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Mummy Cave is a rock shelter and archeological site in Park County, Wyoming, United States, near the eastern entrance to Yellowstone National Park. The site is adjacent to the concurrent U.S. Routes 14/16/20,〔 on the left bank of the North Fork of the Shoshone River〔 at an altitude of in Shoshone National Forest.〔 At its mouth, the cave is approximately wide, and it extends approximately into a volcanic cliff above the North Fork.〔 It lies along the left bank of the river,〔 next to the mouth of a small stream and opposite from the mouth of Blackwater Creek.〔 The largest known cave along the North Fork, it is believed to have been carved by the river's flow; the reason for its diversion away from the alcove is unknown.〔 Mummy Cave was occupied between 7280 BC and AD 1580.〔 Discovered by Cody resident Gene Smith in 1957,〔Witter, Dan. (The Discovery of Mummy Cave ), Buffalo Bill Historical Center, January 2002. Accessed 2009-07-29.〕 it was first studied in 1962 and excavated by the Buffalo Bill Historical Center. The site includes unusual amounts of perishable materials such as hide, feathers and wood, as well as the buried and mummified remains of an inhabitant, named by researchers "Mummy Joe," and dated to about AD 800.〔 The cave is notable for the depth of its cultural deposits, extending over in depth, and in particular for the continuity of those deposits. The deposits have been classified into 38 occupation levels that represent at least seasonal use of the site on an annual basis, extending from the Paleoindian period to the late Prehistoric period.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=2007 – Mummy Cave, Wyoming )〕 ==Geology== Although it is referred to as a "cave", Mummy Cave is actually a broad, shallow alcove in a vertical cliff. It owes its depth to its overall size and the stability of the parent rock. The alcove's roof is about above the river, with the rock floor of the alcove at about above the river. By the time it was discovered, the alcove had been almost entirely filled with alluvium. The cliff is composed of Tertiary period volcanic ash mixed with larger rock fragments of volcanic origin.〔 A similar alcove is being cut by the Shoshone at the mouth of Clocktower Creek.〔 The cave fill has accumulated for at least 10,000 years and appears to have originated from nearby debris fans formed where weathered material has flowed down channels in neighboring cliffs.〔 Apart from the depth and consistent nature of the alluvium, Mummy Cave is also characterized by extreme dryness. The pointed shape of the cliff above prevents rain and meltwater from percolating through the rock to the cave, and there are no vertical joints in the rock above.〔〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Mummy Cave」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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