Mummy Cave is a rock shelter and archeological site in Park County, Wyoming, United States, near the eastern entrance to Yellowstone National Park. The site is adjacent to the concurrent U.S. Routes 14/16/20, on the left bank of the North Fork of the Shoshone River at an altitude of in Shoshone National Forest.
At its mouth, the cave is approximately wide, and it extends approximately into a volcanic cliff above the North Fork. It lies along the left bank of the river, next to the mouth of a small stream and opposite from the mouth of Blackwater Creek. The largest known cave along the North Fork, it is believed to have been carved by the river's flow; the reason for its diversion away from the alcove is unknown.
Mummy Cave was occupied between 7280 BC and AD 1580. Discovered by Cody resident Gene Smith in 1957,Sniffin, Bill. "Mummies in Wyoming?". Weston County Gazette, 2015-06-18, 12. it was first studied in 1962 and excavated by the Buffalo Bill Historical Center. The site includes unusual amounts of perishable materials such as hide, feathers and wood, as well as the buried and mummified remains of an inhabitant, named by researchers "Mummy Joe," and dated to about AD 800. The cave is notable for the depth of its cultural deposits, extending over in depth, and in particular for the continuity of those deposits. The deposits have been classified into 38 occupation levels that represent at least seasonal use of the site on an annual basis, extending from the Paleoindian period to the late Prehistoric period.
Geology
Although it is referred to as a "cave", Mummy Cave is actually a broad, shallow alcove in a vertical cliff. It owes its depth to its overall size and the stability of the parent rock. The alcove's roof is about above the river, with the rock floor of the alcove at about above the river. By the time it was discovered, the alcove had been almost entirely filled with alluvium. The cliff is composed of Tertiary period volcanic ash mixed with larger rock fragments of volcanic origin. A similar alcove is being cut by the Shoshone at the mouth of Clocktower Creek. The cave fill has accumulated for at least 10,000 years and appears to have originated from nearby debris fans formed where weathered material has flowed down channels in neighboring cliffs.
Apart from the depth and consistent nature of the alluvium, Mummy Cave is also characterized by extreme dryness. The pointed shape of the cliff above prevents rain and meltwater from percolating through the rock to the cave, and there are no vertical joints in the rock above.
Archeological investigation The investigation of Mummy Cave was led by Robert Edgar from 1963 to 1965. The alcove was marked out into a grid, with a permanent reference mark for elevation marked on the wall. Initial investigation focused on establishing stratigraphy. Once the layers of alluvium in the cave floor were established, the excavation proceeded layer by layer. The excavations terraced the cave floor into levels, following the established reference grid. Digging was done with hand trowels in the artifact-bearing layers while layers devoid of artifacts were excavated with shovels. Spoils were disposed of down the embankment.
The site had previously been disturbed by relic hunters, who had dug a deep pit in what turned out to be the most productive zone of the excavation. The relic hunters appear to have stopped when they encountered a rock cairn that covered what proved to be a human burial site.
By the end of 1963 a portion of the site had been excavated to a depth of and shored with timbers, while the upper three cultural zones (layers 36–38) were removed across the site. During the 1964 season layers 29–35 were removed and some zones were excavated much more deeply. In 1965 layers 24–28 were removed from the central area of the alcove. By this time it was clear that excavation would proceed for the full depth of the site, and that the disposal of a considerable quantity of excavated debris would need to be addressed. A bulldozer was brought in to remove sections of fill beyond the drip line of the shelter. The 1966 season was directed by Wilfred M. Husted. Results of the Mummy Cave investigations were published in Science in 1968.
Results The excavation of Mummy Cave yielded a nearly continuous succession of artifacts, which span a period of over 9000 years. The artifacts were disposed in a manner that permitted dating in both relative terms through stratigraphy, as well as through radiocarbon dating to establish an absolute scale. This continuum has proved to be invaluable in relating and dating other excavations in the Rocky Mountain region. In particular, the stone projectile points found at Mummy Cave have been used to set the standard for classifying stone arrowheads and spear heads in the region. The point typology has been extrapolated to define cultural and commercial relationships between peoples throughout the American West. Stratigraphy and carbon dating indicate that Mummy Cave was first occupied near the end of the Pinedale glaciation. Later occupancy spanned the Altithermal, followed by a cooler climate from about 1000 BC.
The earliest layers at Mummy Cave yielded a few prismatic stone blades dating to about 7300 BC. Several layers contained no artifacts and were defined by soot layers. By layer 6 the first parallel-oblique points appeared. By Layer 8, roughly corresponding to 6500 BC, the cultural evidence became continuous. Layers 8, 9, 10 and 12 produced lanceolate or leaf-shaped projectile points which have been interpreted as corresponding to Angostura-style points. This implies that the inhabitants of Mummy Cave during this era were big-game hunters from the Great Plains who adapted to the mountain environment. In layer 16, radiocarbon dated to 5630 BC, a new type of point appeared. These Blackwater side-notched points implied the arrival of a group from eastern Nebraska or western Iowa, replacing the previous group which may have moved to the north. The presence of such points suggests a connection with the Simonsen site in northeastern Iowa, which has been dated to the Early Archaic period. This transition coincided with the climatic shift to the Altithermal. Side-notched points recovered from layers 21, 24 and 28 imply a return of the previous inhabitants; the easterners had moved on to the central Columbian Plateau.
Layer 30 was dated to 2470±150 BC. Layer 32 was dated to 870±135 BC. It is hypothesized that layers 32–38 represent the presence of people of the Shoshonean culture, with increasingly definitive Shoshonean artifacts present from layer 36 onward, including cordage and basketwork. Layer 38 yielded gray flat-bottomed pottery of Shoshonean manufacture.
The wide range of artifacts discovered at the site has caused Mummy Cave to be seen as a highly significant site for the study of Rocky Mountain archeology. The cave's significance was recognized by the National Park Service with its placement on the National Register of Historic Places in 1981.
Animal bones Several thousand animal bone fragments were recovered from Mummy Cave. Most were too small or incomplete to identify usefully, but analysis at the University of Texas at El Paso identified more than 2,000. Bighorn sheep and deer of the genus Odocoileus were prominent among the remains.
The bones represented at least 88 sheep and 15 deer, approximately six sheep for every deer. This predominance was unusual because deer were expected to be at least as plentiful near the shelter. One proposed explanation was that people used the cave as a base for hunting sheep higher in the mountains.
Sheep occurred in nearly every occupation layer containing animal bones. Both sexes were represented, with ages ranging from unborn or newborn animals to old adults. Butchering cuts and burned bones demonstrated human use. Sheep were especially numerous in layers 30 and 36. These concentrations could reflect larger hunting parties, longer stays or winter hunts when sheep descended to lower elevations.
Deer also supplied food and material for tools, as shown by butchering marks, burned leg-bone fragments and a worked antler base. A rabbit shoulder blade bore cuts, and a beaver upper-arm bone was partly burned. Ducks, geese, grouse and marmots were considered probable food animals, although direct evidence was lacking. Other birds, small rodents and carnivores could have accumulated naturally. Possible dog remains were too uncertain to establish their presence.
The remains offered seasonal clues. An unborn or newborn animal, probably a sheep, indicated early-spring occupation. Migratory birds and hibernating mammals suggested warmer-season visits if people had brought them into the shelter. Layer 30 contained such animals, indicating warm-weather use even if winter visits also occurred. Layer 36 lacked animals restricted to warmer seasons. Winter hunting visits remained possible.
Human remains
The individual buried at Mummy Cave is referred to here as the Ancestor, following the name preferred by modern tribal members. Earlier researchers called him "Mummy Joe".
Discovery
Archaeologists found the Ancestor while clearing an area disturbed by earlier digging. Robert Edgar, who described the discovery for the excavation report, wrote that the team first encountered stones beside the shelter wall. They initially appeared to have fallen from the wall or ceiling. When the archaeologists removed some of them, they uncovered part of a mountain sheep skin robe or blanket and then the Ancestor's foot.
Wilfred M. Husted, the National Park Service archaeologist who prepared the report with Edgar, suggested that the stones had discouraged the earlier diggers and protected the burial from disturbance. The Ancestor lay near the bottom of layer 36, one of the shelter's numbered layers of past activity. Debris from later use of the shelter had accumulated against and over the stones. The excavators found no clear outline of a grave pit.
Body and burial
The shelter's dry conditions had dried and preserved the Ancestor's body. The excavation report described him as an adult man. He lay on his right side with his knees drawn up, facing the shelter wall and with his head toward the west.
Edgar recorded that the Ancestor's hair was cut to about at the front and left considerably longer at the back. Edgar also recorded a broken wrist joint; the report does not establish when it broke.
A sample of the sheep skin yielded a radiocarbon date of 1,230 ± 110 years before 1950. The burial has been dated to about AD 770. Clothing and associated items
The Ancestor was wrapped in a robe or blanket made from mountain sheep hide and sewn together with sinew, or animal tendon. His hands and feet were bare. A cord found in his hair may have tied back the longer hair at the rear of his head. Beside his left ear was an ornament made from feathers and strips of fur twisted together, with the ends joined to form a coil.
In 2022, a revised burial inventory listed 44 individual objects or groups of objects associated with the Ancestor. This count covered all material recovered from cultural layer 36, the archaeological layer containing his burial. Along with the robe, the inventory included fragments of moccasins, grass used to line moccasins, sewn animal hides, feathers, cords, basket fragments, a bow with its string attached, arrow shafts bound with sinew, and a bag containing pigment. These items came from the same layer as the burial; the inventory does not establish that the Ancestor wore or carried each one.
According to the Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office, the clothing and other items found with the Ancestor were interpreted as evidence that he held a position of high status among the people of his community. See also
Archaeology of the Americas Arlington Springs Man – (Human remains) Calico Early Man Site – (Archeological site)