archaeology

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Spring Into Yellowstone tours cover wildlife, science and even ‘time travel’

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Archaeologist Larry Todd, kneeling, shows dozens of artifacts marked with small flags in the Shoshone National Forest during a July field trip sponsored by the Greater Yellowstone Coalition. (Ruffin Prevost/Yellowstone Gate - click to enlarge)

The Spring Into Yellowstone Birding and Wildlife Festival returns next week, offering tours of some of the most scenic and inspiring spots in Yellowstone National Park and public lands to the east of the park. The growing festival is entering its third year, but many of the places highlighted in its tours and events have been popular with wildlife and people for thousands of years. Archaeologist Larry Todd will lead a tour of the Dead Indian Creek campsite area in Sunlight Basin, a favorite spot for modern campers that has been popular with people and animals for centuries. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Gateway Towns, Research, Science & Nature, Wildlife, archaeology, larry todd, spring into yellowstone, tourism

Mysterious cave in Yellowstone at center of legal dispute

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A cave found along the boundary of Yellowstone National Park was revealed after a shift in basalt columns similar to those found in the park's northern range.

Court filings made public on Monday reference a treasure trove of one-of-a-kind artifacts described as an "American Pompeii" at the center of a legal dispute between the federal government and a Montana rancher, lifting the veil on a long-secret research project at the edge of Yellowstone National Park. At stake is ownership of hundreds or perhaps thousands of well-preserved animal remains, including fossils of long-extinct mammals, as well as what researchers believe are among the earliest tools and ceremonial objects ever found in the region. Human remains may also be present at the site, based on motions filed on behalf of tribal interests. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Research, Science & Nature, Yellowstone, archaeology, Bone Creek Cavern, flying saucer, gardiner, yeti toe

Forests near Yellowstone hold traces of human habitation dating back millennia

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Archaeologist Larry Todd, kneeling, shows dozens of artifacts marked with small flags in the Shoshone National Forest during a July field trip sponsored by the Greater Yellowstone Coalition. (Ruffin Prevost/Yellowstone Gate - click to enlarge)

The greater Yellowstone area is cherished for its unspoiled landscapes and abundant wildlife. But it's hardly a region that most people think of as an archaeological treasure trove. Most people, though, are wrong to think that. That's the viewpoint of Larry Todd, an archaeologist who grew up in Meeteetse, near the eastern boundary of Yellowstone National Park and surrounded by the Shoshone National Forest. Todd has worked for more than 30 years studying traces left by ancient peoples in places as diverse as France, Ukraine and Ethiopia, as well as teaching in Colorado and Wyoming. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Gateway Towns, archaeology, greater yellowstone coalition, larry todd, shoshone national forest

Century-old trees near Yellowstone yield clues about human, forest histories

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A group participtating in a field trip to the Wood River area of the Shohone Forest in northwestern Wyoming hikes through a stand of trees east of Yellowstone Park where researchers are working to learn more about the natural and human history of the region. (Ruffin Prevost/Yellowstone Gate - click to enlarge)

It's no secret to even casual naturalists that the age of a tree can be determined by counting the rings in its cross-section. But researchers in the greater Yellowstone area are building on that technique and expanding the field of dendrochronology to learn new secrets about how landscapes were affected decades or centuries ago by people, climate and fire. "We're interested in learning as much as we can from the wood, in finding out what stories trees tell," said Marcy Reiser, a dendrochronologist with the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests and Pawnee National Grassland in Colorado. Continue Reading →

Filed under: People, archaeology, dendrochronology, history, mary reiser, shoshone forest, trending, wood river