The Broken Mammoth site was occupied at least three separate times in its history, the last occupation occurring approximately 2,500 years ago.
[3] Activities that would have most likely occurred here include: manufacturing of tools and maintenance as well as food processing and skin working (as evident by the remains of a bone needle)[2][3] Early occupation of the Broken Mammoth had a setting similar to the lowland tundra with low vegetation, mostly shrubs and few trees.
The regional pollen record provides evidence of shrubland with plant life including dwarf birch and willow.
The faunal remains of a red squirrel and a porcupine date the process of forestation at slightly more than 9,500 years ago.
The stratigraphy at Broken Mammoth is well preserved and is one of the primary factors that have helped establish the age of the site.
The site consists of Aeolian sediments (sand and loess) overlying weathered bedrock of the Yukon-Tanana crystalline terrace.
and coincides with the dating of the hearth charcoal at the site that falls within that time period suggesting that the people of the region had contact with living mammoths.
[2][3] The evidence of this site suggests highly mobile groups who moved seasonally over the landscapes.
[2] The people of the region were hunters of large game such as bison but there is very little evidence that suggests they hunted mammoths.
The Broken Mammoth site can be considered a part of the Nenana complex of tool manufacturing and techniques.
The remains of several hearths have been found at Broken Mammoth with the radiocarbon dating of the charcoal providing sound evidence for the age of the site.
A shallow pit hearth feature was excavated with a radiocarbon date of approximately 4524 years ago and is associated with several flakes and obsidian microblades.
A second hearth radiocarbon dated to about 7,600 years ago has evidence of hearthstones, suggesting occupation for an extended period of time.
As at other Tanana River Valley sites such as Swan Point, Mead and Healey Lake, artifacts and stone tools found at Broken Mammoth are relatively infrequent.
[4] The materials that these artifacts were made from include rhyolite, chalcedony, chert, basalt and obsidian[4] (the latter providing even more evidence towards an even earlier peopling of North America.
[2] This implies that older sites must exist because the raw materials must have been obtained and then distributed to other regions through trade and interaction.
[2] Until these sites are discovered we will not know when the occupation of the Beringian straits began, until then Broken Mammoth establishes the earliest date between 11,000 B.P.
[4] Cultural Zone 2 has only produced a few flakes, fire-broken rocks and hearthstones though there is the possibility that microblades could be excavated closer to the bluff edge.
[4] The bone needle suggests that the occupants used this site to process resources, using skins to make clothing.
The debris is composed of rhyolite, basalt, obsidian, chert and quartzite, implying that the occupants of the site carried out some manufacturing and or repair of tools.
[7] The discovery of the Broken Mammoth site establishes that human occupation of central Alaska began sometime before 11,000 B.P.
[2] The artifacts discovered at Broken Mammoth suggest earlier occupation in northwest and east Alaska as evident by the presence of obsidian materials.
[2] Until The Broken Mammoth site offers excellent preservation of remains of the animals, providing archaeologists insight into the hunting methods and food resources utilized by the early peoples in North America.