Big Bone Lick

In 1963, the US Geological Survey and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln published a report titled, “Paleontologic Investigations at Big Bone Lick State Park, Kentucky: A Preliminary Report.” 

The Big Bone Lick area in Kentucky is the first widely-known collecting locality for vertebrate fossils in North America.  The study investigated Big Bone Lick for further faunal and geologic evidence.  Mammal bones, ranging in age from Wisconsin to Recent, were recovered in 1962 from four different faunal zones in two terrace fills.  In addition, 15 test holes were drilled with a power auger furnished by the Commonwealth of
Kentucky, and samples were taken for analysis and examination for microfauna and microflora.  Wood was collected for carbon-14 analysis.

The study indicates that are three terrace levels at Big Bone Lick above the present floodplain of the creek, the highest being of Tazewell age, and the two lower terraces of post-Tazewell age.  Distinct bone-bearing alluvial deposits appear to be related to the terrace sequence.  The sequence of terraces appears to be similar to that of the adjacent Ohio Valley, indicating that the history of the site is a part of the regional sequence of events.

Here is a diagrammatic cross-section showing the main bone-bearing zones of Big Bone Lick:

See the entire report (PDF)