“Paleoenvironments” presentation kicks off series tonight
Colorado Mountain College instructors will present 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. Each will be held on a Friday from Aug. 5 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.
Sessions include:
•Aug. 5: “Paleoenvironments” – Find out what the mastodons, mammoths, sloths and snails tell us about the paleoenvironment of the Snowmass region, with Dr. Jim Campbell.
•Aug. 12: “Young Meets Old” – Hear the reflections of college student intern Alex Curtiss on his hands-on experience of excavating fossils this summer.
•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 Dr. Gary Zabel. Come prepared to hike and provide your own transportation to the trailhead.
•Sept. 9: “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 Sandy Jackson, anthropology/archaeology adjunct faculty at Colorado Mountain College, 618-6808 or sjackson@coloradomtn.edu.