The Black Mat by blueberry1222

The Black Mat

Kind of hard to distinguish, but there is a long black line running across the soil near the top of the mound. This line is called "the black mat."

This black line in the soil hints at evidence that a cataclysmic event wiped out the North American megafauna - such as mammoths, saber tooth cats, giant ground sloths and Dire wolves - along with the Clovis hunter-gatherer culture some 13,000 years ago. https://phys.org/news/2010-04-mammoth-hunters-whimper.html

The era of this event has been coined the"Younger Dryas." https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/abrupt-climate-change/The%20Younger%20Dryas

All archaeological artifacts were found below this line -- nothing was found above it.

If anyone is looking for an interesting book to read that explores more on this topic, Graham Hancock's "America Before" is a good page turner.
https://www.amazon.com/America-Before-Earths-Lost-Civilization/dp/1250153735

Nice geology shot.
Interesting UA paper. I keep forgetting, at times, that Canada is part of the glacial story of NA and that the glaciers got further south on the east coast (northern PA and to NYC) than the west (not below 45N, isolated pockets excluded). Also no mention of a caliche layer.
May 3rd, 2021  
You caught some nice layers in that cliff side.
May 3rd, 2021  
Really interesting. The textures are wonderful.
May 3rd, 2021  
@byrdlip hmmm....maybe because caliche is more of a recent (geologically speaking) desert phenomenon? This area of excavation is more near a riparian area, so perhaps caliche doesn't occur there?
May 3rd, 2021  
Wonderful capture of these layered textures, interesting links and info too.
May 3rd, 2021  
Interesting layers and I enjoyed the info
May 3rd, 2021  
Yup; easy to spot! Cool!
May 3rd, 2021  
Love the science lesson.
May 4th, 2021  
Great light and textures. Interesting geological layers.
May 4th, 2021  
@blueberry1222 ah, in general, it doesn't accumulate where there is flowing water. Learn something new everyday.
May 4th, 2021  
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