Smithsonian Podcast: There's More to That
Smithsonian magazine covers history, science and culture in the way only it can — through a lens on the world that is insightful and grounded in richly reported stories. In There’s More to That, meet the magazine’s journalists and hear how they discover the forces behind the biggest issues of our time.
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The Prehistoric Cave That Trapped and Entombed Animals for Millennia
The Natural Trap Cave is a pit in northern Wyoming into which countless animals since the Pleistocene have fallen and met their untimely demise. Paleontologists today find the cave a treasure trove — a stunning record of the species that have long roamed the area. Careful excavation work over the years that has involved sifting for bones, extracting ancient DNA, and looking for prehistoric pollen has revealed not just the plants and animals that once populated this part of the world, but also the ecosystems and climates that governed it. Host Ari Daniel speaks with vertebrate paleontologist Julie Meachen and Smithsonian contributing writer Michael Ray Taylor about what rappelling into Natural Trap Cave reveals about Earth’s past.
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