The Lehner Mammoth-Kill Site is another random interesting spot in the San Pedro Valley near Sierra Vista. It is one of two fairly publicized mammoth kill sites near the San Pedro River, the other being the
Murray Springs Mammoth Kill Site which we visited when we first moved to Arizona. I'd heard the Lehner site mentioned a time or two so decided to track it down. We took off one late Saturday afternoon and drove down to Palominas to see what was there.
The site was discovered in 1952 by a rancher, Ed Lehner, on his ranch. He first noticed several large bones eroding out of the side of a wash near his home. He called up the archeologists at the Arizona State Museum and they came out and had several excavations at the site. They found mammoth, bison, horse, and tapir bones, as well as several Clovis points and scrapers. The site was one of the best preserved mammoth kill sites ever discovered. The site was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1967, and the land was later donated to become part of the San Pedro Riparian Area.
Unfortunately, all that remains at the site is two small signs indicating that something important once happened there. There are no cool fossils to see nor Clovis points to observe. There aren't even any replicas of the bones. It's all been carted away and if it's not on display at a museum, it's collecting dust in some filing cabinet.
Nearest City:
Palominas, AZ
Location: Take either Hereford Road or Highway 92 to Palominas Road, from Palominas Road, turn east on Lehner Road. The small monument will be on the north side of the road in 1/4 mile.
Time Needed:
10 minutes
Difficulty:
easy
Kid Friendly: not really (boring)
Additional Info:
Yes it is certainly sad that the BLM never developed the site which was the intent when the land was donated by the Ed and Lyn Lehner. Sometime in my life we may see developed site with artifacts for view and historic photos of the dig. If that day comes, I will be happy to provide some of the files and documents that were collected by the Lehners over all of they years. Son-in-Law of Ed and Lyn.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment! I am always interested in things like that! I think that developing the site a little better would make for a great Eagle Scout Project! Maybe including a few replica bones, some projectile points, etc could really add a lot of meaning and learning above what is there now.
ReplyDeleteYes, that place was seriously disappointing when I finally went and checked it out !! I had planned a morning to spend some time maybe walking around a trail and seeing some displays or signs at least, got out there and said now what? Luckily there were some folks at the corner or Ramsey and Moson selling kettle corn so it wasn't a total waste.
ReplyDeleteWhen he was alive Ed Lehner would take about anybody around the site on a tour. The original Clovis points were stolen in a smash and grab of his house some time prior to 1990.
ReplyDeleteYou might consider digging a little deeper and putting up some information about why it is such an important site. Like the fact that a burned garter snake and bones of a black bear cub were in the hearth, presumably eaten while mammoth skinning/butchering.