PRELIMINARY RESULTS OF AN EXAMINATION OF PALYNOMORPHS ASSOCIATED WITH A MAMMOTH MOLAR FROM THE FLORISSANT FOSSIL BEDS NATIONAL MONUMENT, COLORADO
Fragmentary material, associated with a mandible and molar tooth of a Mammuthus columbi, has been recovered near the Visitor Center in Pleistocene gravels. The tooth has been radiocarbon dated on purified collagen at 49,830 ± 3290 (CAMS-22182), a date that exceeds the reliable range for radiocarbon dating. Buried with the mammoth fossils were pollen and spores from nearby plant communities that had accumulated in a terrestrial environment.
Carbonate rock samples, associated with the mammoth, were prepared by having all external surfaces of the freshly exposed rock cleaned to eliminate contamination in microfractures or other flaws. Processing of the sample followed standard palynological techniques.
The sample contained indigenous and reworked palynomorphs. The Pleistocene palynomorphs recovered were identified and included Pinus, Selaginella, Asteraceae, Juniperus, Abies, and fern spores. Soil fungi (Glomus-type) were prominent. The pollen flora suggests a dry climate. At least the 4-pored (exotic) Ulmoideae pollen type recovered closely resembles a Florissant type and may in fact be reworked from Eocene sediments of the Florissant Formation. Hence, this form may not reflect the environmental conditions at the time of the burial of the mammoth. This sample includes other potentially re-deposited palynomorphs from the Eocene Florissant Formation, including Carya, Ulmus, and Hystrix.