100,000 year old Mastodon DNA

Dr. Ron Carsten lectures tonight in Snowmass Village

Colorado Mountain College instructors have been presenting a weekly mini-series of presentations, “A Walk Back in (Ice Age) Time,” on topics related to the Ziegler Reservoir fossil site in Snowmass Village.

The sessions are free and open to the public.  Sessions are held on Fridays through Sept. 16, 5:30-7 p.m. (unless otherwise noted), at the Ice Age Discovery Center on the Snowmass Village Mall. Parking is provided in lots 4, 5, 8 and 9.  College student intern Alex Curtiss will speak at tomorrow’s session.

Sessions include:

•Aug. 19: “So You Found 100,000-Year-Old Mastodon DNA. What’s Next?” – Learn how mastodon DNA was recovered and processed, and is being analyzed, and what lessons have been learned from other Ice Age discoveries, with Dr. Ron Carsten.

•Aug. 26, 5:30-7: 30 p.m.: “Walk on the Wild Side” – Hike the Rim Trail above the reservoir for a glaciology/geology walking lecture, with Garry Zabel. Come prepared to hike and provide your own transportation to the trailhead.

•Sept. 9, 5:30-7:30 pm: “How to Get a Date” – Discuss the dating techniques used to determine the ages of fossils, with anthropology/archaeology faculty member Sandy Jackson.

*Sept. 16, 5:30-7: 30 p.m.: “Why Are the Bones Here?” – Lee Wilson will explain how conditions made for the perfect preservation of the fossils. Come prepared to hike and provide your own transportation to the trailhead.

For more information, contact Mary Clement at 947-8447 or mclement@coloradomtn.edu, or Sandy Jackson, anthropology/archaeology adjunct faculty, at sjackson@coloradomtn.edu.