In the spring and summer of 2000, geologists working for the Tennessee
Department of Transportation made an extraordinary find as they
examined soil at a routine road construction project: the digging at
Gray, Tennessee, had uncovered a fossil site containing bones that
would turn out to be at least five million years old. Harry Moore and
his colleagues, along with researchers from the state and the
University of Tennessee, were stunned as they unearthed the fossilized
remains of tapirs, elephants, rhinoceroses, alligators, and other
long-dead animals. What was at first thought to be an Ice Age site ten
to twenty thousand years old proved to be much, much older. The Bone
Hunters recounts the fascinating details of a remarkable chance
discovery. In his engaging firsthand account, Moore writes of the
people behind the excavation of the site and how their efforts helped
save valuable artifacts for ongoing study. Numerous photographs
capture the excellent condition of fossils at Gray. Moore also
describes the contours of what the ancient landscape may have looked
like and details the governmental action that ultimately preserved
this Tennessee treasure. Harry Moore manages the Tennessee Department
of Transportation’s Geotechnial Engineering office in Knoxville. His
previous books are A Roadside Guide to the Geology of the Great Smoky
Mountains National Park, A Geologic Trip Across Tennessee by
Interstate 40, and Discovering October Roads: Fall Colors and Geology
in Rural East Tennessee (co-written with Fred Brown).
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The Discovery of Miocene Fossils in Gray, Tennessee
Produktdetaljer
ISBN
9798895271391
Publisert
2025
Utgave
1. utgave
Utgiver
University of Tennessee Press
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Digital bok
Forfatter