Alberta paleontologists studying rare horse and camel fossils

A nondescript gravel pit in rural Alberta has been a boon for paleontologists.

At the site in Big Stone, some 380 kilometres southeast of Edmonton, paleontologists have been finding rare fossils of prehistoric camels and horses from 1.5 to 4.5 million years ago. 

By studying these fossils, researchers get a glimpse into Alberta's prehistory. 

Kelsey Martin, the aggregates manager at the Special Areas Board of Alberta, noticed that in 2019 rocks they were extracting from a particular gravel bed looked different from other sites. 

Martin wanted to know how old the rocks were, and contacted the Royal Alberta Museum for help.

Christina Barron-Ortiz, a paleontologist at RAM, hoped they'd be able to find some fossils, which could help date the site. 

But she didn't have high expectations.

"Usually, it's really hard to find fossils in gravels," she said. 

"We have visited many gravel pits across the province, and often we find nothing."

The gravel beds are what's left of ancient rivers, she said, and rivers tend to break down animal bones into tiny fragments. 

The Big Stone site significantly exceeded Barron-Ortiz's expectations.

When they visited it in 2019, her colleague Katherine Bramble found a complete and well-preserved premolar tooth from an upper jaw of a prehistoric horse, to Barron-Ortiz's great excitement. 

Martin said that day happened to be one where a lot of elected officials and administrative staff visited the site.

"So — lo and behold — as they got off the bus, both Christina and Katherine said, 'Hey, this looks unique.' And they pulled up a fossil of a horse tooth, just as everyone was coming off the bus," Martin recalls.