 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Where would you look for a modern tomb full of ancient history in the Mojave Desert? If you guessed across from military base housing, next to a baseball field, you’re getting warmer—it’s the Archeology and Paleontology Curation Center at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms.
This facility—just opened in January—is home to the bones of prehistoric creatures and the cultural artifacts of native people who used to inhabit the area we know as Twentynine Palms. This center is the newest in the country and the first of its kind in the U.S. Marine Corps.
Within the bounds of MCAGCC, a 2-million-year-old fossil bed has yielded some unique and significant finds. The first big fossil found on the base was a piece of the extinct giant ground sloth—a grazing animal that lived in shrubby grassland more than 1.8 million years ago. Another find is the remains of the 2-million-year-old giant tortoise, a very distant ancestor to the desert tortoise that inhabits the area and finds refuge on the base. The giant tortoise is most closely related to the giant tortoises that inhabit the Galapagos Islands and is not closely related to the desert tortoise.
Housed in one of the climate-controlled rooms at the center is a display of a fragment of the giant ground sloth’s lower jaw. A curation room next to the sloth’s new home is monitored for the right humidity and temperature—a cool 55 degrees.
These and other types of specimens found on the base, from birds and small lizards to Pleistocene horse bones, are identified, catalogued, and stored inside a vault designed to house paleontological specimens securely. Other items of interest include rock art and stone tool artifacts left by the hunter-gatherer peoples who came to the Mojave Desert 11,000 years ago.
A team of contracted researchers who help collect and track the specimens is supervised by Marie Cottrell, PhD, the Natural and Cultural Resources Officer for MCAGCC, who has been involved in this project for 12 years. “The reality is that the cost to build and maintain our own collections here is cheaper than sending them away to be stored,” said Cottrell.
“There’s been a phenomenal amount of archaeological work done on the base. We’ve surveyed almost 250,000 acres of land and dug close to 500 of the 1,700 total sites,” Cottrell explained. “We get to the site, do the science and research before the Marines get a chance to do something without realizing it; so their actions don’t have an adverse effect. We’ve done a phenomenal amount of work and haven’t bothered the Marines in the process.”
Cottrell said the Marines have done an excellent job dedicating resources, time, and effort into conserving natural and cultural resources on the base while still meeting their training requirements.
“Marines are stewards of the environment,” said Gunnery Sergeant Chris W. Cox, spokesman for the MCAGCC Public Affairs Office. “Our goal is to take where we are and make it better.”
Gunnery Sergeant Cox believes the Archeology and Paleontology Curation Center is necessary in the bigger picture of historical legacy. “There are lots of pieces of great historical significance to the Morongo Basin—especially the desert tortoise and the animal and plant life that we are trying to preserve.”
“[The center] is a secured and climate-controlled environment for collecting and preserving these pieces of history that we’re trying to preserve for future generations,” said Cox.
In addition to the prehistoric information is a historical look at the base that started life as Twentynine Palms Air Academy, a U.S. Army base for training glider pilots during World War II. The exhibit includes an educational video with actual footage of the gliders and photographs of the students.
Since its inauguration in January 2007, visitors have varied from active duty Marines who have studied anthropology and paleontology, to military retirees who come to reminisce about the air academy at Condor Field. One researcher at the center said the Marines who have visited felt good knowing that what they studied was being used.
Other visitors include spouses and children of Marines stationed at the base. “[The center] has had a lot of support and been very effective. I built the program, so I’m very pleased with it and the team I have supporting me,” Cottrell said.
Once the center gets going at full speed, Cottrell says its biggest impact will be providing interactive visits and lessons for elementary students. “We get the chance to do outreach,” she said, “and this facility allows us to do that effectively.”
The center is open to the public on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. and the first and third Saturdays of every month from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Both Cottrell and Cox admit it can be difficult for the general public to get on base due to security issues. However, “the work there is very important and very public. It’s not something we’re trying to keep secret,” said Cox. “Public access is one of the issues we’re taking a look at and finding a common-sense answer to.”
In the meantime, if you are interested in visiting the center, contact the Public Affairs Office at (760)830-5472. For information about school tours and field trips, contact the center directly at (760)830-5200 or 830-7641. -
By Jennifer Ballesteros, April/May 2007