Let Those Bones Be: Lessons in Paleontological Context at Unthanks Cave, Virginia

• Published in: Journal of caves and karst studies Vol. 68; no. 3; p. 174
• Main Authors: Hubbard, DA Jr, Grady, F
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 01.12.2006
• Subjects: USA, Virginia; Switzerland; USA, Colorado
• ISSN: 1090-6924

In the fall of 1996, a caver called saying he'd passed the notorious Easter Pig Sump in Unthanks Cave. He'd found a borehole passage with a large bone protruding from a mud bank. Concerned that the sump would re-close for another decade or that the bone might wash away before a recovery trip could be made, he packaged and transported the bone beyond the sump in this gated cave. The authors obtained written owner permission, which satisfied our existent blanket paleontological permit, and recovered the limb-bone during the 1996 DOM. The well-packaged tibia was missing its proximal end (knee-end of the lower leg-bone) at a fresh break, and the distal end was too abraded to make a determination. After a discussion on the importance of context and the missing terminus with the caver, he made a return visit and determined that addition bone was present and scheduled a joint visit. In September 1997, a very The first ever Wind Cave Quadrangle book has recently been completed. This Atlas contains 192.45 kilometers of drafted survey drawn on 37 individual Mylar sheets at a scale of 6 m/cm (50 ft/inch). These "quadrangle" maps cover an area of 457 x 305 m (1,500 x 1,000 ft). The atlas contains survey statistics for the entire Wind Cave survey project, including a list of everyone that has gone on more than five survey trips (205 people). During the previous seven years, the Wind Cave survey has grown at an average rate of 7.2 km a year, and this trend is expected to continue into the foreseeable future. Since July 2005, a total of 82 trips resulted in 6.79 km of survey and inventory. The official length of Wind Cave increased from 187.76 to 194.65 km. The most significant discoveries during this time period were the Gas Chamber, Ghost Town, Stalactites Galore, EX survey, Big Fish Canyon, Cow Hoof Lake, & End of the Road areas. On February 13, 2006, the Wind Cave survey passed Hoelloch Cave of Switzerland to become the fourth longest cave in the world. In recognition for 16 years of volunteer service at Wind Cave National Park, The Colorado Grotto was chosen by the Midwest Region of the National Park Service as their nomination for the 2005 George B. Hertzog Volunteer Group Service Award.