The Ancient Hunters of Cochise County

A quiet stretch of land near Hereford, Arizona holds archeological remains that have given scientists amazing insight into life thousands of years ago. The Lehner Mammoth Kill Sight, a national historic landmark, holds knowledge into some of the last remaining Mammoths, and the tribes who hunted them.

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Discovery of Fossils

In the 1950's a rancher by the name of Ed Lehner discovered large bones poking through the ground of his property near the San Pedro River. Curious, Lehner brought the bones to the Arizona state museum. Upon investigation, the museum identified these bones as mammoth remains.

In 1955, unusually heavy rains hit the area, and even more bones were exposed, prompting full-scale excavations. These excavations uncovered nine young mammoths, along with horse and bison remains. Archeologists also found preserved tools in the area, leading them to believe these fossils were the result of a major hunting event that took place thousands of years ago.

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Clovis Hunters

Alongside the animal remains, tools were discovered at the sight. All of these tools had "Clovis" shaped points and were made out of a variety of materials such as quartz, obsidian, and stone. In the area, even more evidence of these ancient hunters was found. Unfinished clovis points, rock fragments that were cleanly broken, and other weapons were all discovered in the area.

These weapons belong to what we know as "The Clovis Hunters." Evidence of these ancient people are found all across North America, with clovis points being found in Canada, the US, and Mexico! The remains found at The Lehner Mammoth Kill Sight are roughly 13,000 years old. The discovery made by Ed Lehner wasn't the only one, but it provided important archeological information into what they hunted, how they did it, and what the climate was like centuries ago.

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A look into the past

Not only did the Lehner Kill Sight give research on extinct animals, it also informed archeologists on what the San Pedro Valley looked like thousands of years ago. It is theorized the land around the river was once a more humid climate with grasslands full of vegetation providing support for local wildlife at the time.

According to the University of Arizona, during this time period there were roughly 40 inches of rainfall a year, 3 times what we get in the valley now. It is also beleives tons of smaller streams branched off from the river, and brought in all sorts of wildlife like mammoth, bison, and other large animals.

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The Lehner Mammoth Kill Sight became a national historical landmark in 1967. The property was later donated by Ed and Lynne Lehner to the Bureau of Land Management. This sight remains one of the best-preserved mammoth hunting sites in the Americas, offering a rare, tangible link to the earliest known inhabitants of Southern Arizona.