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Degree Name
MS (Master of Science)
Program
Geosciences
Date of Award
5-2017
Committee Chair or Co-Chairs
Blaine W. Schubert, Chirs Widga
Committee Members
Steven C. Wallace
Abstract
Saltville, Virginia (Smyth County and Washington County) has been known for its late Pleistocene megafauna since the 1700s. Based on reviews of past excavations and material in collections, the most prominent fossils found at Saltville are proboscideans. Teeth of Mammuthus (mammoth) and Mammut (mastodon) from East Tennessee State University Museum of Natural History, Virginia Museum of Natural History, and Smithsonian were the focus of this research. Evidence of sedimentary abrasion and degree of concretion development was used to address the taphonomic history of the assemblage. Evidence of root resorption, tooth expectoration, and eruption and wear of proboscidean molars was used to understand age-related patterns in the proboscidean assemblage. The Saltville proboscidean assemblage contains a disproportionate amount of juvenile mammoth and mastodon teeth, some of which were lost in life. This assemblage has also been modified extensively by sedimentary abrasion.
Document Type
Thesis - restricted
Recommended Citation
Silverstein, Rachel, "A Paleontological Analysis of Late Pleistocene Proboscidea from Saltville, Virginia: Taphonomy, Systematic Paleontology, and Paleobiology" (2017). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 3230. https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/3230
Copyright
Copyright by the authors.