoindian camp was established. George Frison initially investigated the site in 1987, and the University of Wyoming conducted excavations from 2014 to 2024, focusing on the domestic camp area. Our recent efforts have confirmed the mammoth K*ll and revealed a wealth of surprising findings, including intensive use of red ocher, bone needles, ornaments, and evidence for Early Paleoindian houses. The campsite features multiple spatially discrete, hearth-centered activity areas with debris from domestic activities, offering a unique opportunity to study Early Paleoindian social organization and subsistence in the American West. In this talk, I will provide a general overview of the site and discuss major findings from these recent excavations.
ABOUT OUR SPEAKER:
Todd Surovell
Professor; Archaeology Director of the George C. Frison Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology
Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, , University of Wyoming
Dr. Todd Surovell is an archaeologist with specialization in Paleoindian period, the earliest period of American archaeology. He has worked primarily in the Great Plains and Rocky Mountains, and has field experience in Europe, Asia, and South America. He is interested in factors that structure the archaeological record from decision making to site formation and often employ mathematical, probabilistic, and computer modeling in his work. Dr. Surovell has worked on a range of issues in prehistory including hunter-gather mobility, technology, subsistence, and demography, particularly with reference to the initial colonization of the Americas.
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Calgary Public Library - Central, 800 3 Street Southeast, Calgary, Canada
CAD 0.00
