Late Quaternary Herpetofauna 9 1 



fish and mammal remains. Most of the fish and herptile remains from 

 Unit W3 are in good condition, suggesting that they have been subjected 

 to relatively little fluvial abrasion, whereas the mammal remains range 

 from unabraded to heavily abraded. Four herptile specimens were 

 found in the lower several centimeters of Unit W2, associated with large 

 numbers of mollusk, fish, and mammal remains. These remains do not 

 show evidence of abrasion. Two herptile specimens were found in the 

 lowest 5 cm of Unit Wl, a humus-rich mud that has preserved fluid- 

 produced whorls at its contact with Unit W2. Herptiles have not been 

 found to date at SV-1 in units PI, W4, the upper part of W2, H2, or HI 

 (Fig. 2). 



Late in August 1983, the foundation of the old Olin Mathieson 

 Chemical Corporation's company store was demolished and the area 

 excavated with heavy machinery in preparation for construction of a 

 new drug store. This excavation (site SV-2) exposed only artificial fill or 

 otherwise disturbed sediments around most of the periphery and across 

 the bottom, but a small section of undisturbed natural sediment was 

 exposed along the southeast wall. Here, 225 cm of artificial fill was 

 underlain by 13 cm of what appeared to be natural lacustrine clay, 

 although this stratum did contain a few very small (< 3 mm) intrusive 

 brick fragments. Beneath the clay was a layer of alluvium, consisting of 

 medium sand to very fine gravel, numerous small pieces of wood, and 

 bones and teeth. No intrusive material was found. This alluvium was 

 separated from the overlying clay by a distinct boundary, and it lay 

 unconformably upon well-scoured bedrock, indicating that it was depos- 

 ited while the valley was still being drained by vigorously flowing water. 

 This site is low and near the water gap leading to the Holston River; it 

 is therefore unlikely that the alluvium could have been deposited after 

 Lake Totten had formed unless the lake drained periodically. No radio- 

 carbon date was obtained for this deposit, but we tentatively identify it 

 as a member of Unit W3. Six herptile specimens were found in a 5- 

 gallon (19-1) sample of this unit collected 3 September 1983. Also 

 included in this sample was an abraded fragment of a mastodon 

 (Mammut americanum) tooth and the unabraded crown of a superior 

 molar of a cervid (Sangamona or Odocoileus). 



CSB-2A was excavated 28 and 30 October 1978, under the direc- 

 tion of Charles S. Bartlett, Jr., as part of an effort to salvage paleonto- 

 logical and archeological resources prior to construction of bleachers at 

 the Saltville softball park. Bartlett reported finding many rounded 

 fragments of large mammal bones and teeth, along with one fragment of 

 turtle bone, in a "pebble zone" that we tentatively assign to Unit W4 (C. 

 S. Bartlett, Jr., field notes, 28 and 30 October 1978; pers. comm.). The 

 turtle bone (USNM 404721) does not, however, show signs of abrasion. 

 Rather, its condition is similar to other remains found in units W2 and 

 W3. Based on the condition of USNM 404721, we suspect that it might 

 have come from the bottom, or from near the bottom, of Unit W2 

 instead of from within Unit W4, which typically contains noticeably 

 abraded remains of large mammals only. Alternatively, Bartlett's "peb- 

 ble zone" might have included, or consisted entirely of, Unit W3. 



