A fresh, insightful look at old collections, even those that the same researcher had a hand in gathering decades ago, can extricate exciting new discoveries, hypotheses and, yes, I suppose, intellectual debate. Oh well, such is life.
Which brings us to sage septuagenarian paleontologist Richard Michael Gramly, who, though he can hold his own regarding most any archaeological or anthropological topic, is now squarely focused on extinct North American mastodons. That is, ancient New World proboscideans (elephants) that vanished from the landscape some 12,000 calendar years ago. More than that, though, he’s focused on the human element of Paleoindian hunters who, in his learned opinion, ritualistically hunted these dangerous beasts as a celebrated rite of manhood.
This idea of Paleoindian mastodon hunters was, until recently, a fanciful concept accepted by only a few daring archaeological scholars that faced rejection from the staid status quo. You know the profile: balding, bespectacled scholars who build their resumes in offices, libraries and classrooms, seldom soiling their manicured fingers in the field. You see, we’re now at a point where the unearthing of fascinating artifacts isn’t cool among the cultural resource managers ruling the academic archaeological roost, of which Gramly was once a member at different higher learning institutions.
That is, of course, before he flew the coop, so to speak, in disgust and intellectual protest, never finding his way back to the comforts of academia. Ever since, the man has been an outlier with a sharp tongue and even sharper executioner’s axe to grind. As he digs, probes what is found and studies obscure deep history narratives to gain new insights, his detractors sit in their comfy offices throwing stones at him.
Let this story begin in 1982, when Gramly — recipient of a Harvard University doctorate and a devoted paleontologist — had taken a job as an inquisitive Buffalo Museum of Science staffer. Getting up to speed on the collections, he was poring through the files when he stumbled upon field reports from a 1959 archaeological excavation of mastodon remains found at the famed upper New York State Hiscock Site in the Genesee County town of Byron, N.Y., between Buffalo and Rochester.
There, on the ancient glacial Lake Tonawanda bed, farmer Charlie Hiscock was opening up an old spring for a fish and duck pond when he struck mastodon gold with his backhoe that scooped up a massive ivory tusk. The site was soon visited and excavated over time by Buffalo Museum of Science researchers, who put it on the map, identifying it as an important New World mastodon site. Little did they know at the time that the site had human hands all over it.
The gathered remains were stored in steel Lane cases, where they sat for more than 20 years, begging for further analysis before inspiring Gramly’s interest. Why, he pondered, had the site lain unexplored ever since? The answer was that that’s the way it often goes in the world of archaeology; it’s not unusual for such remains and artifacts to be collected, cataloged and stored in protective cases that may not be opened to further study for decades.
Uncomfortable with the collection’s state of limbo, Gramly took a proactive approach and proposed revisiting the site to see what else was there. Proposal accepted, he dug a test pit and the site was excavated annually from 1983 into the 21st century, adding to the vast collection stored in Lane cases that Gramly has been examining in recent months. On his last trip about a month ago, three days of work produced a groundbreaking discovery that’ll blow off the lid and shake the foundation of an ever-expanding North American Paleoindian narrative.
Examining materials he himself had a hand in collecting from that 1982 test pit in the Hiscock Site’s northwest quadrant, his memory was refreshed about 17 caribou antler fragments he had uncovered without drawing a connection to the mastodon remains.
“You must remember that it was a long time ago,” he explained, “and, to be perfectly honest, I was inexperienced and didn’t know what I was looking at back then.”
That admission alone underscores one of Gramly’s strengths as a scholar and archaeologist. It proves that he isn’t afraid to admit error or oversight. This refreshing open-minded approach can and often has led to a change of mind regarding previously held opinions or hypotheses.
As a result of Gramly’s free spirit and boundless intellectual energy and curiosity about upper paleolithic anthropology, we’re now at the precipice of groundbreaking North American human prehistory. Reanalysis of old mastodon remains and related stone, bone and ivory artifacts has shed new light on the Hiscock Site. Magnified through a new microscope enhanced by insights from his own 2014 “Bowser Road Mastodon” recovery mission north of Middletown, N.Y., plus subsequent study of other North American mastodon remains stored away, Gramly believes he has uncovered the first Paleo shaman burial, complete with what’s left of a caribou antler headdress and jewelry. It’s an incredible, unique find. A first. Never before discovered anywhere in the New World. The implications are endless and intellectually scintillating.
Re-examining the 17 caribou antler fragments he himself collected in 982, Gramly was able to assemble 14 of them into a Y-stick match for an intact antler. Y-sticks symbolize fertility in ancient rock art and iconography, and in this case, given the burial context in which they were found, are likely the remains of a shaman’s ceremonial headdress. Although the human remains (bone fragments) were few, there were enough in the same area as the matched pair of Y-stick antlers to suggest a mortuary context. Plus, found and unearthed from the same area was a giant beaver incisor and a canine peccary (ancient hog) tooth, both suggestive of jewelry from a burial garment or perhaps the contents of a medicine bag. Another indication of a mortuary context is the presence of red ochre on the intact Y-stick antler’s base. Imagine that. Astounding.
“Let’s be honest,” Gramly opined, “this is not a coincidence. It’s an ancient burial.”
But it doesn’t end there. Get this: also found on the base of that red-stained antler is an effigy carving that Gramly thought was human before respected ancient-art historian James Harrod examined it and identified it as a bird or — who knows? — maybe even a birdman. Harrod met with Gramly along the road, scrutinized and took photos of the antlers and effigy, and is now in the process of having line-drawing illustrations.
So, stay tuned. This is fascinating stuff, and as fresh as it gets. And remember, this is a first. Nothing like it has ever before been discovered on this continent.
Could this be the proverbial tip of the iceberg? Is it possible that similar discoveries could be gleaned from re-examination of existing collections buried in curatorial obscurity, or by exploring untapped archaeological sites?
Well … why not?