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Why Are There Ice Age (Pleistocene) Megafauna Fossils Here?

The perfect conditions for Pleistocene fossil preservation at Big Bone Lick were created during the Wisconsian Glacation - The last glacial event in North America. During the Wisconsian glacation event, most of Ohio was covered by a large ice sheet. When it retreated, it left behind many lakes that slowly drained. One drainage basin went into Northern Kentucky at Big Bone Lick. This created very swampy conditions.

Big Bone Lick also has always had natural salt and sulfur springs (which can still be seen today). Animals would come from all over the area to this natural salt lick. They would sometimes get stuck and sink into the mud, which would preserve their remains.

Over thousands of years, large quantities of animals have been preserved at Big Bone Lick. Notable animals that have been preserved include Giant Ground Sloths, Mammoths, Mastodons, Stag Moose, Horses, and Bison. The sheer quantity of animals preserved here rivals that of the Rancho La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles.

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Birthplace of American Vertebrate Paleontology:

Although Big Bone Lick had always been known by the Native Americans to contain bones of huge animals, it wasn't until 1739, that the first westerner discovered the fossil bones. Charles LeMoyne de Longueui, commander of French and Indian Troops from Canada, collected some of the fossils and shipped them back to France for study.

That shipment of fossils peaked the curiosity of many naturalists throughout Europe and North America. From that point on, thousands of bones have been removed from the site.

Notably, in 1807 President Thomas Jefferson sent Americas first paleontology expedition to the salt lick; hence the title "Birthplace of American Vertebrate Paleontology." The fossil collecting expedition was headed by General William Clark, who had previous experience collecting fossils during the famous "Lewis and Clark" expedition.

Clark shipped back hundreds of fossils to Thomas Jefferson, where he distributed them for study. These fossils greatly advanced naturalists' knowledge of mastodons and mammoths. Also from these fossils, three type specimens (specimens never before described) were discovered:
Bootherium bombifrons: Harlan's muskox, Bison antiquus: Extinct American Bison, and Cervalces scotti: Stag Moose.

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About Big Bone Lick State Park:

Big Bone Lick is a great park for Paleontology enthusiasts. Although, for good reasons, it is illegal to disturb any fossils and artifacts, it has hiking trails through the creek and salt licks where the fossils come from as well as a museum with many fossils on display.

Google Map of Big Bone Lick in Kentucky

Location:

Big Bone Lick State Park is located in Northern Kentucky, just south of Cincinnati.

The address is:
Big Bone Lick State Historic Site
3380 Beaver Road
Union, KY 41091

Here is a link to the Official Park Website for updated information.

Hours of Operation:

The Park Grounds are open all year long.

The Museum and Visitor center is open: April through October: Daily from 8:30 am - 4:00 pm
and
November through March: Monday - Friday, 9:00 am - 3:00 pm

Things To Do:

Museum and Discovery Trail
Along with the Paleontology and Archeology musuem, there are 4.5 miles of trails, including a nice "Discovery Trail" running through the salt lick and the creek where the fossils are found. At various places there are informational signs about the area, its history, and the paleontology.

Remember, you cannot collect or disturb fossils and artifacts in the park. However, the occasionally have volunteer dig days where people can help excavate fossils and artifacts.

Camping
The park has a nice campground with showers, rest rooms, laundry facilities, a swimming pool, and miniature golf.

Bison herd
There is also a small herd of Bison that are easily visible by following signs to a viewing area.

For more information and to double check the opening hours, here is a link to the Official Park Website.

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Notable Pleistocene (Ice Age) megafauna at Big Bone Lick:

Numerous large Pleistocene animals have been recovered from horizon "C" of the lick. Type specimens discovered at this location include:
Bison antiquus "Antique bison"
Bootherium bombifrons "Harlan's musk-ox"
Cervalces scotti "Stag moose"
Mammut americanum "American mastodon"

Other large Ice Age animals include:
Megalonyx jeffersonii "Jefferson's ground-sloth"
Paramylodon harlani "Harlan's ground-sloth"
Mammuthus columbi "Columbian mammoth"
Mammuthus primigenius "Woolly mammoth"
Tapirus haysii "Tapir"
Equus sp. cf. E. complicatus "Complex-toothed horse"
Rangifer sp. "Caribou"
Odocoileus sp. "Deer"

Few carnivores are found at the lick. Two include: Ursus sp. "Bear" and Canis sp. "Wolf"

Although fossil carnivores are lacking at Big Bone Lick, they were probably present and feeding on the herbivores that frequented the salt lick. These carnivores would eat the herbivores and would not likely die in the lick. Therefore, the fossils are not present. Large carnivores in Kentucky at this time would have been American lions, Saber-toothed cats, Dire wolves, Giant Short-faced bears, and Jaguars.

The most abundant animal found at Big Bone Lick is the modern bison. Native Americans would hunt them at the lick. Over time, large amounts of these butchered bones would accumulate.

Select animals are discussed in detail below:

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Giant Ground Sloths

Ground Sloths were group of giant sloths related to today's two and three toed sloths. However, they were much larger, with some reaching the size of elephants. They also lived on the ground and not in trees. Ground sloths evolved in South America and spread throughout North America during the Ice Ages. They were herbivores that had very large claws that could dig up roots and dig burrows. They had very blunt teeth for chewing vegetation. All ground sloths became extinct at the end of the Ice Age around 10,000 years ago.

Two identifiable Ground Sloths found at Big Bone Lick:

Jefferson's Ground Sloth (Megalonyx jeffersonii):
Jefferson's Ground Sloth is the larger of the two ground sloths found here. It reached a size of around 9 feet. Jefferson's Ground Sloth specialized in eating branches from trees. It could stand on its hind legs and tear off branches with its huge claws.

Harlan's Ground Sloth (Paramylodon harlani):
Herlan's Ground Sloth is the smaller ground sloth found here. It reached a size of around 6 feet. Harlan's Ground Sloth was probably a grazer and fed mainly on grasses.

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Mammoths

Mammoths are a type of elephant that lived during the Ice ages. They have very long, curved tusks and long hair. Mammoths tended to live in plains and fed on tough grasses. Their molars, similar to today's elephants, have many small grooves in them, which allow them to grind up grasses. Most mammoths died out at the end of the Ice age around 10,000 years ago. The left image shows a mammoth tooth at the Big Bone Lick museum.

Two Mammoths found at Big Bone Lick are:

Columbian mammoth (Mammuthus columbi):
The Columbian mammoth was the largest of the mammoths. It reached about 13 feet tall at the shoulders, which is larger than African elephants. Columbian mammoths also had the longest tusks. One specimen had curved tusks that were 16 feet long! Columbian mammoths generally lived in warmer environments than other mammoths, so they probably had less hair.

Wooly mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius):
The Wooly mammoth was slightly smaller than the Columbian mammoth. It was around the same size as African elephants. These mammoths generally lived in colder areas and had a thick coat of coarse hair covering their bodies. Their tusks were longer and more curved than African elephants. Some wooly mammoths survived well past the Ice age. A small population on St. Paul Island in Alaska survived until around 3750 BC, while small mammoths on Wrangel Island in the Arctic survived until 1650 BC, well after the Egyptian pyramids were built!

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Mastodons

Mastodons were more primitive than mammoths, and less closely related to today's elephants. They were slightly smaller, around 8 or 9 feet at shoulder height, but were more muscular. Mastodons appear to have been specialized to browse on leaves and branches of trees. Their teeth have very high enamel ridges along them, ideal for grinding tough vegetation like small branches. They probably lived in more wooded areas, whereas mammoths probably lived on steppes and plains. Like most Pleistocene mega-fauna, mastodons became extinct at the end of the last ice age, around 10 or 11,000 years ago. The left image shows a Mastodon tooth and leg bone at the Big Bone Lick museum.

One Mastodon is found at Big Bone Lick:

American mastodon (Mammut americanum):
This is the most common and well known mastodon. It probably had a thick coat of coarse hair, similar to that of the wooly mammoth. It is thought that human hunting helped bring this great animal to extinction.

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Recommended Books about Ice Age Animals and Big Bone Lick

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Hedeen, Stanley and Faragher, John. (2008) Big Bone Lick: The Cradle of American Paleontology. (Lexington: University Press of Kentucky).

Schultz CB, Tanner LG, Whitmore FC Jr, Ray LL, Crawford EC. (1963) Paleontologic Investigations at Big Bone Lick State Park, Kentucky: A Preliminary Report Science 142 (1963):1168

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