Everything's mammoth in Texas

Pit & Quarry, March, 2004 by Darren Constantino

At a Texas sand and gravel pit last November, a backhoe operator discovered something unusual. His find turned out to be the remains of a mature, Columbian-era mammoth dating back about 40,000 years. Students from Texas A&M University and members of the Brazosport Archaeological Society soon began excavation at the pit, which is owned by Vernor Material and Equipment Co., Clute, Texas.

Instead of closing the site to researchers and a curious public, the company welcomed archaeologists, and even allowed site tours for area citizens. In the meantime, sand and gravel excavation continued.

After months of excavation, the mammoth's bones and tusks were shipped to Texas A&M University for study. According to The Facts, the daily newspaper in the area, the A&M team plans to dig for more fossils at the site. But that won't slow down business for Vernor Material.

"We will continue to service our sand jobs out of the pit," says Jeremy J. Vernor, director of business development for Vernor Material. "The A&M students only come on site Friday through Sunday. Even when they are present, we have plenty of room to take care of our business and stay out of their way." The additional digging will be in the immediate area of the major find and a few other areas of interest.

According to Vernor, land owners do not have to make provisions for institutions such as Texas A&M to excavate findings. Whatever course of action is taken is the owner's sole decision.

"Perhaps there are situations where an organization comes in and takes the place over, makes unreasonable demands, etc., but not with this A&M crew," Vernor says. "A&M is so grateful to have a landowner that recognized the value of this find and invited them to lead the project that they seem to actually make it a point of pride to work around our ongoing operations to show their appreciation."

Vernor says others in the community have stepped up to show their appreciation as well. For example, ConocoPhillips took care of the hotel accommodations of the students and made a monetary donation. And every meal has been free for the students (21 in all) courtesy of local restaurants and the Brazosport Area Chamber of Commerce. "The Clute Police Department provides 24-hour security," Vernor says, "and will until the dig is complete. The City of

Clute has conducted tours and many other organizations and individuals have volunteered their services to make this project a success--all of this for what otherwise would have been just another load of sand had it not been for the keen eye of a skilled operator."

Once the mammoth bones are preserved, The Facts reports, the bones will be displayed at the area's Brazosport Museum of Natural Science.

The Texas mammoth discovery was followed by a similar find at a sand and gravel pit in southwestern England. There, two scientists unearthed a complete skull of a mammoth that wandered the English countryside 50,000 years ago--only the second intact example found in Britain.

A Pit & Quarry Web site survey in November 2002 asked visitors, "Has your aggregate operation ever found fossils, dinosaur bones or other items of archaeological significance." Fifty-five percent of respondents answered, "Yes."

What should you do if you discover bones or other fossils at your site? The best advice may be to contact the nearest university. Vernor says, "The only thing I can say to that effect is that Dr. Bonnichsen at Texas A&M is a professional and has a great team to work with. If their program is representative of others, I would recommend it."