The Cooper River, which runs through the lowlands of South Carolina, is a reed-lined haven for sport fish and shorebirds. The waterway originates from Berkeley County’s Lake Moultrie. From there, it progresses to Charleston and merges with Ashley and Wando to form the city’s world-famous port. (Ever heard of Fort Sumter?)
The Cooper River is named after the 17th-century English lord Anthony Ashley Cooper. As time went on, it became a lifeline to the region’s thriving rice trade. But Cooper also bears traces of a much earlier chapter in South Carolina history.
If you know where to look and have scuba equipment on hand, you may find a mammoth tusk lurking beneath the surface of the water.
Matthew Weas knows the feeling. He and his father, Joe Harvey, are experienced local divers who patrol Cooper for fossils; many of these are on display at the Berkeley County Museum in Moncks Corner, South Carolina.
Not all of the giants they encounter are prehistoric. To hear Weas say it to live Today’s river monsters are not uncommon. “I experienced something [catfish] I swallowed my hand in an underwater log jam, and a manatee surfaced as I swam towards the boat… [and] Alligators swim toward me,” he says via email. He once came “nose to nose” with a nearly 10-foot-long alligator.
Cave of Wonders
The American alligator may be synonymous with the South, but underwater fossil hunting is a global pastime. Outside the United States, divers have encountered paleo treasures in places like Australia, Bali, Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico and the Bahamas.
In 2014, a real “lemur graveyard” was discovered in the sunken caves of Madagascar’s Tsimanampetsotsa National Park. The major discovery was made possible by an international collaborative effort between anthropologists, paleontologists and scuba divers.
Hundreds of bones were revealed in underwater sediments. Some came from contemporary species, such as the invasive black rat. Other remains were left behind by animals that became extinct in the last few thousand years.
The site quickly became the largest data cache in the world. Pakylemur fossils. This creature, an ancient relative of the frilled lemur, was about twice as heavy, weighing an estimated 22 pounds (10 kilograms). He would be completely dwarfed by those the size of a gorilla. MesopropithecusA huge lemur is also represented in these caves.
Along with pygmy hippo, elephant bird and horned crocodile material, the dive team also recovered a rare, nearly complete skull of another ancient lemur species.
Access to the prize was not easy. The caves in question were probably dry at one point, but today they have become part of a flooded sinkhole. Currently, the cave containing the most fossils in the system is located at a depth of 25 meters. It is a dark environment with a complex layout, filled with horizontal passages and murky waters.
In short, this is not a place for novice divers. Cave diving is generally a high-risk sport; If you go off course you won’t always be able to get directly to the surface. So to avoid getting lost, scuba divers on the 2014 team followed their route with a safety line of approximately 879 feet (268 meters).
Preparation is Key
Another valuable hole is the Page-Ladson area in northwest Florida. Hidden beneath the Aucilla River, this site contains some of the oldest known human artifacts in North America. The mastodon bones from the area are equally fascinating; These include some 14,550-year-old fossils bearing scars that suggest the animals were slaughtered by ancient Floridians.
Tannins are a real pain in the ass here. Tannins, a vital component in skin, are chemical compounds released by various plants. When these seep into ponds or rivers, they can turn the water blackish brown. It goes without saying that this negatively affects visibility. In some corners of Aucilla, tannins help block sunlight, shrouding everything more than 10 feet below the surface in deep darkness.
To the north in the Cooper River, divers face the same problem. To be clear, they and their Aucilla-based colleagues are making good use of high-wattage underwater lights.
Weas says he and his father wear Dive-Rite “cave lights” on their helmets. The rest of the duo’s equipment will look very familiar to other amateur divers. “We use the standard tank, regulators and BCDs,” says Weas. (For the record, BCD stands for “Buoyancy Compensation Device”, which is a wearable device used to keep divers at the desired depth.)
On summer dives, Weas and Harvey can comfortably wear trousers and a T-shirt. However, in some weather conditions, dry suits, semi-dry suits or wetsuits may be more appropriate. Because Cooper is exposed to strong tidal currents, the speed of the water at any given moment affects his schedules. Faster currents allow for shorter trips.
Giant Sharks… What about Beavers?!
Why do people go to so much trouble when there are so many fossils on land? First of all, immersion has some preservation benefits. Bones deep within a sunken cave are less likely to be disturbed by scavengers or the ravages of an outdoor climate.
While land fossils are generally covered in rocks, some bones in flowing rivers are polished clean by currents.
Most of the material Weas discovered in the Cooper River comes from two different points in geological time. The river’s most sought-after fossils are probably shark teeth from the Miocene Period, which lasted from 23 million to 5.3 million years ago. Some of these predators got pretty big: The tooth of the extinct megalodon shark could be up to 19.3 centimeters long!
“Shark teeth are the most common finds,” says Weas, “but whale ear bones are also [in] A close second.”
Other Cooper River fossils were revealed during the more recent Pleistocene Epoch. It began just 2.6 million years ago and ended just 11,700 years before present. At that time, sea levels were lower and the Carolina coastline extended further east.
Over the years, Weas and Harvey unearthed the bones of Pleistocene mammoths, capybaras, hoofed herbivores and giant beavers. The latter requires an explanation. During the last ice age, North American wetlands were invaded. castoroidsBeavers 2.5 meters (8 feet) tall, possibly weighing 220 pounds (100 kilograms) or more.
It’s undoubtedly scary when a manatee sneaks up on you. But imagine diving into one of these mega rodents! Thanks but no thanks.
Now This Is Interesting
Great Britain was connected to the rest of mainland Europe until 8,200 years ago. For this reason, mammoth bones are periodically recovered from the North Sea, which separates the United Kingdom from its continental neighbours.
Original article: Bones at the River Bottom: The Strange World of Underwater Fossil Hunting
Copyright © 2024 HowStuffWorks, a division of InfoSpace Holdings, LLC, a System1 Company