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In 1962, during the construction of a stock pond near Worland. Donald Colby uncovered a clovis projectile point. In so doing, he found some of the earliest known evidence of human activity in Wyoming. Around 11,000 years ago.

The site provides important evidence of mammoth hunting, and, the late pleistocene
It was explored in detail by George Frison, and others. Renowned archaeologists from the University of Wyoming. The site was named after the Colby family, who owned the land where the site was found.

A large wealth of mammoth remains and clovis artifacts were found
Helping paint a clearer picture of how the clovis people hunted and processed large game.

The Colby Mammoth Site is located on private property 2.5 miles east of Worland on U.S. Highway 16
There is a historical marker. There is no admission fee, and the site is best viewed during daylight hours. Be respectful. Artifacts must not be removed from the area.

There is an excellent Washakie Museum, and Cultural Center, at 2200 Big Horn Avenue in Worland
They display exhibits dedicated to the Colby mammoth discovery. A well, at the University of Wyoming Anthropology Department Museum in Laramie. Houses some of the Colby mammoth remains.

At the site, remains of at least three mammoths were found. And, they were laid out in a way, that suggest they were butchered by clovis hunters
Some of the bones appeared to have been intentionally stacked or cached. To be stored for later use. Suggesting they used the natural environments, and planned ahead.

Projectile points, and stone tools were found. Including scrapers, blades and others for processing the carcasses
Butchered bones alongside tools suggests that the site may have been a kill and butchering location. They brought down mammoths, processed them, and used for food, hide, and other resources.

The site’s findings helped confirm that mammoth hunting played a crucial role in the subsistence strategies of the clovis people in the northern plains region of north America. The Colby mammoth site is a crucial archaeological site in Wyoming, providing valuable evidence of human and fauna interaction. It highlights the advanced hunting skills and survival strategies of the Clovis people.

Bibliography: Frison, George C. and Lawrence C. Todd. The Colby Mammoth Site: Taphonomy and Archaeology of a Clovis Kill in Northern Wyoming. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1986.

Roberts, Phil, David L. Roberts and Steven L. Roberts. Wyoming Almanac, 5th ed., rev. Laramie: Skyline West Press, 2001, p. 45.