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Show -- myni 4 PAGE 24 THE ZEPHYROCTOBER 89 '.' Packrat Middens .'-- , ." .. . are they a key to our past? by Jim Stiles we could climb into a time machine and travel backward Into our past, what would it reveal? How far, for Instance, would we have to journey before we noticed a marked change In the scenery around us? Standing on a point near Balanced Rock at Arches National Park, a It gnarled and tortured Juniper stands sentinel over the red rocks. like looks its been here forever. But, in fact, how long have the and Junipers pinon pines been a part of the park landscape? A remarkable discovery by a graduate student from Northern Arizona University and a subsequent Investigation by its Department of Quaternary Studies have provided some startling insights Into this areas If (relatively) recent past.... On March 17, 1989, Ranger Damian Fagen was on a routine back-coun- try foot patrol near the parks west boundary. He stopped to examine a deep alcove and discovered signs of archeological vanSeveral pits had been dug by greedy graverobbers and pothunters, who exhibited not only blatant disregard for the law, but for what Is moral and decent as well. Fagen reported the vandalism to Chief Ranger John McLaughlin, and a few days later, several rangers returned to the site. dalism. Accompanying them was Saxon Sharpe, a graduate student In Quaternary Studies at N.A.U. The Quaternary Period, a measurement of geologic time, begins at the end of the Tertiary Period and continues to the present time. While documenting the damage, Sharpe examined a. nearby packrat midden (an accumulated pile of dung). To anyone but a scientist, exploring heaps of ancient manure is not regarded as a favorite way of spending an afternoon. But to Saxon, her careful eye and meticulous search produced a significant find. Out of the midden, she extracted a pine needle, a find that should not have been extraordinary. But the needle was not from one of the nearby pinon pines, a tree that grows in abundance In the vicinity. Instead, it proved to be from a Limber Pine, which are found nowadays in the La Sal Mountains. How did the needle get there? It was too far from the mountains to SUN COUNTRY REALTY Moab, Utah 1021. 2 bedroom log home with attached greenhouse on 1.9 acres. Must see to appreciate the many extras, sach as cedar-line- d closets, beams, lovely fireplace. knotty pine paneling, log If yon are a serious bnyer, call today to make an appointment to see this fine value for only $45,000. 1007. 5 ACRES CASTLE VALLEY. ONLY $6,600. 1020. 1.6 ACRES with 14 x 70 mobile, good condition. $20,000. 10167. An opportunity to own yonr mountain hide-awadjacent to National Forest. Irrigation water, spring, small cabin. Ideal spot for recreation or farming. Yearnround access. 223 acres for only $500 an acre. have been borne there by the wind. Packrats rarely wander more than 50 yards from their nests, and could not have carried It themselves from the distant La Sals. What was the answer? A further examination produced further surprises. Douglas fir needles were found In the midden as well. Again, the nearest Douglas firs today are found In the La Sals. Saxon Sharpe took her find to Drs. Larry Agenbroad and Jim Mead, the director and associate director of Quaternary Studies at Northern Arizona University. The packrat midden samples have undergone extensive testing and scrutiny ever since. The department has not completed its efforts to carbon date the material; hopefully that Information will be available early next year. But it is possible to theorize that in the late Pleistocene Epoch, a period that ended Just 10,000 years ago, the Arches landscape was dotted with forests of Douglas Fir and Umber Pine, instead of the er community we see today. It would have been a time when the climate was cooler and wetter than what we see In the late 20th century. From our human prospective, looking backward In time to the Pleistocene seems like a long Journey. But considered from a geologic view, it is a blink of the eye. The rocks themselves have changed very pinon-Junip- . i . The large arches and windows that are viewed by thousands of visitors today, looked very similar then. Life ebbed and flowed around the slickrock which also continues to change at its own deliberate little. speed. New discoveries always produce new questions, and this find is no When did the vegetational transition begin to occur at different. Arches? As the climate warmed, when did plants migrate northward and to higher elevations? When was todays plant community at Arches in place? Thanks to Saxon Sharpe and Northern Arizona University, we may someday know the answers. artwork by ms Katie Sensenbrenner 1989 Milts irv 3D ay dllUJIJ WEVE MOVED FROM OUR MAIN STREET (801)259-632- 6 w brnnm LOCATION BUT WE ARE AS CLOSE AS YOUR TELEPHONE. CALL OUR REAL ESTATE PROFESSIONALS FOR HELP WHETHER YOU ARE BUYING OR SELLING. -- mteOUB -.- 259-7414 |