STRATIRGAPHY AND GEOCHRONOLOGY OF THE VERNOR MAMMOTH SITE, CLUTE, BRAZORIA COUNTY, TEXAS

Abstract

Remains of a mammoth, other Pleistocene fauna, and a wooden bowl were recovered from the Vernor site located in Clute, Brazoria County on the Texas Gulf Coast. Stratigraphy, sedimentology, and geochronology were used to establish the depositional history of the site. The geologic evidence suggests that these sediments were deposited during a period of fluvial activity by an ancient meander belt of the Brazos River, known today as Oyster Creek, which characterized this region during the Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene. Organics associated with the wooden bowl were radiocarbon dated to 4205 + 30 yr B.P. (UCIAMS-12039), while sand grains associated with the remains of the mammoth were dated using the luminescence technique to 66,000 + 7000 yr B.P. (UIC1383). According to these dates and their positions in the stratigraphic record, it was established that the mammoth and other Pleistocene age fauna preceded human occupation, and are not contemporaneous with the wooden bowl.