Conkling Cavern

Conkling Cavern in southern New Mexico, near Bishop’s Cap in the Organ Mountains, is an important archaeological and paleontological site with a vertical entrance and deposits once filling the cave nearly to the opening. Excavated in the late 1920s, it yielded a broad array of remains, including birds, reptiles, and large Ice Age mammals such as ground sloths, dire wolf, camel, horse, bison, pronghorn, and bear. Human remains were also found at different depths beneath consolidated sandstone, including bones associated with sloth claws and a possible dire wolf den. Because the excavations predated modern dating methods, the site’s chronology and some identifications remain uncertain.

Vado, New Mexico · United States