Big Bone Cave
Encyclopedia
Big Bone Cave is a cave
located in Van Buren County, Tennessee
in the community of Bone Cave
. It is notable both for its history and current recreational use. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
and is a 334 acres (1.4 km²) State Natural Area managed by Rock Island State Park (Tennessee)
. It is named for the discovery of the bones of a giant ground sloth
in 1811. The cave was operated as a saltpeter
mine, notably during the War of 1812
and the American Civil War
. A variety of natural remains and human artifacts has been well preserved in the dry atmosphere of the cave.
The cave is the 7th longest mapped cave in Tennessee.
skeleton of a giant ground sloth
(Megalonyx jeffersonii), from which its name is derived. The skeleton is now in the collection of the Academy of Natural Sciences
in Philadelphia. Later notable discoveries, in 1971, include the fossil bones of a large, Pleistocene jaguar
(Panthera
onca augusta).
Big Bone Cave was mined extensively by Native Americans
from about 3,000 years ago to 1,500 years ago. These people were mining medicinal salts and gypsum
. The exact use of the gypsum is unknown, but it may have served some religious purpose. Other caves in the region were also mined for salts and gypsum, including Mammoth Cave, Kentucky.
Due to the extremely dry nature of much of Big Bone Cave, some remarkable artifacts have been found inside the cave. These are items that would have rapidly deteriorated in surface sites. Especially numerous were cane torches, which have yielded Carbon-14 dates of from 1,050 B.C. to A.D. 355. Other artifacts found in the cave include woven moccasins, gourd fragments, and a woven fiber bag. Desiccated human feces are also numerous in the cave. These were originally located by the Clayton County Cavers Grotto on December 13, 1981. This discovery led to a full-scale archaeological study conducted between August 1984 and August 1985. Archaeological studies continue in the cave to the present.
Big Bone Cave was operated as a saltpeter mine (the principal ingredient of gunpowder
) from 1810 to 1815, and again during the American Civil War from about 1861 through 1863. Big Bone Cave was possibly the largest ever saltpeter mining operation in the United States. Mining ceased when Tennessee was occupied by Federal troops.
Again, due to the extremely dry nature of most of this cave, these saltpeter mining artifacts remain in a remarkable state of preservation. The area known as the "Skyway", which is located in the Bone Cave Branch, has dozens of large, square-shaped leaching vats, located beneath an aerial walkway, known as the "Skyway". Also in this section are wooden water pipes and a few wooden ladders. The wood is basically as sound as when it was placed in the cave, probably during the Civil War. The area known as the "Musterground" has five (5) large, square-shaped vats that are also in a well-preserved state. It is assumed that these date from the Civil War. However, there are dozens of smaller, V-shaped vats that are in a deteriorated state. It is assumed that these are older and date from the War of 1812. The cave had another entrance at the far end of the Musterground that was known as the Arch Cave Entrance. There is good reason to believe that this entrance may have collapsed during the New Madrid Earthquakes that occurred between December 16, 1811 and February 7, 1812.
Big Bone Cave was purchased by the State of Tennessee in 1974 and is now a State Natural Area in the State Park system.
and the 230th longest mapped cave in the world. It is securely gated and entrance is by permission only.
The State of Tennessee closed all State-owned caves to exploration and visitation in 2009 due to the spread of White nose syndrome
, a disease that affects only bats. Probably the only persons who can obtain permission to enter Big Bone Cave at the current time would be biologists conducting research on bats. Very few bats live in Big Bone Cave.
The National Speleological Society, the largest group of cave scientists and cave explorers in the United States, published the book "Big Bone Cave" in May, 2006. This 226 page long book by Larry E. Matthews chronicles the complete history of Big Bone Cave from prehistoric times through the present and includes 104 illustrations, mostly photographs. It can be ordered from the National Speleological Society at www.caves.org or from Amazon.com.
Cave
A cave or cavern is a natural underground space large enough for a human to enter. The term applies to natural cavities some part of which is in total darkness. The word cave also includes smaller spaces like rock shelters, sea caves, and grottos.Speleology is the science of exploration and study...
located in Van Buren County, Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
in the community of Bone Cave
Bone Cave, Tennessee
Bone Cave is an unincorporated community in Van Buren County, Tennessee, United States. It lies near U.S. Route 70S northwest of the town of Spencer, the county seat of Van Buren County. Its elevation is 965 feet , and it is located at...
. It is notable both for its history and current recreational use. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
and is a 334 acres (1.4 km²) State Natural Area managed by Rock Island State Park (Tennessee)
Rock Island State Park (Tennessee)
Rock Island State Park is a state park in Warren County and White County, Tennessee, located in the Southeastern United States. The park is named after the community of Rock Island, Tennessee, which in turn received its name from an island on the Caney Fork upstream from the Collins River...
. It is named for the discovery of the bones of a giant ground sloth
Ground sloth
Ground sloths are a diverse group of extinct sloths, in the mammalian superorder Xenarthra. Their most recent survivors lived in the Antilles, where it has been proposed they may have survived until 1550 CE; however, the youngest AMS radiocarbon date reported is 4190 BP, calibrated to c. 4700 BP...
in 1811. The cave was operated as a saltpeter
Potassium nitrate
Potassium nitrate is a chemical compound with the formula KNO3. It is an ionic salt of potassium ions K+ and nitrate ions NO3−.It occurs as a mineral niter and is a natural solid source of nitrogen. Its common names include saltpetre , from medieval Latin sal petræ: "stone salt" or possibly "Salt...
mine, notably during the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
and the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. A variety of natural remains and human artifacts has been well preserved in the dry atmosphere of the cave.
The cave is the 7th longest mapped cave in Tennessee.
History
Big Bone Cave is notable for the 1811 discovery of the fossilFossil
Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...
skeleton of a giant ground sloth
Ground sloth
Ground sloths are a diverse group of extinct sloths, in the mammalian superorder Xenarthra. Their most recent survivors lived in the Antilles, where it has been proposed they may have survived until 1550 CE; however, the youngest AMS radiocarbon date reported is 4190 BP, calibrated to c. 4700 BP...
(Megalonyx jeffersonii), from which its name is derived. The skeleton is now in the collection of the Academy of Natural Sciences
Academy of Natural Sciences
The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, formerly Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, is the oldest natural science research institution and museum in the New World...
in Philadelphia. Later notable discoveries, in 1971, include the fossil bones of a large, Pleistocene jaguar
Jaguar
The jaguar is a big cat, a feline in the Panthera genus, and is the only Panthera species found in the Americas. The jaguar is the third-largest feline after the tiger and the lion, and the largest in the Western Hemisphere. The jaguar's present range extends from Southern United States and Mexico...
(Panthera
Panthera
Panthera is a genus of the family Felidae , which contains four well-known living species: the tiger, the lion, the jaguar, and the leopard. The genus comprises about half of the Pantherinae subfamily, the big cats...
onca augusta).
Big Bone Cave was mined extensively by Native Americans
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
from about 3,000 years ago to 1,500 years ago. These people were mining medicinal salts and gypsum
Gypsum
Gypsum is a very soft sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate dihydrate, with the chemical formula CaSO4·2H2O. It is found in alabaster, a decorative stone used in Ancient Egypt. It is the second softest mineral on the Mohs Hardness Scale...
. The exact use of the gypsum is unknown, but it may have served some religious purpose. Other caves in the region were also mined for salts and gypsum, including Mammoth Cave, Kentucky.
Due to the extremely dry nature of much of Big Bone Cave, some remarkable artifacts have been found inside the cave. These are items that would have rapidly deteriorated in surface sites. Especially numerous were cane torches, which have yielded Carbon-14 dates of from 1,050 B.C. to A.D. 355. Other artifacts found in the cave include woven moccasins, gourd fragments, and a woven fiber bag. Desiccated human feces are also numerous in the cave. These were originally located by the Clayton County Cavers Grotto on December 13, 1981. This discovery led to a full-scale archaeological study conducted between August 1984 and August 1985. Archaeological studies continue in the cave to the present.
Big Bone Cave was operated as a saltpeter mine (the principal ingredient of gunpowder
Gunpowder
Gunpowder, also known since in the late 19th century as black powder, was the first chemical explosive and the only one known until the mid 1800s. It is a mixture of sulfur, charcoal, and potassium nitrate - with the sulfur and charcoal acting as fuels, while the saltpeter works as an oxidizer...
) from 1810 to 1815, and again during the American Civil War from about 1861 through 1863. Big Bone Cave was possibly the largest ever saltpeter mining operation in the United States. Mining ceased when Tennessee was occupied by Federal troops.
Again, due to the extremely dry nature of most of this cave, these saltpeter mining artifacts remain in a remarkable state of preservation. The area known as the "Skyway", which is located in the Bone Cave Branch, has dozens of large, square-shaped leaching vats, located beneath an aerial walkway, known as the "Skyway". Also in this section are wooden water pipes and a few wooden ladders. The wood is basically as sound as when it was placed in the cave, probably during the Civil War. The area known as the "Musterground" has five (5) large, square-shaped vats that are also in a well-preserved state. It is assumed that these date from the Civil War. However, there are dozens of smaller, V-shaped vats that are in a deteriorated state. It is assumed that these are older and date from the War of 1812. The cave had another entrance at the far end of the Musterground that was known as the Arch Cave Entrance. There is good reason to believe that this entrance may have collapsed during the New Madrid Earthquakes that occurred between December 16, 1811 and February 7, 1812.
Big Bone Cave was purchased by the State of Tennessee in 1974 and is now a State Natural Area in the State Park system.
Speleology
The current map of Big Bone Cave shows 9.627 miles (15.494 kilometers) of surveyed passage. The original copyright of the map was 1972 and revised edition copyright 1979 by Ronald L. Zawialak and John L. Smyre. Cartography by Ronald L. Zawislak. This makes Big Bone Cave the 7th longest mapped cave in Tennessee, the 60th longest mapped cave in the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and the 230th longest mapped cave in the world. It is securely gated and entrance is by permission only.
The State of Tennessee closed all State-owned caves to exploration and visitation in 2009 due to the spread of White nose syndrome
White nose syndrome
White nose syndrome is a poorly understood disease associated with the deaths of more than a million bats. The condition, named for a distinctive fungal growth around the muzzles and on the wings of many affected animals, was first identified in a cave in Schoharie County, New York, USA, in...
, a disease that affects only bats. Probably the only persons who can obtain permission to enter Big Bone Cave at the current time would be biologists conducting research on bats. Very few bats live in Big Bone Cave.
The National Speleological Society, the largest group of cave scientists and cave explorers in the United States, published the book "Big Bone Cave" in May, 2006. This 226 page long book by Larry E. Matthews chronicles the complete history of Big Bone Cave from prehistoric times through the present and includes 104 illustrations, mostly photographs. It can be ordered from the National Speleological Society at www.caves.org or from Amazon.com.
Further reading
- Smyre, John L. and Zawislak, Ronald L., (2007) Big Bone and the Caves of Bone Cave Mountain , Rocky River Press, Rock Island Tennessee ISBN 978-0-9779471-0-2 ISBN 0-9779471-0-6
- Matthews, Larry E. (2006) Big Bone Cave, National Speleological Society ISBN 1-879961-24-5
- Barr, Thomas C., Jr., "Caves Of Tennessee", Bulletin 64 of the Tennessee Division of Geology, 1961. See pages 451-460.