LATE PLEISTOCENE, PALEOECOLOGY AND LARGE MAMMAL TAPHONOMY, NATURAL TRAP CAVE, WYOMING

Natural Trap Cave is one of the most important Ice Age localities in North America. We report here on its depositional environment, paleontological sampling, and vertebrate taphonomy. The taphonomical conditions and death assemblage within the cave are contrasted to those of open land sites. Bone preservation is excellent. Snow cover may be responsible for the good bone preservation during the long interval between the initial trapping of the large mammals and final burial in the sediments. Vertebrate remains inside the cave were free from disturbances by carnivorans, water currents, and surface weathering, which are commonly associated with open land sites. The accumulative curve in large mammal taxa indicates that less-than-or-equal-to 15 000 specimens were needed to adequately sample the faunal assemblage. Large carnivorans are overrepresented and are postulated to have been attracted by the carcasses.