ETSU Gray Fossil Site & Museum researchers conduct research around the world and in our own backyard. We coordinate paleontological research locally, at the Gray Fossil Site and Saltville, as well as at more distant fossil localities, in order to address key questions in the history of life on Earth. Our research combines the efforts of faculty, staff, students, and volunteers and contributes to a growing understanding of life during the late Cenozoic Era, particularly in the southeastern US.
Gray Fossil Site
Located near the town of Gray in eastern Tennessee, the Gray Fossil Site preserves the remains of a forested pond ecosystem that existed around 4.5-5 million years ago during the early Pliocene Epoch. Excavations at this site have recovered fossils of around 200 species of animals and plants buried in an ancient sinkhole-pond. They reveal a forest dominated by oak, hickory, and pine trees and home to tapirs, rhinos, alligators, mastodons, and more. At that time eastern Tennessee had a slightly warmer climate compared to today.
For more information on the research done at the Gray Fossil Site, see here.
Ice Age Research at Saltville, Virginia
The Saltville Valley in southwest Virginia is famous for its salt wells, but for paleontologists
it’s also a rich source of Ice Age fossils. During the late Pleistocene Epoch, between
around 40,000 and 11,000 years ago, the area was home to mammoths, ground sloths,
giant short-faced bears, and more animals whose fossils have been excavated from the
site. This was a time period of dramatic ecological changes, covering the transition
from the cold, dry Last Glacial Maximum to the end of the Ice Age when humans made
their first appearance in the Americas and many key animal species became extinct.
Scientific research at Saltville offers Appalachian insights into this crucial time
in North American history.
ETSU scientists have been excavating and researching fossils from Saltville for many years, but the history of fossil exploration of the site goes back to the 18th century. Saltville fossils were among the many scientific curiosities that Thomas Jefferson wrote about in the late 1700s. Much later, in the early 1900s, new excavations at Saltville were led by paleontologists from the Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh searching for remains of Ice Age megafauna. Since then, scientists have come to work at Saltville from a variety of other institutions including the Smithsonian Institution, Virginia Tech, Emory & Henry College, and East Tennessee State University.
ETSU at Saltville
Paleontologists from ETSU's Center of Excellence in Paleontology collaborate with the Museum of the Middle Appalachians in Saltville. Digging at Saltville can be challenging, as the fossil-bearing deposits are inundated with water. Each day of the digging season, the crew needs to drain the pits of water and living critters before working through the muddy layers of ancient sediment.
Researchers are particularly interested in the Ice Age at Saltville, representing the very end of the Pleistocene Epoch. This was a fascinating time in Earth's history, witnessing a change from glacial to modern climatic conditions, environmental changes, mass extinctions of large mammals, and peopling of the Americas.
ETSU's Dr. Blaine Schubert has been especially excited about fossils of the giant short-faced bear Arctodus simus from Saltville. It was one of the largest bears the world has ever seen, but its fossils are rare in the southeastern United States. So far, evidence of this bear in the Saltville Valley has come from bones and teeth, as well as bite marks on mammoth fossils! Beyond the bear, ETSU researchers are also interested in exploring how the environment at Saltville changed as the Ice Age drew to a close.
It's not just scientists that benefit from Saltville excavations. In the fall, our ETSU crew helps to organize digs for the public, including students from elementary school to college. The site offers great opportunities for ETSU students to get involved in research and public outreach.
What ancient species lived at Saltville?
Large animals found at Saltville include mammoths, mastodons, giant short-faced bears, giant ground sloths, musk-oxen, horses, and stag moose. On the smaller side, there are fossils of beavers, snakes, salamanders, fish, insects, and plant pollen.