Old Bones, Digging Up a Very Different Arizona
May has been a very good month for Arizona geologists and paleontologists and it isn't even half over. It began with the discovery of camel bones, estimated to be around 10,000 years old, at a WalMart construction site in Mesa. The very next week, the 2.5 million year old Rhynchoterium skull found near Safford, arrived at the Mesa Southwest Museum.
Finding camel bones in a desert may not sound significant. After all, the modern animals live is arid climates and are still among the most reliable forms of desert transportation. The camel bones discovered at the construction site, although not the first found in the Arizona, are worth noting for a couple of reasons. First, they were discovered by an amateur, John Babiarz, owner of Greenfield Citrus Nursery. Perhaps it is a bit mendacious to call Mr. Babiarz an amateur. He has been an active supporter of paleontology and geology education and research across the Valley but particularly through Arizona State University's (ASU) Geology Museum, and the Babairz Institute of Paleontological Studies Inc. (BIOPSI), a non-profit organzation he is president of. In fact, Brad Archer, curator of the ASU Geology Museum acknowledges "His knowledge on certain fossils exceeds many professionals." Second, they were uncovered in the Phoenix metropolitan area where the lack of abundant water-born sediments to bury and preserve fossils makes finding them rare. Further, their discovery in the city and on WalMart property helped publicize the find, which are from a juvenile specimen.
The excavation of the camel bones was successfully completed by noon on Saturday, May 5, 2007. The bones will be carbon-dated to determine their exact age (the estimated 10,000 years is based on the ancient river terrace deposits they were found in), cleaned, dried and coated with acetone/plastic resin before they will be suitable for exhibition. At this time, no public exhibition of the bones is scheduled.
Fortunately, other bones discovered in Arizona are on display at Mesa's Southwest Museum. Among them are several Rhyncotherium bones discovered by Larry Thrasher, a geologist for the Bureau of Land Management, in the 111 Ranch area south of Safford. The bones on display are still partially encased in their protective plaster and burlap jacket, however, they represent one of the most complete Rhynchotherium skeletons ever found, according to Bob McCord, curator of paleontology at the Southwest Museum. It will take at least another two years before all the bones are ready for exhibition.
The skull, which arrived at the musuem on Wednesday, May 9, 2007, is the final, and largest, piece of the skeleton to arrive. It's hard to tell that the plaster boulder secured to the car hood on which it was dragged more than a mile from its final resting place to the nearest track passable by vehicles, was once the head of a elephant-like animal that had four tusks (two from the upper jaw, like a modern elephant and two from the lower jaw), stood six feet tall at the shoulder and weighed a couple of tons.
The Arizona of the Rhynchotherium was very different from the Arizona today. More than 2 million years ago, at the end of the Pliocene epoch, the area was filled with a rich mix of animals, some which have since gone extinct, like mammoths and giant sloths, as well as other animals which, while not extinct, no longer live in the area including hyenas, flamingos and cabybaras. Examples of what the area may have been like and the animals who lived there can be found in the "Paradise Lost: Arizona South of the Ice" exhibit, which showcases the museum's collections and research into the Pliocene and Pleistocene epochs in the region.
ASU's R.S. Dietz Museum of Geology is located on the Arizona State University campus in Tempe. The museum is open Monday through Friday mornings from 9 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.
Mesa Southwest Museum is located one block north of Main Street in Mesa. The Musuem is closed on Mondays and holidays. Admission is charged. A Happy 30th Birthday Party for the Museum is scheduled for May 18, 2007, from 5 to 7 p.m. Community members are admitted to the party FREE.
