MODULE 4 Chapter 2

Shortcuts to Topics Hagerman Fossils Pictures What is a Fossil? Dinosaurs
Project---Make a Fake Fossil Inquiry Activities Ideas for Discussion

Module 4 Chapter 2

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The Fossils of Hagerman Valley

Hi Students!

Did you know that some of Idaho's fossils are world famous? The fossils of Hagerman Valley are known by scientists around the world. The Hagerman fossils are some of the best ever found of animals that lived about 3.5 million years ago during the Pliocene epoch.

THE HAGERMAN FOSSILS. Elmer Cook, a farmer who was interested fossils, discovered the Hagerman fossils in the early 1900's. The fossils are buried in an area that stretches for eight miles along the Snake River's west bank near the town of Hagerman. Though the area is still rich in fossils, most of the "easy" ones have been found. If you drive or hike through the area today, you are not likely to find any fossils unless you know exactly where to look.

Many kinds of fossils were buried there. These include beavers, muskrats, snakes, turtles, otters, birds, fish, deer, camels, mastodons, horses, peccaries, swans, ground squirrels, pocket gophers, shrews, ducks, cormorants, saber-toothed cats, hares, and ground sloths. When these animals roamed southern Idaho, the climate was wet and warm. There were streams, lakes, and swamps with lush vegetation.

Many scientists have visited and studied the Hagerman area to study the fossils. A large display of Hagerman fossils is on display at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. Along with this display is a large mural (a wall-sized painting) showing what the Hagerman area might have looked like 3.5 million years ago. The mural is 12 feet high and 20 feet long. It was painted in 1967 by Jay Martinez, an artist for the U.S. National Museum of Science.

When you visit the town of Hagerman, you can see one of the Hagerman horses and a copy of the mural. Click on the thumbnail icon of the horse to see a larger picture. Click on the second thumbnail icon to see a copy of the Smithsonian mural. Click on the third thumbnail icon to see the artist's sketch that identifies the animals in the mural.

Identification of Animals in Hagerman Mural

WHAT IS A FOSSIL? A fossil is the trace of a plant or an animal that lived millions of years ago. A fossil may be a piece of a petrified plant or animal, such as petrified wood or bone. It may be a print of a leaf, a feather, or a footprint left in stone. It could be a real bone or a tooth made hard by soil minerals, or it could be a whole insect trapped in amber and perfectly preserved. Some fossils are whole skeletons of animals preserved in rock. A few fossils are whole animals (such as woolly mammoths) trapped and preserved in ice or tar. The Hagerman fossils are millions of years old!

DINOSAURS IN IDAHO. It is with regret that I must disappoint the teachers and young people of Idaho. Alas! It is quite possible that there have never been any dinosaurs in Idaho.

The Idaho Historical Society reports that no dinosaur fossils have ever been found in Idaho. It is their judgment that anything written about dinosaurs in Idaho is based entirely on guesswork. Until someone finds some dinosaur fossils in Idaho, it will be impossible to prove they ever lived here. On the other hand, no one has proved that dinosaurs have not lived in Idaho, either.

Idaho's only fossils belong to a later period of time when mammals and warm-blooded birds ruled the earth.

PROJECT---MAKE A "FAKE FOSSIL

If you have never seen a real fossil, you can still get an impression of one (pun intended). You can do this by making a "fake fossil." Many fossils are only prints or impressions in stone. A fossil may be a print of a leaf, a fish skeleton, a sea shell, or any of numerous other things. Sometimes a fossil is only a footprint in stone.

You can imitate such prints with modeling clay or plaster of paris. Choose the item you want to have as a "fossil." A leaf or a flat sea shell will give the best results.

To use modeling clay, flatten two pieces of modeling clay. Put your leaf or sea shell on top of one piece, then lay the other piece on top of the leaf or shell. Firmly press the two pieces of clay together. Now separate the two pieces of clay and remove the leaf or shell. Presto! You have a "fake fossil" print on each piece of modeling clay.

To use plaster of paris, begin with a layer of wet plaster of paris in the bottom of a paper milk carton. Place the leaf or flat sea shell on top of the wet plaster. Press it slightly into the plaster. Now add more wet plaster on top and pat it several times to work it down against the first layer.

Let the plaster harden overnight, then tear away the milk carton. Crack the hard plaster so that it splits along the leaf or shell. It may not break perfectly, but few real fossils are perfect. Remove the leaf or shell. Now you have a "fake fossil" imprinted on the pieces of plaster of paris.

INQUIRY ACTIVITIES

1. What is a fossil.

2. How is a fossil formed? How long does it take?

3. Why would there be a large number of fossils along an eight-mile stretch of the valley, but none 20 miles away?

4. How can you explain that the Hagerman Valley has fossils of mammals, birds, snakes, and turtles, but none of dinosaurs?

5. Bones of horses are found in the Hagerman fossil beds, but when the Spaniard, Cortez, came to America, America had no horses. (He brought the first modern horses to America in the year 1519.) How can you explain this?

6. Camels once roamed over many parts of North America, yet there are no camels here today. How can you explain this?

7. Read about fossils in an encyclopedia or other book. Tell the class what you have learned.

IDEAS FOR DISCUSSION

Dinosaurs either were or were not living in Idaho long before men lived here. Let us try out each of the following ideas.

1. Suppose that dinosaurs did live in Idaho long ago. What reasons can you think of to explain the fact that no dinosaur fossils have ever been found here?

2. Suppose that no dinosaurs ever lived in Idaho. We do know that dinosaurs lived in eastern Utah and western Colorado, because a large number of dinosaur fossils have been found there. What reasons can you think of to explain why dinosaurs lived in Utah and Colorado, but not in Idaho?

3. Do you think it is more likely that dinosaurs DID or DID NOT live in Idaho? Give some good reasons for your opinion.

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