Digging Snowmastodon: Discovering an Ice Age World in the Colorado Rockies

by Kirk R. Johnson, Ian Miller

In October 2010, a bulldozer operator working at the base of the Snowmass ski area in Colorado's Rocky Mountains uncovered the skeleton of a young female mammoth. Over the next 11 months, this find would yield a treasure trove of amazingly well-preserved ice age fossils - more than 5,000 bones of over 40 kinds of animals - and would change forever our understanding of alpine life in the ice age. The Snowmastodon Project's two lead scientists tell the dynamic story of this discovery and dig: the excitement, emotion, and the colorful cast of characters who made the project a success. 

Genres: Palaeontology, Science, Geology, Nonfiction

141 pages, Paperback

First published April 17, 2012

About the author

Kirk R. Johnson is vice president and chief curator at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. He received his PhD in geology and paleobotany from Yale University in 1989, and did postdoctoral research in the rainforests of northern Australia before coming to Denver in 1991, where he directed the installation of the museum's Prehistoric Journey exhibit. His research focuses on fossil plants, the environmental effects of the dinosaur-smiting asteroid, and the birth and death of biomes. Johnson also works with artists to create accurate and plausible paintings, murals, and dioramas of prehistoric landscapes, several of which are on display in the Colorado Convention Center. Johnson is the author of Prehistoric Journey: A History of Life on Earth and Ancient Denvers: Scenes from the Past 300 Million Years of the Colorado Front Range. Johnson lives in Denver, Colorado.

Reviews

[Mark Stevens · Rating 5 out of 5]

When the news broke that a bulldozer driver working near Snowmass Village had turned over the bones of a mammoth in October of 2010, I was riveted. I devoured every newspaper account, sometimes clipping them for a file. It wasn’t just bones from one mammoth, it turned out to be a spot where a massive collection of fossils were buried in an ancient lake bed. There were bones from camel, bison, horse, giant ground sloth and mastodon, among others. Crews uncovered 5,000 bones from 41 different kinds of animals.

I can’t speak for others, but the cool factor here is the number of bones in one spot, the variety of animals, and being asked to imagine the landscape and the climate from 130,000 or so years ago.

Full disclosure here that I am involved with the authors and publishers of “Digging Snowmastodon" (the same publisher brought out my two Colorado mysteries, the first two in the Allison Coil series). Disclosure done! Nonetheless: “Digging Snowmastodon” is an easy-to-read and entirely engaging account of the discovery.

The find is fascinating but so is how the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, led by paleontologists Kirk Johnson and Ian Miller, responded to the dig-on-a-deadline situation and how teams extracted so much history from the mud, clay, silt, soil and earth. The book sizzles with enthusiasm, includes page after page of fascinating details.

“Digging Snowmastodon” focuses on two storylines. First is the effort to organize volunteers, interns, scientific experts and the community. The dig required a huge public relations and outreach effort.

The second storyline is what the bones revealed. The bones weren’t just in one spot, they were found in a various layers of fossil-bearing sediment from different eras.

The science from this project is ongoing. “Digging Snowmastodon” will let you share in the excitement.

The layout of this book is impeccable, the sidebars are compelling and the photographs are truly remarkable.

Dig it.

[Darryl Brashier · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this a fascinating read. High in the Rockies, an incredible find of Ice Age fossils is about to be flooded by a reservoir. The scientists and volunteers from the Denver Museum of Nature and Science (and their friends and colleagues) are in a race against time to recover as much data and as many fossils as possible. The book is the story of that race.

It has a few problems with flow and some places where I felt that the authors spent too much time on personalities and too little on the bones and the story they tell, but it's still an incredible story, with lots of photographs to give you a "you are there with the crew" feeling. It's also a story of the modern day, with politics, fundraising, organizing and education providing a constant link to the rest of the world.

I wasn't sure that I wanted to spend the money on this since it wasn't available in the library, but I'm glad that I did.

[Karin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great read for any wannabe palentologists, like me. It details the Snowmaston site in Aspen and gives an easy to read account of the discovery, dig and analysis of the bones in the site. The fossils found include mammoth, mastodon, ground sloth, giant bison, camel, and more. The book is funny at time and has lots of graphics and pictures, so younger children can enjoy it as well. A wonderful book!

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Exciting adventure in fossil-finding in the Colorado Rockies, related by the ever-personable Kirk Johnson. Beautiful photos and drawings.

Re-read 10/13/23 for the upcoming Mystery of the Ice Ages exhibit.

[Kitty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful photos and illustrations accompany this description of the 2010 discovery of mastodon, mammoth, ice age camels, horses, deer, bison and ground sloth bones while excavating a reservoir in Snowmass Colorado.

[Jodi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a fun book and interesting subject! Great read for whole family. I learned so much.

[Dave Schey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I may be biased because I got to work on some of the fossils in the DMNS paleontology lab that they brought back from Snowmass Village.