GeorgiaBeforePeople

A fossil found by Professor Russell Long 60 years ago on McFaddin Beach, Texas looked like an unimpressive rock shaped round by ocean waves. The unidentified specimen was stuck in a drawer and nearly forgotten for decades. Recently, scientists looked at the specimen using x-ray computed tomography, and they discovered an unerupted canine diagnostic of the scimitar-toothed cat (Homotherium). The species was probably Homotherium serum because this is the only species of that genus known from North America during the late Pleistocene. Genetic studies suggest this wide-ranging apex predator was likely the same species as Homotherium latidens that also ranged across Eurasia in low numbers. Some studies suggest scimitar-toothed cats mostly ate grass-consuming animals such as bison, horses, and juvenile mammoths. An ancient scimitar-toothed cat den found at the Friesenhahn site in Bexar County, Texas yielded dozens of bones from baby mammoths. The specimen (see the below image) was the first ever found on the Gulf Coast of Texas indicating its range included the entire state. Scimitar-toothed cats are less famous and were probably less common than saber-toothed cats (Smilodon fatalis).

Location of McFaddin Beach where the below specimen was found. Fossils wash ashore from an offshore deposit (yet to be found) originating when the site was above sea level.

Specimen found on McFaddin Beach 60 years ago. Scientists couldn’t identify it until they just recently used x-ray to look at it.

The McFaddin Beach fossil site is similar to Edisto Beach, South Carolina. Apparently, there is an exposed fossil site offshore, and currents are carrying fossil remains on to the beach. The fossils accumulated in the offshore fossil deposit during the last Ice Age when sea level was much lower than it is today, and dry land habitat existed as much as 50 miles into what is now the Gulf of Mexico. Coastlines are always changing. The species from this fossil site date to the Late Pleistocene, probably to the Last Glacial Maximum between 28,000 years BP-15,000 years BP before sea level rose to modern levels. The list of species remains found on McFaddin Beach includes mammoth, mastodon, bison, horse, llama, long-nosed peccary, tapir, giant short-faced bear, Florida spectacled bear, saber-toothed cats (Smilodon fatalis), scimitar-toothed cats, raccoon, cottontail rabbit, capybara, beaver, prairie dog, cotton rat, eremotherium (a huge ground sloth), pampathere (a 300-pound armadillo), alligator, gar, catfish, and sunfish. These species represent animals found in grassland, woodland, and wetland habitats. Gulf coastal plains in Texas presented a warm corridor for tropical species to colonize Florida and the coastal plains of Georgia and South Carolina. Warm ocean currents pooled in the Gulf of Mexico because glacial meltwater shut down the Gulf Stream, and the climate was much warmer here than at northern latitudes during Ice Ages. Frequent tropical storms kept it well-watered compared to the eastern region of North America then.

Over 100 Clovis arrowheads have been found on McFaddin Beach–more than in any other county in North America. Arrowheads from the Archaic Indian Age are found here too, but they likely were left when the coastline was closer to where it is today. The arrowheads originate from 59 different rock formations, showing how nomadic ancient Indians were. Some of these arrowheads were manufactured as far away as New Mexico, Nebraska, Arkansas, and Colorado.

Reference:

Moretti, J.; et al

“The Scimitar-cat Homotherium from the Submerged Continental Shelf of the Gulf Coast of Texas”

American Association for Anatomy April 2024 https://anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ar.25461

Evidence suggests elk (Cervus canadensis), known as red deer in Eurasia, crossed the Bering Land Bridge and colonized much of North America ~15,000 years ago about the same time people did. Although most people don’t think of elk when they consider fauna of the deep south, there is archaeological and historical evidence elk inhabited southeastern North America until the 19th century at least as far south as the piedmont region. There is no evidence elk occurred on the lower coastal plain or Florida, so the piedmont was likely the southeasternmost limit for this species. Oddly enough, it seems the open pine savannahs of the coastal plain would’ve been good habitat for elk because they are grazers, but apparently, they were absent there. Perhaps, they couldn’t adapt to the types of flies and gnats that tormented them on these humid plains. Good habitat on the piedmont included pine savannahs and woodlands on foothills and fall line hills, kept open by frequent fire. An example of elk friendly habitat in this region can be found on Burke’s Mountain in northern Columbia County, Georgia where ultramafic soils inhibit tree growth and allow grasslands to predominate. This site might be where William Bartram found elk, bison, and deer bones mixed with human remains when he traveled through the south during 1776. An elk bone was found in Kingston Saltpeter Cave in Bartow County, Georgia, but this specimen was never described. Another elk specimen was found near Charleston, South Carolina, but the best evidence of elk in the south is from Alabama.

Burke’s Mountain in Columbia, County Georgia. This is the type of habitat elk inhabited in the piedmont region of southeastern North America. Photo by Alan Cressler.

Map showing where elk remains dating to the late Pleistocene and the Holocene have been found in Alabama. Image from the below reference by Ebersole.

As the above map shows, elk remains dating to the late Pleistocene and from just a few thousand years ago has been found at a number of sites in Alabama including Greene County, Pickens County, Dekalb County, and along the Tongbigbee River. The elk remains in Pickens County probably date to between 5,000-12,000 years ago. Elk toe bones found at the Bluff Creek Site before it was flooded by the Tennessee Valley Authority when they constructed the Pickwick Landing Dam were modified by humans. One of the toe bones was burned, and the other was ingested and defecated by a carnivore, but archaeologists can still determine they were modified by Indians.

Indians made fishhooks from deer and elk toe bones, but the ones found in Alabama were gaming pieces. Indians played a game with them that required great dexterity. They polished the elk toe bones, bored holes in them, and attached them to a string that was in turn attached to a needle. 3-9 toe bones were attached to this needle. While holding the needle, the player would toss the toe bones in the air and try to get them to land on the needle. The winner was the person who got the most toe bones to land on the needle. The Sioux Indians played this game. It seems low tech but challenging.

Image of elk toe bones discovered in Lauderdale County in northwest Alabama. From the below reference by Lev-Tov.

Image of elk toe bones used in the ring and pin game. Note the boreholes. From the below reference by Lev-Tov.

Illustration of the ring and pin game played by the Sioux and other Indians. The player held the bottom end of the needle and tried to get the bones and loops of beads to land on the needle.

References:

Ebersole, J.; and S. Ebersole

“Late Pleistocene Mammals of Alabama: A Comprehensive Faunal Review with 21 Previously Unreported Taxa”

Alabama Museum of Natural History Bulletin December 2011

Lev-Tov, J.

“The Function, Date, and Cultural Implications of Modified Phalanges from Russell Cave and the Bluff Creek Site in Alabama”

Alabama Medicine: Journal of the Medical Association of the State of Alabama 48 (1) Jan 2002