Book Offers Overview Of Cave Paleontology

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2003/11/031125072414.htm

Many important fossil finds are made by recreational cavers, who bring the
remains to the attention of scientists. With a new book aimed at both
scholars and spelunkers, Blaine Schubert hopes to get the word out about the
importance of such findings to the Ice Age record.

Schubert, a graduate student in the environmental dynamics program, likes to
study the bones and other objects found in caves. Those finds comprise
enough of the record of Ice Age vertebrates to merit a book on the subject.

"Ice Age Cave Faunas of North America," published recently by Indiana
University Press describes the manner and instances in which caves have
relinquished the remains of tapirs, sloths, mammoths, lions and numerous
rodent species that once roamed North America. Caves provide a particularly
good environment for the preservation of diverse evidence of past life,
including bones, teeth, skin, dung, ligaments, hair and feathers of extinct
species.

"Unlike the surface, caves often maintain a stable environment for long
periods of time," Schubert said. "They provide the bulk of the record on a
lot of extinct animals." Protected from the elements in a tomb-like setting,
fossils from caves offer important evidence of the vertebrate past.

Although caves can provide a vivid record of the past, cave paleontology
remains a sparse specialty among researchers. To begin with, the study of
Ice Age vertebrates narrows the field; adding caves to the mixture narrows
it further.

"A bone one mile back in a cave may take half a day to reach," Schubert
said. "That filters out a lot of people."

In fact, many important fossil finds are made by recreational cavers, who
bring the remains to the attention of scientists. Schubert hopes that
getting the word out about the importance of such findings to the Ice Age
record will increase awareness among caving enthusiasts as well as other
researchers.

"It provides a message to them about another aspect of caves that needs to
be preserved," he said....