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Conkling Cavern facts for kids

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Conkling Cavern is a special place in Doña Ana County, New Mexico. It's important for studying very old animal bones (called paleontology) and ancient human history (called archaeology).

Scientists dug here in the late 1920s. Chester Stock was in charge of the digging. But he never fully shared all the details about the ancient animals found. Instead, R. P. Conkling, who first told scientists about the site, shared some early lists of mammals and birds. Other researchers have studied parts of the animal bones found there.

The cave was dug up before modern ways of dating things existed. So, we don't know the exact age of everything. But scientists believe many finds are from the Pleistocene (the Ice Age) and some are from the Holocene (more recent times).

Where is Conkling Cavern?

The cavern is on the east side of Bishop's Cap. This is a small mountain near the Organ Mountains. The entrance to the cave goes straight down. Conkling said the cave was once filled with dirt and rocks up to 8 feet below the entrance. A picture of the cave's inside was shown at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.

What Was Found?

Many ancient animal bones were found in Conkling Cavern. These bones are now kept at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. Some other finds were later discovered from the original dig sites. These are now at the UTEP Biodiversity Collections, part of the University of Texas at El Paso.

Scientists also found pieces of two human skulls. One skull piece was about 12 feet deep. The other was about 26 feet deep. It was found under a layer of hard sandstone. The upper skull piece was near the toe bones of a sloth. Deeper in the cave, human bones were found where scientists think an ancient dire wolf might have lived.

The names of the animals found have been updated to their modern scientific names. Remember that some of these identifications are still being checked. Also, some finds might be from the Holocene period, not just the older Pleistocene period.

Ancient Animals of Conkling Cavern

This cave holds bones from many different animals. Some of these animals are now extinct, meaning they no longer live on Earth. An extinct animal is marked with a dagger (†) next to its name.

Reptiles

Birds

Mammals

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