Stratigraphy, Morphology, 

and Paleoecology of a 

Fossil Peccary Herd 

From Western Kentucky 

By WARREN I. FINCH, FRANK C. WHITMORE, JR., and JOHN D. SIMS 

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 790 

W ark done in part in cooperation with the 

Kentucky Geological Survey 

Nature of the death and burial of the herd and 

comparison with other fossil peccary herds of 

North America 

UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, WASHINGTON : 1972 
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

ROGERS C. B. MORTON, Secretary 

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

V. E. McKelvey, Director 

Library of Congress catalog-card No. 72-600269 

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office 

Washington, D.C. 20402- Price 70 cents (paper cover) 

Stock Number 2401-00248 
CONTENTS 

Page Page 

Abstract..................................................................................... 1 Fossils-Continued 

Introduction.............................................................................. 1 Platygonus compressus Le Conte 1848-Continued 

Acknowledgments .............. .'...................................................... 1 Composition and inferred habits of the herd...... 17 

Geologic setting........................................................................ 2 Other herds of Platygonus compressus................ 18 

Silt stratigraphy...................................................................... 2 Denver, Colo., herd........................................... 18 

Silt petrology............................................................................ 4 Goodland, Kans., herd..................................... 19 

Mineralogy and size analyses......................................... 7 Sandusky County, Ohio, herd......................... 19 

Interpretation................................................................... 8 Reading, Ohio, herd......................................... 19 

Silt fabric and paleowind directions............................. 8 Columbus, Ohio, herd....................................... 19 

Fossils........................................................................................ 11 Belding, Mich., herd......................................... 20 

Platygonus compressus Le Conte 1848......................... 12 Gainesville, N.Y., herd.................................... 20 

Positions of the skeletons........................................ 12 Pittsford?, N.Y., herd...................................... 20 

Skeleton 1.......................................................... 12 Size distribution in Platygonus compressus........ 20 

Skeleton 2.......................................................... 14 Mollusca............................................................................. 23 

Skeleton 3.......................................................... 15 Age of fossils.................................................................... 23 

Skeleton 4.......................................................... 16 Paleoecology and the death of the herd................................ 23 

Skeleton 5.......................................................... 17 References cited........................................................................ 24 

ILLUSTRATIONS 

Page 

FIGURE 1. Map of Hickman 7lh-minute quadrangle, showing the fossil peccary locality in western Kentucky................... 2 

2. Section showing stratigraphic setting of fossil peccaries in Roxana Silt at White's gravel pit........................... 3 

3. Chart showing correlation of silt units at the peccary locality with the classification of the Wisconsinan in 

Illinois................................................................................................................................................................................. 5 

4. Graphs showing X-ray mineralogy, microscopically visible carbonate content, and ¢-mean of samples 1-18..... 6 

5. Graph showing mean and standard deviation of clay-mineral content of silt from peccary locality................... 7 

6. Silt-fabric rose diagrams for Roxana Silt and basal 7 feet of Peoria Loess............................................................. 9 

7. Full-circle wind rose diagram based on readings of directions from which wind blew at Barkley Field, Paducah, Ky., and semicircle wind rose of strike directions of same wind data................................................... 9 

8. Silt-fabric rose diagram for samples from peccary zone............................................................................................... 10 

9. Plan view and section showing relative position of the five peccary skeletons............................................................ 10 

10-13. Photographs of peccary Platygonus compressus: 

10. Skeleton 1................................................................................................................................................................. 13 

11. Skeleton 2 and posterior part of skeleton 3 ............................. :.......................................................................... 14 

12. Anterior part of skeleton 3 and posterior part of skeleton 4......................................................................... 15 

13. Parts of skeleton 4 and skeleton 5.............................................................................. .......................................... 17 

TABLES 

Page 

TABLE 1. Measurements of skulls, mandibles, and teeth of Platygonus compressus from near Hickman, Ky., and Denver, Colo............................................................................................................................................................................ 16 

2. Measurements of postcranial skeletons of Platygonus compressus from near Hickman, Ky., and Denver, Colo. 21 

3. Measurements indicative of stature of Platygonus comp1·essus..................................................................................... 22 

III 
STRATIGRAPHY, MORPHOLOGY, AND PALEOECOLOGY OF A FOSSIL 

PECCARY HERD FROM WESTERN KENTUCKY 

By WARREN I. FINCH, FRANK C. WHITMORE, JR., and JoHN D. SIMS 

ABSTRACT 

Fossils of a herd of five adult peccaries, Platygonus com1n·essus Le Conte, were discovered in May 1967 beneath about 

65 feet (20 m) of silt. Their position was 4-5.5 feet (1.2-1.6 

m) above the base of the Roxana Silt of Wisconsinan age, 

which rests unconformably on continental gravel deposits of 

Pliocene ( ?) and Pleistocene age. The peccaries were confined 

to· an area 3 feet wide and 11 feet long (1 by 3.3 m) and lay 

with their heads pointed southeastward on an indistinct upward-sloping surface. This surface marks a gradational 

change from mixed alluvial and eolian silt below to entirely 

eolian silt above. X-ray mineralogic and size analyses and 

thin-section examinations of samples from the full 11 feet 

(3.3 m) of Roxana and the basal 7 feet (2.1 m) of the overlying Peoria Loess confirm the field stratigraphic relations of 

the two units and indicate several probable paleosols. Silt 

fabric, based on orientation of quartz grains, shows maximums that fit the dominant southwest and northwest presentday wind directions. Morphology and position of each skeleton 

are described in detail. The poses of the skeletons indicate 

that the herd died quietly and was buried quickly, probably 

overwhelmed in a duststorm as they walked southeastward 

up a path from the river with their backs to the world. Probably the animals either died of cold or were smothered while 

comatose because of cold, and they were buried almost immediately. Size distribution of other Platygonus comp1·essus 

herds is compared with that of the Hickman herd. Mollusca 

associated with the skeletons have a radiocarbon age of 

>34,000 years B.P. 

INTRODUCTION 

In May 1967, an alert heavy-equipment operator, 

John Henson, unearthed bones of a fossil peccary 

while removing thick silt overburden from gravel in 

a pit about 1.5 miles (2.5 km) southwest of Hickman, Ky., along the Chickasaw Bluffs of the Mississippi River (fig. 1; Morgan, 1967). Mr. Henson immediately informed Richard W. White, M.D., owner 

of the pit. The following day Warren I. Finch, who 

was mapping the geology of the Hickman 71j2-minute quadrangle, visited Dr. White to obtain permission for a field party to visit his properties, and Dr. 

White told Finch of the discovery. Dr. White unhesitatingly gave the U.S. Geological Survey permission 

to remove the bones. Excavation took about 5 days 

and disclosed a total of five peccaries. It was done 

under the direction of John D. Sims and Finch with 

the assistance of Roger Swanson, Don Russell, and 

Fred Wreck of the U.S. Geological Survey and of 

Robert Langford, Dr. White's nephew. Owing to the 

fragility of the bones, they were trucked by Finch 

and Sims to the U.S. National Museum, Washington, 

D.C., where under the direction of Frank C. Whitmore, Jr., they were cleaned for study and display. 

In the resulting study, presented here, the geologic 

portion is by Finch, the report on the peccaries is by 

Whitmore, and the portion on silt petrology is by 

Sims. All three authors collaborated in the interpretation of the data. 

Original measurements were made in both the 

English and the metric systems; where possible, 

equivalent metric values and scales are shown. 

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 

We thank and commend Mr. John Henson, excavator, of Columbus, Ky., for his alertness in noticing 

the bones and in stopping his excavation to save 

them from destruction. We are grateful to Dr. Richard W. White for allowing us to excavate on his 

property, which made possible the preservation·of the 

skeletons. Our appreciation is extended to all those 

who helped excavate the bones, particularly·to Robert 

Langford, a student of archeology at Memphis State 

University, for his capable and spirited assistance 

in the excavation. The peccary skeletons were prepared for study and exhibition by Sigmund J. Sweda, 

Division of Vertebrate Paleontology, U.S. National 

Museum; Ralph E. Eshelman, U.S. Geological Survey; and Susan H. Whitmore. Photographs of the 

skeletons shown in figures 9 through 13 are by Robert H. McKinney and Haruo E. Mochizuki, U.S. Geological Survey. John E. Guilday, Carnegie Museum, 

made helpful suggestions, as did Clayton E. Ray, 

U.S. National Museum, who reviewed the paleontological portion of the manuscript. We thank Craig C. 

Black of the Carnegie Museum and Mrs. Elizabeth 

Dalve of the University of Cincinnati for permission 

1 
2 STRATIGRAPHY, MORPHOLOGY, AND PALEOECOLOGY, PECCARY HERD, KENTUCKY 

to study specimens at their institutions,! and we 

thank G. Edward Lewis, U.S. Geological Survey, for 

furnishing measurements and data on the group of 

peccaries he collected in Denver, as well as for helpful discussion. 

GEOLOGIC SETTING 

The fossil peccary locality is near the axis of the 

northern part of the Mississippi embayment. The 

oldest rocks that crop out in the vicinity of the fossil 

locality are silt and clay of the Jackson Formation 

of late Eocene age. The Jackson is unconformably 

overlain at most places by continental gravel deposits of Pliocene ( ?) and Pleistocene age. Along the 

bluffs in the Hickman quadrangle, these gravel deposits range in thickness from 5 feet to more than 

40 feet (1.5-12 m), and at the peccary site they average about 20 feet (6 m). A few miles east of the 

bluffs in the quadrangle, the gravel deposits are locally absent (Finch, 1971). The gravel deposits, and 

locally the Jackson Formation, are overlain by one 

or more blankets of predominantly eolian silt, whose 

combined thickness in the quadrangle ranges from 

45 feet to 80 feet (13.5-24 m). The relations of the 

various geologic units at the fossil locality are shown 

in the section in figure 2. 

SILT STRATIGRAPHY 

In the area of the fossil locality, the silt can be 

divided into a lower unit, the Roxana Silt, and an 

upper unit, the Peoria Loess. The Roxana Silt is 

characteristically chocolate brown, noncalcareous, 

and unfossiliferous and in many places forms a 

fairly sharp contact with the overlying Peoria, 

which is commonly moderate-yellowish-brown calcareous fossiliferous silt. At the peccary site and at 

gravel pits 1,000 feet (305 m) to the north and about 

1 mile (1.5 km) to the southwest (fig. 1), however, 

the Roxana is generally various shades of brown, but 

locally is gray, and is variably calcareous and fossiliferous·. At these localities, the contact between the 

Roxana and Peoria is difficult to determine. 

In the Hickman quadrangle, the Roxana is exposed 

only along and near the Chickasaw Bluffs (fig. 1), 

where it ranges in thickness from 0 to 15 feet 

(0-4.6 m). It either is indistinguishable from the 

Peoria or, as is more likely, is absent from the east 

half of the quadrangle. The Peoria is exposed 

throughout the upland area and ranges in thickness 

from 0 to 65 feet (0-20 m). Its thickness is greatest 

along the bluffs and thins to 25 feet (7.6 m) or less 

1After Whitmore made his measurements of the Carnegie Museum specimen, the specimen was transferred to the National Museum of Canada, 

Ottawa. We_ are grateful to C. R. Harington of the National Museum for 

providing three additional measurements. 

at the eastern boundary. The maximum combined 

thickness of the Roxana and Peoria in western Kentucky is 82 feet (25 m) in the Bondurant quadrangle, about 2 miles (3.2 km) south of the peccary site; 

at the peccary site the combined thickness is about 

70 feet (21 m). 

FUL'[O~ COU!;!'I_Y___ _ __ KENTUCKY 

36° OBION COUNTY -- TENNESSEE - - 30' L_ ______________ _:_:..==----=s7

9•-:7o7' 30" 

89.15' 0 2 MILES 

0 2 3 KILOMETERS 

FIGURE 1.- Map of the Hickman 7%-minute quadrangle, 

showing the fossil peccary locality in western Kentucky. 

A measured section of 66 feet (20.1 m) of silt at 

the peccary site follows. The calcareous character of 

the unit, determined with dilute hydrochloric acid, 

begins each description for emphasis. Color names 

and their numerical designations were determined 

by use of National Research Council's rock-color 

chart (Goddard and others, 1948). 

Peoria Loess (upper 4± ft excavated) : 

8. N oncalcareous silt, light- yellowish- brown 

(10YR 6/4), clayey, friable, unstratified, 

nonfossiliferous; A and B soil horizons 

Feet Meters 

not present owing to excavation .............. 17 5.2 

7. Calcareous silt, very pale brown (10YR 

7/3), slightly clayey, micaceous; abundant dark minerals; fossiliferous, most 

fossils occur singly (fossil mollusk locality 1,000 ft (305 m) north contains 

Deroce1·as laeve ( M iiller) , Discus cronk-

~itei (Newcomb), Punctum minutissi-
SILT STRATIGRAPHY 3 

Feet Meters 

Peoria Loess-Continued 

mum (Lea), Succinea grosvenori gelida 

(Baker) , Vertigo gouldii (Binney) , Hendersonia occulta Say, and other terrestrial gastropods according to Browne 

and Bruder ( 1963) ) ; nonstratified ........ 32 9.8 

6. Calcareous silt, pale-yellowish-gray ( 5 Y 

7 /2), clayey; abundant dark minerals, 

micaceous; contains large Gastropoda 

Allogona cf. A. profunda and Anguispi?·a cf. A. kochi in lower part; fairly 

compact; nonstratified................................ 6 1.8 

Total measured thickness of Peoria 

Loess ...................................................... 55 16.8 

Roxana Silt: 

5. Mostly noncalcareous silt but some spots 

weakly calcareous, light-yellowish-brown 

(10YR 6/4) to medium-yellowish-brown 

(10YR 5/2), clayey; abundant dark 

minerals; abundant root casts where calcareous; micaceous; nonfossiliferous; 

compact; nonstratified................................ 3 .9 

4. Non calcareous and subordinately calcareous silt, grayish-orange (10YR 7/4) 

to moderate-yellowish-brown (10YR 

5/4), slightly clayey; abundant dark 

minerals; contains carbonized wood fragments as much as 3 em long and, where 

calcareous, abundant carbonate root 

casts; compact; nonstratified.................... 2.5 . 76 

3. Mixed rioncalcareous and calcareous silt, 

moderate-yellowish-brown (10YR 5/4); 

Liesegang-like bands of grayish-orange 

(10YR 7/4) and dark-yellowish-orange 

(10YR 6/6), sparse clay, abundant dark 

minerals; pebbly; contains smooth-surfaced spheroidal nodules of calcium carbonate called loess kindchen 5-20 mm in 

diameter; contains fossil peccaries 

Platygonus compressus Le Conte and 

gastropods A nguispi1·a kochi that occur 

singly but more commonly in clusters 

5-8 m in diameter; pebbles in peccary 

zone consist of brown well-rounded to 

angular chert from granule size to 6 em 

long, yellowish-white quartz as much as 

15 mm across, yellow and red quartzite 

as much as 2 em across, and one silicified crinoid stem section; compact; nonstratified......................................................... 1.5 

2. Mixed noncalcareous and subordinately 

calcareous silt, light-brown (5YR 6/4) 

to moderate-yellowish-brown (10YR 

5/4), slightly clayey, micaceous; abundant dark minerals; sparse very fine 

quartz grains in lower 1 ft (0.3 m) ; 

some carbonate root casts; very sparse 

brown chert pebbles; locally contains 

sparse to abundant carbonized wood 

fragments 1-4 mm across in upper 1 ft 

(0.3 m) of dark-yellowish-brown (10YR 

4/2) silt; a few clusters of gastropod 

A nguispi1·a kochi; compact; nonstratified.................................................................. 3 

.46 

.9 

Feet Meters 

Roxana Silt-Continued 

1. Noncalcareous clayey silt, very pale brown 

( 10YR 7 /2) to moderate-yellowish-brown 

(10YR 5/4); sparse coarse to very 

coarse quartz grains, very sparse brown 

chert pebbles; compact, nonstratified; 

intergrades with underlying graveL...... 1 .3 

. Total thickness of Roxana SilL .......... 11 3.3 

Total measured thickness of Roxana 

Silt and Peoria Loess.......................... 66 20.1 

Continental deposits: 

Gravel, moderate-brown; pebbles, chiefly 

brown chert, as much as 5 em across; 

clayey sand matrix............................................ 1+ .3+ 

WEST EAST 

470' 

450' 

400' 

350' 

300' 

270' 

Peoria Loess 

···-···-···-···-···-···-···-···-···-···-···- ··-···-···-···-··· ··-:-:::.:.:.::-::.:.:.:.::-:-.:.::..7..:..:.:::-::.:.::-:::.:::-:-:.:..:.:..-:-::~:-:-::..:..:.-:-:-.~-::::.:.::-:-:-::..:..:.-:::~~-·_:_:.-:-:-::.:..:::-:-·· 

0 

0 

I 

100 

30 

I 

200 FEET 

60 METERS I 

FIGURE 2. - Section showing the stratigraphic setting of fossil peccaries in Roxana Silt at White's gravel pit near 

· Hickman, Ky. Vertical exaggeration X 4. Altitude is in 

feet above mean sea level. 

The silt at the peccary site is of rather uniform 

texture and is unstratified. Division of the silt into 

stratigraphic units is based mainly on color and on 

the presence or absence of calcareous zones. Three 

distinct but uneven and gradational color changes 

occur at the tops of units 3, 5; and 7, and one less 
4 STRATIGRAPH~ MORPHOLOG~AND PALEOECOLOGY, PECCARY HERD, KENTUCKY 

distinct occurs at the top of unit 6. The silt is calcareous, except for unit 8 and for parts of units 1 

through 5. At the outcrop the most noticeable break 

comes at the top of unit 5, about 11 feet (3.4 m) 

above the base. This break marks the highest noncalcareous silt and also separates moderate-brownish 

shades below from pale-grayish and pale-brownish 

shades above. The lower five units are designated 

here as the Roxana Silt; those above, as the Peoria 

Loess. Units 7 and 8 are typical Peoria, but unit 6 

seems to be a gradational zone between the Peoria 

and Roxana. The uppermost part of the Peoria, as 

represented by unit 8, is everywhere leached of its 

carbonate content. On the basis of a study of fossil 

Mollusca from a locality about 1,000 feet (305 m) to 

the north (fig. 1), Ruth G. Browne (written 

commun., 1967) placed the contact between "probable Farmdale" (Roxana as used here) and "typical 

Peoria" at about 15 feet ( 4.6 m) above the base of 

the silt section, which is just above the highest occurrence of the large Gastropoda Allogona profunda and 

Anguispira kochi. This contact corresponds with the 

highest occurrence of large gastropods, probably the 

same species, in unit 6 at the peccary site. 

The Roxana Silt is mostly of eolian origin, but the 

lower 1-4 feet (0.3-1.2 m) is at least partly alluvial. 

Scattered quartz and chert grains and pebbles in this 

lower part become more abundant toward the contact with the underlying gravel. A few crudely imbricate layers of whole and broken snail shells in this· 

lower part indicate stream action. The lower 1-4 feet 

(0.3-1.2 m) of the Roxana represents a transition 

between alluvial and eolian deposition, which was 

accompanied by soil formation. Such a transitional 

zone, though common· between gravel and loess in 

this region, is generally better developed and is characterized by red color and very abundant sand and 

pebbles. At the peccary site the upper limit of the 

transition zone seems to be an indistinct, uneven surface beneath which the silt is more compact than the 

silt above. 

Liesegang-like bands of limonitic coloration occur 

in the upper part of the transition zone; in some 

places these bands extend upward several feet into 

the overlying silt, and in others they extend downward nearly to the base of the Roxana. Most of the 

bands concentrically enclose silt of normal color; 

these centers may contain fossils. The fossil peccaries appear to lie on the upper surface of the transition zone and are enclosed by Liesegang-like bands. 

The banding is thought to have been produced by 

ground water carrying organic by-products of reduction away from the peccaries and other organisms. 

Occurrence of similar color bands was noted also at 

a gravel pit about 1 mile (1.5 m) southwest of Dr. 

White's pit (fig. 1). The association of the bones 

with color bands suggests that the areas in and 

around, and possibly between, these pits may be favorable sites for finding more vertebrate fossils. 

The name Roxana Silt is used here for the lower 

formation in preference to Farmdale Loess as previously used by Leighton and Willman (1949, 1950) 

in the Hickman area. A radiocarbon age of > 34,000 

years B.P. for the unit suggests that the unit is the 

Roxana Silt (Frye and Willman, 1960) and that it 

is correlative to part of the Altonian Substage of the 

Wisconsinan Stage, as used nearby in Illinois by 

Frye and Willman ( 1960). They restrict the term 

Farmdale to the organic-rich radiocarbon-dated silt 

and peat at and near the type locality in Illinois, and 

they define the Roxana Silt as the loessal and alluvial 

silt lying beneath the Farmdale (fig. 3). Leighton 

(1960) redefined the original Farmdale and proposed "a new name, Farm Creek, for the deposits of 

the original Farmdale type section in order to retain 

the name Farmdale for the glacial substage represented by loess deposition" (Frye and others, 1968, 

p. 15-16). Farmdale Silt as used by Frye and Willman (1960) is not present at the peccary locality. 

Loveland Silt of Illinoian age was not found in the 

Hickman area, but Leighton and Willman (1949, p. 

52, 55; 1950, p. 614) reported Loveland Loess beneath Farmdale Loess (Roxana Silt as used here) in 

the Mississippi River bluffs at localities that are 15 

miles (24 km) to the north and 15 miles to the southwest of Hickman. 

The Sangamon soil zone in the upland areas of the 

northern Mississippi embayment commonly occurs 

beneath either Peoria Loess or Roxana Silt, but it 

occurs only beneath Roxana where both the Peoria 

and the Roxana are present (fig. 3). It is developed 

only on Loveland Silt. Most of the zone is 3-6 feet 

(0.9-1.8 m) thick. It has not been found in the· Hickman area. 

SILT PETROLOGY 

Mineralogic and size anayses were made of the 

seemingly uniform silt of the Roxana and the lower 

part of the Peoria to investigate the validity of the 

field-determined contact between the two formations 

and to search for fossil soils developed at this contact 

as well as within the Roxana, especially at the peccary horizon. Fabric studies were made of oriented 

silt samples to test the generally accepted eolian origin of the silt. Paleowind directions indicated by the 

fabric study fit well the eastward thinning of the silt 

in the Hickman area and provide useful data on the 

paleoecology of the peccaries. 
TIME, IN 

RADIOCARBON 

YEARS 

B. P. 

LEIGHTON AND 

WILLMAN (1950) 

SILT PETROLOGY 

ILLINOIS CLASSIFICATION 

FRYE, GLASS, AND WILLMAN (1962) 

TIME ROCK UNIT 

PECCARY LOCALITY, 

FULTON COUNTY, 

KENTUCKY 

0-+------------------~-----------------+-------------------+------------------~ 

-

-

-

-

-

25,000-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

50,000-

-

-

-

-

-

-

70,000 

z 

U5 

z 

0 

u 

C/) 

?: 

MANKATO 

CARY 

TAZEWELL 

IOWAN 

FARMDALE 

LOESS 

z 

~ 

0:: 

0 

w 

a.. 

z 

~ 

z 

U5 

z 

0 

u 

C/) 

?: 

RECENT 

VALDERAN 

TWOCREEKAN ~-------+-----------~- -------

WOODFORDIAN Peoria Loess Peoria Loess 

r r- t--- Farmdale 1 ~and Srlt Peat r-r-[ lli 

1---F-AR-M-DA_L_I-AN---+---......_ ~~~~~"firm 

'-'-? ? ? 

ALTONIAN 

Roxana Loess, · · '-'- ? .........__ ? ._ zone IV 

Roxana Loess, 

zone III 

Roxana Loess, 

zone II 

~)~·~-J1:-/ Roxana Silt 

· 'if~ zone I-b 

~,-~w~:~ 

y 

)" 

v 

I . 

/ Roxana Srlt 

V zone I-a 

Roxana Silt 

·-r- ? r-r- ?r- ? • r- . -r- ? r- ? rRoxana 

--?-Peccary hor· 

rzon*-?-

Silt 1, .... 1~,.... ., 1- . 1,.... . ,,....,.... . ..... -. 

SANGAMONIAN (Sangamon Soil) 

FIGURE 3.- Correlation of silt units at the peccary locality with the classification of the Wisconsinan in 

Illinois (modified from Frye and Willman, 1963). *Approximate position of peccary horizon plotted according to probable stratigraphic position rather than radiocarbon age of >34,000 years B.P. 

479-128 0 - 73 - 2 

5 
6 STRATIGRAPHY, MORPHOLOGY, AND PALEOECOLOGY, PECCARY HERD, KENTUCKY 

¢ -MEAN 

CLAY MINERALOGY SAMPLE BULK MINERALOGY 

NUMBER 25 50 75 25 50 75 

18 

(/) 17 Quartz (/) 

w 

0 

....J 

:::; 16 a:: 

0 0 w 

a.. -' 

<( 

> 15 0:: 

w 

f-

~ 

14 :-:·: ~ 

if!idsinir: 

13 

12 

11 

10 

(.) 

-' 

<( 

> 9 0:: 

w 

fz 

8 

------------ ------------

- ------------- - - - - - - -- - - - ------------ 7 =-:::-=-=-:.Clay:::--=--=-=-=- f- ------------ ------------ -' ------------ (i) 

-_-_-_-_-_-_:_-_:_-_-_-_ 

<( 

z 

l{ 

6 <( 

1:j 

0:: 

(]) 5 -' 

<( 

> 

0:: 

w 

f-

~ 4 

3 

<( 2 -' 

<( 

> 

0:: 

w 

f-

~ Quartz 

FIGURE 4.- X-ray mineralogy, microscopically visible carbonate content, and ¢-mean of samples 1-18. Methods 

used to determine clay mineralogy are described by Schultz (1964); precision of determinations is generally within 10 percent. 
SILT PETROLOGY 7 

Samples of Roxana Silt and Peoria Loess were 

taken near the exposed bones of the peccaries from 

an 18-foot (5.5 m) section extending upward from 

the top of the continental gravel deposits. Each sample consisted of an oriented block, measuring about 

6 by 6 by 3 inches (15 by 15 by 8 em), from the midpart of each 1-foot (0.3 m) segment above the top 

of the gravel. The largest face of eacn block was 

parallel to the pit wall. Before removing each block 

from the pit wall, the azimuthal orientation of the 

face and a vertical were scribed on the block. Thin 

sections were cut parallel to the horizontal plane 

from each oriented sample. Bulk mineralogical, claymineral, and size-distribution determinations were 

made from material trimmed from each sample 

block. 

MINERALOGY AND SIZE ANALYSES 

Quartz, microcline, plagioclase, calcite, dolomite, 

and undifferentiated clay minerals were identified in 

thin sections. On the basis of mineralogy and texture 

of the silts in thin sections, the sampled section is 

seen to consist of four intervals (fig. 4) : interval A, 

lowermost 2 feet (0.6 m) (samples 1 and 2), sandy 

clayey silt with carbonate root casts; interval B, 4 

feet (1.3 m) (samples 3-6), feldspathic clayey silt, 

containing carbonate root casts in lower foot and 

disseminated calcite grains in upper 3 feet (0.9 m) ; 

interval C; 5 feet (1.5 m) (samples 7-11), noncalcareous dominantly nonfeldspathic clayey silt; and 

interval D, 7 feet (2.1 m) (samples 12-18), very 

calcareous silt with disseminated dolomite and calcite grains. Intervals A, B, and C correspond to the 

Roxana Silt, and interval D corresponds to the lower 

part of the Peoria Loess, as determined in the field. 

The peccary skeletons were found within lj2-2 feet 

(15-60 em) of the top interval B. 

Bulk mineralogy of unoriented samples and clay 

mineralogy of the <lO,_t (microns) oriented fractions on settle slides determined by X-ray analysis 

(Schultz, 1964) are shown in figure 4. The <lOp. 

fractions are chiefly clay minerals. These fractions 

contain montmorillonite and mixed-layer clays and 

minor amounts of illite, chlorite, and kaolinite. Mixedlayer clay minerals having possible montmorillonitevermiculite interlayering (L. G. Schultz, oral 

commun., 1968) are abundant in all samples. Claymineral proportions are given as percentages of the 

bulk sample and as percentages of the total clay-mineral fraction (fig. 4). 

Meap and standard deviations for clay-mineral 

contents of the clay mineral fraction of the samples 

are shown in figure 5. Values for montmorillonite 

and mixed-layer clay minerals combined for all 

samples average 77.8 percent. The content of mixedlayer clay minerals, which probably contain montmorillonite inter layers, averages 33.2 percent. 

Chlorite percentages are uniformly low and are generally near the limits of detection (Schultz, 1964, 

p. C13-Cl4). Kaolinite contents are low and do not 

exceed 10 percent. Illite averages about 10 percent in 

the 18 samples. The standard deviations ( u) for kaolinite, chlorite, and illite are ~ 6.0 percent, whereas 

for montmorillonite and mixed-layer clay they are 

> 6.0. The magnitude of u of the clay-mineral contents increases in the order kaolinite < chlorite < 

illite < montmorillonite ~ mixed-layer clay minerals. Interval D (Peoria Loess) averages more kaolinite, illite, and mixed-layer clay and less chlorite 

and montmorillonite than intervals B and C (Roxana Silt, above the transition zone). 

70.-----------------------------------~ 

0~----~----------------------------~ Kaolinite Chlorite Illite Montmor- Mixed-layer 

illonite clay 

,.lnte.val 0 (lower part of Peoria Loess)~ 

· e Intervals B and C (Roxana Silt q _ 

above transition zone) - X 

.A Interval A (transition zone) q 

8 Average of 18 samples 

FIGURE 5.- Mean (x) and standard deviation (u) of 

clay-mineral content of silt from peccary locality. 

Bulk mineralogic determination by X-ray diffraction shows that interval D (Peoria Loess) has a 

mean carbonate content of 24 percent (fig. 4). Interval C (upper part, Roxana Silt) contains no visible 
8 STRATIGRAPHY, MORPHOLOGY, AND PALEOECOLOGY, PECCARY HERD, KENTUCKY 

carbonate minerals as seen in thin sections, but it 

contains as much as 9 percent as determined by 

X-ray diffraction. Sample 11 shows an increase in 

total clay and a decrease in feldspar and dolomite 

over sample 12. Sample 7 shows a near absence of 

feldspars and carbonates and a high clay content. 

This clay contains more than 75 percent montmorillonite, the highest proportion of the mineral in any 

of the 18 samples. The average total carbonate content of interval Dis 24 percent, whereas the average 

of intervals Band Cis 7 percent. Thin-section examination shows that the carbonate grains in interval 

B have two habits: some grains are subangular to 

subrounded and appear to be detrital; the others 

have intricate grain boundaries that interlock with 

grains of quartz, feldspar, and clay clasts, and they 

appear to be recrystallized or authigenic. Dolomite is 

the dominant carbonate mineral in interval D (Peoria) and a minor constituent in intervals A, B, and 

C (Roxana). Calcite is rare or absent in interval D 

(Peoria) but is present in amounts greater than 

those of dolomite in intervals A, B, and C (Roxana), 

except in sample 5. Frye, Glass, and Willman ( 1962, 

p. 13) stated that calcite is more common than dolomite in the Roxana south of the Missouri River 

whereas dolomite is the dominant carbonate minerai 

in the Peoria in Illinois. These differences are explained by the fact that the older western tills, which 

wer~ sources of detritus for the Roxana, are high in 

calcite, whereas the younger tills to the east in the 

Lake Michigan lobe, which were sources of detritus 

for the Peoria, are high in dolomite. 

Size analyses of the silt were made by means of a 

~oulter Counter (electronic zone-sensing particlesize analyzer). The ">5t-t fraction was analyzed at intervals of 0.5¢. Phi-means range from 4.8 to 5.3 units 

(36t-t-25t-t) and are plotted in figure 4. These data 

~how .little variability though the ¢-mean (coarsenIng) In samples stratigraphically above sample 11 

(fig. 4) in general slightly decreases. Sample 11 

probably represents the contact zone between the 

Roxana Silt and the Peoria Loess. Phi-skewness 

values are also relatively constant throughout the 

sampled interval. Visual inspection of the plot of 

¢~means (Mcb) in figure 4 shows Mcb to be < 5.0 for 

SIX samples from the Peoria and shows Mcb to be 

> 5.0 for eight samples and < 5.0 for one sample 

from the Roxana (excluding samples where 

Mcb==5.0). The value Mcb==5.0 serves as a discriminant between the coarser grained silt of the Peoria 

above and the finer grained silt of the Roxana below 

at. this locality. Analysis of the ¢-means by the 

Fisher exact probability test (Siegel, 1956) at the 

>99.8-percent confidence level results in the rejection of the hypothesis that ¢-means from Peoria and 

Roxana belong to a single population. 

INTERPRETATION 

The mineralogic and size data may be interpreted 

two ways with respect to stratigraphy and possible 

fossil soils. The preferred interpretation is the designation of samples 1 and 2 (interval A) as pre-Wisconsinan paleosol and mixed loess and bedrock materials formed at the onset of loess deposition on the 

pre-Wisconsinan land surface; samples 3-11 (interv~ls B and C), as Roxana Silt (for purposes of mapping and general stratigraphic discussion samples 1 

and 2 are included in the Roxana) ; and samples 12-

18 (interval D), as the lower part of the Peoria Loess. 

If samples 3-11 represent Roxana, then samples 7 and 

8 are interpreted as soil formed on the Roxana I-b 

of Frye and Willman (1963) and samples 9-11 are 

interpreted as part or all of Roxana zones II, III, 

and IV of Frye and Willman (1963) (fig. 3). Radiocarbon dating of Mollusca associated with peccary 

bones indicate an Altonian age for the fossil horizon 

which is placed in Roxana zone I-b (fig. 3). Th~ Farmdalian Substage (Frye and Willman, 1960) 

may be represented by a period of leaching that 

modified the Roxana to an apparent depth of 5 feet 

(1.5 m) (visible-carbonate column, fig. 4). Such a 

depth of modification is supported by the leaching 

that has accompanied Holocene soil formation on the 

Peoria to depths as great as 12 feet (3.7 m). Similar leaching has been proposed by Frye Glass and 

Willman (1962) to partially explain differenc~s in 

carbonate mineral assemblages in the Roxana and 

Peoria. 

The second interpretation is the definition of three 

stratigraphic units that have intervening fossil soils. 

s.amples 1 and 2 are again designated as pre-WisconSinan paleosol and mixed loess and bedrock materials. The Roxana (Frye and Willman, 1960) may be 

represented by samples 3-8, whose paleosol is represented by samples 7 and 8. An equivalent of the 

Farmdale Silt (Frye and Willman, 1960) may be 

represented by samples 9-11, whose paleosol is represented by sample 11. The lower part of the Peoria 

Loess is then represented by samples 12-18 interval 

D. This scheme allots a rock-stratigraphi~ unit to 

each time-stratigraphic subdivision of the Wisconsinan Stage (Frye and others, 1962). Frye and Willman's (1960) restriction of their Farmdale to the 

area near the type locality, however, probably rules 

out this interpretation. · 

SILT FABRIC AND PALEOWIND DIRECTIONS 

The silt fabric was studied to determine the paleowind directions for the Roxana Silt, the· peccary 
,. 

SILT PETROLOGY 9 

1-

z 

w (.) 5 0:: 

w 

c.. 

go· 

= 121.4° 

A 

1-

z 

~ 5 0:: 

w 

c.. 

B 180° 

go· 

1-

z 

~ 5 0:: 

w 

c.. 

c 

FIGURE 6.- Silt-fabric rose diagrams. Data for the Roxana Silt and Peoria Loess were 

shown to be significantly bimodal at >0.99 significance level by the x2 text. (See 

footnote on page 10.) y, vector mean direction; 8, dispersion factor; a, contribution 

of dominant mode. A, Roxana Silt, samples 3-11, 870 observations. Bimodal model 

values: a=61.3 percent, 0 1 =1.26, 8;.!=1.56. B, Roxana Silt and Peoria Loess, samples 3-18, 1,547 observations. Bimodal modet' values: a=61.7 percent, 81 =1.5, 

82=1.7. C, Peoria Loess (basal 7 ft), samples 12-18, 677 observations. Bimodal 

model values: a=62.2 percent, 81 =1.57, 82=1.91. 

zone, and the lower part of the Peoria Loess. The 

·azimuths of the apparent longest physical (not optical) axes of about 100 elongated quartz grains were 

measured in each of 16 horizontally oriented thin 

sections from samples 3-18. Quartz grains were 

chosen for two reasons. First, silt-sized quartz is the 

dominant mineral in the sections, and second, quartz 

lacks cleavage that might give rise to orientations 

based chiefly on cleavage as would calcite, dolomite, 

and feldspar. The effect of imbrication on the apparent grain shape was tested in one vertically orie~ted 

thin section from sample 13. The mean imbrication 

in this section is so E. This value is within the range 

of imbrication data reported by Matalucci, Shelton, 

and Abdel-Hady (1969) for loess at Vicksburg, 

Miss., and indicates that imbrication has only a 

slight effect on the apparent grain shape. The quartz 

grains are assumed to be oriented parallel to paleowind-current directions (Potter and Pettijohn, 1963, 

p. 54). The resultant pa)eowind directions are compared with the dominant present-day wind directions recorded by the U.S. Weather Bureau for 

Barkley Field, Paducah, Ky., about 40 miles (65 km) 

northeast of Hickman. 

The azimuths of quartz grains measured for samples from the· Roxa:n~ and Peorra, ·seP.~rate·ly ·and · 

combined, are plotted in 10° classes and are expressed as percentages of total observations in the 

eastern semicircles of silt-fabric rose diagrams in 

figure 6. A similar diagram for the peccary zone is 

presented in figure 8. Diagrams constructed for each 

of the 16 individual samples are very similar to those 

shown in figures 6 and 8. In figure 7, the present-day 

wind data are plotted in sixteen 221/2 o classes as the 

stippled area on the full-circle wind rose and are replotted as the black area on the eastern semicircle to 

conform to the convention used in the plots in figures 

6 and 8. 

FIGURE 7.- Full-circle wind rose (stippled area) based on 

about 40,000 azimuthal readings of directions from which 

wind blew (calm readings not included) at Barkley Field, 

Paducah, Ky., January 1950-December 1954, taken by U.S. 

Weather Bureau; semicircle wind rose (black area) of 

strike directions of same wind data. Vector mean direction 

(y) and confidence interval (dashed arc span) at >0.95 

significance level. 
10 STRATIGRAPHY, MORPHOLOGY, AND PALEOECOLOGY, PECCARY HERD, KENTUCKY 

Probable location of 

skull broken before 

block B was removed 

Hind limbs articulate 

with pelvis in block A 

FIGURE 8.- Silt-fabric rose diagram for samples 5 

and 6 combined to give 200 measurements from peccary zone. (See footnote 2.) y, vector mean; e, 

dispersion factor; a, contribution of dominant mode. 

Bimodal model values: a = 66.4 percent, e1 = -0.302, 

e2= -0.066. Diagram is oriented with respect to 

plan view. 

FIGURE 9.- Plan view (upper) of five peccary skeletons, labeled 1-5 (grid is in 1-ft squares), and section (lower) showing relative position of blocks B, 

A, J, and K. Altitude is in feet above mean sea level. 

399' 

398' 

The silt-fabric rose diagrams in figures 6 and 8 

and the semicircle wind rose in figure 7 are obviously 

bimodal and cannot be treated by statistics assuming a unimodal model (T. A. Jones, written commun., 

1971). Various bimodal statistical parameters are 

shown for the silt-fabric rose diagrams in figures 6 

and 8.2 Tests by use of the bimodal model are not 

available for comparison of the statistical fit of the 

vector means ( y), or implied paleowind directions, 

of the silt-fabric rose diagrams with the present-day 

wind directions. 

The silt-fabric rose diagrams shown in figures 6 

and 8 are strikingly similar to the semicircle wind 

rose for present-day winds shown in figure 7. Thus, 

if the long axes of quartz grains record wind-current 

Lumbar vertebrae, sacrum, and pelvis 

Horizontal line 

BLOCK A 

directions, it is apparent that the wind directions 

during the time represented by the peccary zone 

were similar to the dominant southwestern and the 

northwestern winter-storm winds of the present 

time. 

2The bimodal model is based on a circular normal distribution (Stephens, 

1962, 1964 ; Jones, 1967, 1968). In order to treat the semicircularly distributed silt-fabric data by use of a bimodal model, the azimuthal angles must 

be doubled, according to James and Jones (1969, p. 129 ) . The distribution 

of these data with doubled angles is also bimoda l, which indicates that the 

bimodal model is needed to calculate the statistical parameters for these 

populations. The parameters-vector means ( yt and y2) , dispersion factors 

(Ot and th), and percentage contribution (o:) of the dominant mode--are 

calculated for this new distribution on the basis of the bimodal model of 

James and Jones (1969) and T. A. Jones (written commun., 1971). The data 

shown in figures 6 and 8 are significantly bimodal by the x2 test at >0.99 

significance and have means. dispersion factors, and percentage contributions consistent with the data and assumption of the statistics. 

3 

radiL 

and ~ 
FOSSILS 11 

3 

\ 

N 

120 150 180 210 240 270 300 330cm 

r-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------,400' 

Smith (1942), in his study of loess (silt) in Illinois, found that silt is thickest along major rivers 

and thins rapidly away from them, as it does away 

from the Mississippi River in the Hickman area. He 

found that the rate of thinning is a linear function 

of the logarithm of the distance from the source of 

silt and that the depositional pattern of silt is also a 

function of variations in the major wind directions 

with respect to flood-plain configuration (Smith, 

1942, p. 162). Smith's study and a more comprehensive one of the whole western Kentucky region by 

J. D. Sims (written commun., 1970) suggest that the 

two major wind directions, southwesterly and northwesterly, caused the silt to pile up thickest along the 

bluffs near the Mississippi River. 

FOSSILS 

Peccaries are the only vertebrate fossils found at 

the Hickman site. The skeletons are the remains of 

a herd or family group of Platygonus compressus Le 

Conte 1848. Other such occurrences of this species 

have been reported by Klippart (1875), Leidy 

(1889), Williston (1894), Wagner (1903), Clarke 

(1916), Hoare, Coash, Innis, and Hole (1964), Lewis 

(1970), and Elizabeth Dalve (written commun., 

1969). Of these occurrences, only one appears to 

have been in loess: that reported from Goodland, 

Kans., by Williston. Although Williston stated that 

his peccary group was found in a loose sandy marl, 

Hay (1924, p. 158) was certain that the bones were 

buried in loess. Hay's opinion is corroborated by the 
12 STRATIGRAPHY, MORPHOLOGY, AND PALEOECOLOGY, PECCARY HERD, KENTUCKY 

map of Pleistocene eolian deposits of the United 

States (Natl. Research Council, 1952), which shows 

Goodland, Kans., in an area where 67-100 percent of 

the land is covered by loess 8-16 feet (2.4-4.9 m) 

thick. The skeletons reported by Hoare, Coash, Innis, 

and Hole (1964) may have been buried in dune sand. 

Lewis ( 1970) reported the skeletons of at least five 

individuals found in eolian sand and silt in Denver. 

Besides these few discoveries of skeletons, there 

have, of course, been scattered surface finds of disarticulated bones and a remarkably large number of 

occurrences of peccary bones in caves. Hay in 1923 

and 1924 summarized discoverjes up to those dates, 

and subsequent reports have been made by many 

other authors. 

Associated with the peccaries are fossil gastropods. 

At and within a foot or so of the stratigraphic level 

of the peccaries are widely scattered bits of carbonized plant matter, probably wood. The plant matter 

is fairly abundant in pockets and layers. In the calcareous silt, carbonate root casts are abundant. Near 

the peccaries and in a zone 3-6 feet (0.9-1.8 m) 

above the base of the Roxana are numerous white 

powdery, but well-preserved, calcareous fossil hackberry seeds. 

PLATYGONUS COMPRESSUS LECONTE 1848 

The five fossil p·eccaries where found appeared to 

lie on a surface that marks the end of mixed alluvial 

and . eolian silt deposition; they were covered by 

wholly eolian silt. The surface forms an irregular 

plane dipping from oo to 10° NW. The five skeletons, 

all headed toward ·the east roughly parallel to one 

of the two vector mean directions shown in figure 8, 

lay in a line trending approximately S. 80° E. within 

an area about 3 feet (1 m) wide and 11 feet (3 m) 

long (fig. 9). The snout of skeleton 1 touched the 

rear of skeleton 2 ; the snout of 2 was about 1 foot 

(0.3 m) southeast of the sacrum of 3; the snout of 3 

touched the rear of 4 ; the heads of 4 and 5 (destroyed before recovery) were probably within 1 

foot (0.3 m) of each other and pointed in the same 

direction. The westernmost pair of skeletons ( 1 and 

2) are best preserved (figs. 10, 11) ; they lay at a 

lower altitude and were apparently covered more 

deeply and quickly than the three skeletons clustered 

to the east of them. The disposition of the skeletons 

indicates that the peccaries were suddenly overcome 

and were very quickly buried by eolian dust. Skeletons 1 and 2 were undisturbed after death. This is 

undoubtedly true also of skeletons 3 and 4, but their 

higher altitude may have resulted in damage and 

movement of some bones during bulldozer passes 

associated with the discovery. Also two bones which 

we associate with skeleton 3 were found 1 and 2 

·feet, respectively, north of the skeleton. One forelimb 

and one hindlimb of skeleton 5 were lying in a proper 

position relative to each other so that we conclude 

that they were not moved after the animal died. The 

other hindleg associated with this skeleton was 

found, still articulated, 1 foot (0.3 m) west of its 

mate. This is slightly out of position for a natural 

pose, and it might be assumed that a predator had 

dragged the leg to this position. This is deemed unlikely, however, because the bones have not been 

broken or even disarticulated. G. E. Lewis (oral 

commun., 1970) suggested that the displaced bones 

were shifted by movement of windblown silt. None 

of the skeletons showed evidence of disturbance by 

predators, or even of gnawing by rodents. Burial 

must have been very rapid to have avoided this. 

POSITIONS OF THE SKELETONS 

Although several herds or family groups of Platygonus compressus have been discovered, the postures 

and relative positions of the skeletons have not been 

described in ·detail, and none of the groups has been 

preserved with the skeletons in their original poses. 

A group of Platygonus .Pearcei Gazin from the Hagerman Lake Beds of Idaho (Gazin, 1938), consisting 

of an adult and two young individuals, has been pre-

·Served in the position in which found (USNM 

13800) . Gazin figured these specimens but did not 

discuss their poses. Accordingly, it seems worthwhile 

to describe, as well as figure, the positions cf the 

Hickman peccary group. The skeletons are preserved 

in the U.S. National Museum (USNM 26098-26102) 

in the positions in which they were found. 

SKELETON l 

Skeleton 1 (figs. 9, 10) is lying on its right side. 

The right side (underside) of the skull seems to have 

been crushed, inasmuch as the right temporal condyle has been rotated downward and outward and 

turned 180°. The neck is flexed to the right (downward), probably by the weight of the overlying material. The atlas has been· disarticulated from the 

occipital condyles and moved to the right (downward) 

about 70 mm. With only slight gaps, the vertebrae 

are articulated from the atlas to the third caudal; 

two other caudal vertebrae, separate but articulated 

with each other, lie beside the third caudal. The anterior part of the back is lying on its side, in the 

same plane as the head. Between the 1Oth thoracic 

vertebra (most posterior one with a long neural 

spine) and the 11th, rotation has occurred ; posterior 

to the 11th thoracic vertebra the neural spines are 

vertical. The pelvis, which is in normal articulation 

with the sacrum, is positioned with its dorsal side 

up. The posterior half of the vertebral column is 
r 

FOSSILS 13 

15 0 15 em 

FIGURE 10.- Peccary Platygonus compressus, skeleton 1, in natural position. 

probably in the position the animal assumed just 

before death. The hyoid bone is approximately in 

place at the level of the posterior border of the mandible. Because of the decision to leave the skeleton 

in death position, the hyoid could not be exhumed, 

but the posterior 35 mm of the right thyroid cornu 

is exposed. It is 3.5 mm in diameter. The hyoid has 

been rotated so that its right side is about 15 mm 

lower than its left side. 

The left femur is in almost natural articulation 

with the pelvis. The tibia is slightly twisted out of 

articulation at the knee. The rest of the left hindlimb 

is in normal articulation. The right femur has moved 

outward and downward from a normal crouching 

position so that the femur lies with its medial side 

up, rotated in the acetabulum beyond the position of 

normal articulation. The tibia is in normal articulation with the femur. The patella is present, only 

slightly out of position. The rest of the right hindlimb is buried beneath the lumbar region. 

The left front limb is in normal flexed position. 

The carpals are slightly disarticulated from the ulnoradius. The right scapula is rotated upward and forward so that its neck is at the level of the seventh 

cervical vertebra and 120 mm above its centrum. The 

head of the right humerus is in contact with the 

glenoid cavity of the scapula but is disarticulated 

and rotated backward so that it is parallel to the 

vertebral column. 

On the humerus, the line of the proximal epiphysis 

is visible; the distal epiphysis is closed. The radius 

and ulna are fused. Both epiphysis of the radius are 

closed. The olecranon epiphysis of the ulna is barely 

visible. The epiphysis of the metacarpus and of the 

first and second phalanges of the forelimb are fused. 

The main pelvic bones are fused, but the ilium is not 

fused to the tuber coxae, and the tuber ischii is not 

fused to the ischium. On the femur, the proximal 

epiphysis is not clearly visible; the distal epiphysis 

is still visible but is probably nearly closed. On the 

tibia, the proximal epiphysis is fused; the bone is 

cracked at the distal end so that it is impossible to be 

sure of the condition of the epiphysis. The metatarsal epiphyses are fused. 
14 STRATIGRAPHY, MORPHOLOGY, AND PALEOECOLOGY, PECCARY HERD, KENTUCKY 

M3 and probably M3 are fully erupted. M~ and M3 

are slightly worn. M1 is worn to concavity. P3 and P4 

are worn so that the dentine shows. P 2 is only 

slightly rounded by wear. There is heavy wear on 

the canines. 

According to the age criteria developed by Kirkpatrick and Sowls (1962) on the basis of tooth 

eruption in the collared peccary (Tayassu tajacu), 

. skeleton 1 represents an individual more than 7 4 

weeks old. 

SKELETON 2 

Skeleton 2 (fig. 11), like skeleton 1, represents an 

individual that seems to have died lying in a natural 

position on its ventral side, with forelimbs flexed 

under it and probably with chin resting on the 

ground. In contrast to skeleton 1, the skull of skeleton 2 rests on its left side. The cervical vertebrae 

have been displaced ventrally (horizontally) about 

80 mm. All vertebrae are in articulation from the 

atlas to about the fourth thoracic; there the vertebrae are disarticulated, with the anterior surface of 

the centrum of the fifth thoracic vertebra at an 

Thoracic vertebrae, ribs, and 

fragments of humerus and scapula 

15 0 

angle of about 100° to the posterior surface of the 

fourth thoracic (fig. 11). The attitude of the posterior thoracic vertebrae cannot be seen, but the ribs 

protruding from the matrix are in sequence, implying that the corresponding vertebrae are in or near 

articulation. Six lumbar vertebrae are in articulation. Most of the sacrum has been lost, but parts of 

three sacral vertebrae, which had been linked only 

by cartilage, were collected with the skeleton. 

The scapulae are approximately in place. The forelimbs are not visible. The hindlimbs are in place. The 

pelvis is separated into right and left halves, and the 

two parts are out of orientation with each other (fig. 

11). From the orientation of the hindlimbs, it appears that they were spraddled much like those of 

skeleton 1. The right femur is rotated backward and 

lies on its anterior side in a position that suggests 

that it was in or near articulation with the acetabulum. The right tibia has been dislocated from the 

femur and moved forward 45 mm from the distal 

end of the femur (fig. 11). The tibia, tarsus, and 

metatarsus are articulated; the phalanges, if pres2 

" -

15 em 

FIGURE 11.- Peccary Platygonus compressus, skeleton 2 and posterior part of skeleton 3 (lower left part of block), in 

natural position. 
FOSSILS 15 

ent, are embedded beneath the anterior end of the 

lumbar series. The left hindlimb is articulated. Both 

hindlimbs are flexed. 

The epiphyseal sutures are closed on the hindlimbs, except for the distal ends of the tibiae, where 

they are open. Epiphyses are open at the ends of the 

centra of the thoracic vertebrae ; they probably are 

closed on the lumbars. 

The upper dentition is not visible. M3 is erupted 

and slightly worn. M3 has about the same wear as 

M3 • M1 is worn, and concavity was just beginning. 

P4 is slightly worn; P 3 and P 3, les·s so. The anterior 

side of the upper canine is considerably worn. 

Skeleton 2 represents an individual younger than 

that of skeleton 1 but is judged to be still older than 

7 4 weeks on the basis of tooth eruption. 

SKELETON 3 

Skeleton 3, though articulated at burial, is less 

nearly complete than skeletons 1 and 2. It was collected in several pieces : posterior part from the left 

end of block J (fig. 11), anterior part from the right 

end of block A (fig. 12), and isolated bones from 

Mandible, skull , and 

cervical vertebrae 

\ 

BLOCK A \ .. 

15 

north of blocks A and B (fig. 9). A sacrum comprised of four vertebrae, lies 150 mm north of the 

skull of skeleton 2 (fig. 11). The right femur is in 

proper position for articulation (fig. 11) though the 

pelvis is not in place-iliac blades collected separately probably represent the pelvis of this individual. The distal epiphysis of this femur is open. A 

femur, tibia, ulno-radius, and two pelvic fragments 

(fig. 9) that are isolated from the other bones of 

skeleton 3 may belong to that skeleton. 

Two thoracic vertebrae, with open epiphyses on 

their centra, the distal end of another femur (fig. 

11), with epiphysis closed, and several ribs are also 

present. 

At the west end of block A, 38 em left of the east 

end of block J, are an articulated scapula, humerus, 

and fused radius and ulna (fig. 12), all with epiphyses closed and in extremely flexed position. East 

of these are articulated cervical vertebrae 2 through 

7, with 7 in contact with the head of the humerus 

(fig. 12) . The anterior spine of the axis vertebra lies 

only about 10 mm from the foramen magnum of the 

skull. The atlas was displaced but lay near the other 

0 15 em 

F IGURE 12.- P eccar y Platygonus compressus, a nterior part of skeleton 3 (right two-t hirds of block) a nd posterior p a rt of 

skeleton 4 (left part of block), in natural position. 
16 STRATIGRAPHY, MORPHOLOGY, AND PALEOECOLOGY, PECCARY HERD, KENTUCKY 

cervical vertebrae; it was removed during excavation. Most of the cranium of this individual was destroyed, probably by the first pass of the. bulldozer 

blade at the time of discovery. However, a partial 

maxilla was recovered, bearing P3 , M1 and M2 • P3 is 

almost unworn ; P4 is missing-no alveolus is present and the position of P4 is represented only by a 

gap of 7.3 mm between P3 and M1 • M1 is worn to 

concavity; in M2, the anterior loph is appreciably 

worn, and the posterior loph is fresh. The mandible 

is present, nearly in articular position with the skull; 

its anterior end is broken off 30 mm anterior to the 

posterior end of the symphysis. P 2 is missing, and 

the part of the mandible bearing it is chipped away. 

The right P3 is missing; its alveolus indicates a small 

tooth (table 1) . The right P 4 is present, is fully 

erupted, and is only very slightly worn. The right Mt 

is slightly worn. M2 and M3 of both sides are present. 

M2 is in beginning wear; M3 is unworn, not quite 

erupted. 

Skeleton 3, on the basis of tooth eruption, is believed to represent an individual of about the same 

age as that of skeleton 2. 

SKELETON 4 

Skeleton 4, like skeleton 3, is divided between two 

blocks (figs. 9, 12, 13). The pelvis of skeleton 4 (fig. 

12) was in contact with the skull of skeleton 3. The 

basal part of the sacrum is present and in place, but 

the tops of the sacral vertebrae have been destroyed. 

Four associated and articulated lumbar vertebrae 

are in place (fig. 12). The central epiphyses of these 

vertebrae are open, as are those on five thoracic vertebrae, probably from· this individual, that were collected loose at the east end of block A. At the south 

end of block B (almost in contact with the east end 

TABLE 1.- Measurements, in millimeters, of skulls, mandibles, and teeth of Platygonus compressus from near Hickman, Ky., 

and Denver, Colo. 

[Specimen numbers: USNM, U.S. National Museum; D, U.S. Geological Survey, Paleontology and Stratigraphy Branch, Denver fossil vertebrate locality. Leaders ( ...... ), measurement not possible] 

Kentucky 

Specimen No .................................. USNM 26098 USNM 26099 USNM 26100 USNM 26101 Skeleton.......................................... 1 2 3 4 

Skull 

Greatest length ............................ . Condylobasal length ................... . Length from anterior margin of foramen magnum to anterior extremity of premaxillaries ........................... . Anterior border of orbit to extreme anterior end of premaxillae ................................ . Depth of zygoma from end of postorbital process to end of preglenoid process .............. . Depth of zygoma at middle below orbit ................................ . Dorsoventral diameter of orbit. Length of superior precanine diastema ..................................... . Length of superior postcanine diastema ..................................... . Length of temporal fosa from inion to postorbital process .... Height of occiput from ventral border of occipital condyles ... Length of inferior postcanine diastems ..................................... . 

Mandible 

Length condyle to incisors ........ . Depth, below anterior margin of M1 ........................................... . Depth, at coronoid process ........ . 

Teeth 

Length P-M3 ................................. . Length M1-Ma ............................... . Length PLM3 ............................... . Upper canine, length X width .. . P3 ..................................................... . P! ..................................................... . Mt ..................................................... . M2 ..................................................... . M 3 .... · .... o ••• .-••.••••• : ••• : ••• : •••• : ••• : ••••••••••••••• 

Lower canine ................................ . P2 ..................................................... . P:J ..................................................... . 

P4 ..................................................... . MJ............... . .......................... . 

M2 .... . 

MJ .... . 

Length P~M~ .............. . Length Mt-M1 .. . 

330 

299 

290 

199 

64 

48 

227.8 

26.7 

53 

87.3 

90 

65.9 

231 

44.3 1 105 

1 179 

1 78 15 X 10.5 

8 X 13 10.7 X 8 1 11.4 X 10.8 11.2 X <5> 

12.5 X <

5> 

16.9 X <5> 

24.2 X <5> 

85.3 

54.3 

1310 

1285 

1274 

1155 

1 72 

44 

42 

81 

1108 

1 53 122 3 54.2 

1200 

42.5 40 3 42 197 96.4 1 •

3 104 

. 1,350 

14.9 X 9.5 ~10.7 X 12.5 au X 13.2 313.2 X 14.9 314.3 X 12.2 316.~ X 14.6 a18.1 X 15.5 .a, 419:1 X 15:2 

1 9.9 X 6.4 310.2 X 7.5 1 10.5 X 8 11.7 X 10 310.7 X 8.9 1 11.3 X 9.6 311.4 X 9.7 1 13.5 X 9.5 6 14.1 X 10.5 .. 13.1 X 11.1 713.7 X 10.3 1 16.6 X 12.6 6 16.6 X 13.0, 315.9 X 12.8 716.4 X 13.2 1 23.0 X 12.6 022.1 X 13.9, 323.3 X 14.1 1,721.8 X (5> 

82 1 85 ~83.7 

53 55 352.4 

D714A Young adult male 

330 

302 

291 

215 

76 

40 

36 

23 

48 

78 

100 

57 

231 

43 

108 

171 

48.5 

77 17.4X10.0 

10.0 X 11.5 10.0 X 13.1 13.5 X 13.2 16.4 X 15.2 19:5 X 15:5 14.0 X 10.0 9.7 X 7.3 10.4 X 8.6 

11.0 X 9.9 14.2 X 11.0 

15.9 X 12.5 

22.0 X 15.5 

83.4 

52.7 

D714C 

Old adult female 

298 

275 

265 

191 

68 

35 

35 

21 

40 

68 

93 

161 

52 

13.5 X 10.3 10.8 X 11.7 11.9 X 13.1 14.3 X 14.5 16.1 X 16.2 21:6 X 17:2 

Colorado 

D714H Young adult male 

325 

303 

290 

212 

73 

38 

33 

21 

55 

75 

97 

177 

49 

17.2 X 9.6 10.0 X 10.7 9.5 X 11.4 13.2 X 12.3 15.9 X 13.6 ·20:5 X 13:8 

1Estimate. 

2Dorsoventrally crushed. 5Buried in matrix: unable to measure. 

3Bone not in place, but assumed to belong to this skeleton. 4Anterior loph. 

6Right. 

7Left. 

D714E 

Juvenile D714G 

Newborn 

or fetal 

53 9.2 

40 

90 27.3 

9.7 X 7.6 4.9 X 3.9 9.0 X 5.2 10.0 X 6.9 18.7 X 9.2 18.2 15.0 X 11.2 

19.0 X 13.7 
FOSSILS 17 

of block A) is a badly broken ulna articulated to a 

complete lower forelimb (fig. 13), in flexed position. 

A skull was located immediately north of this (fig. 13) 

but was broken before the block was removed. Two 

fragments found at the site of this skull contained, 

respectively, P~ and M1, and M2 and M3 • P 4 is only 

very slightly worn. The anterior loph of M1 is worn 

to the point of dentine exposure; the posterior loph 

is only slightly worn. The anterior loph of M2 is 

slightly worn; the posterior loph is unworn. M3 is 

unworn and was probably unerupted. Surrounding 

the site of the skull are two articulated lower hindlimbs (tibia, tarsus, metatarsus, and phalanges; fig. 

13). Of these, the tibiae appear to have open epiphyses at both ends; all other epiphyses are closed. 

The individual represented by skeleton 4, on the 

basis of tooth eruption, is interpreted as younger 

15 0 15 cm 

FIGURE 13. - Peccary Platygonus cornp1·essus, parts of skeleton 4 (top) and skeleton 5 (bottom), in natural position. 

than the individuals represented by skeletons 1, 2, 

and 3 and as not much older than 7 4 weeks by the 

criteria used with Tayassu tajacu, inasmuch as M3 

is fully formed but unerupted. 

SKELETON 5 

Skeleton 5 (figs. 9, 13) is represented by a scapula, 

part of an articulated hindlimb (tibia, tarsus, metatarsus, and phalanges), and part of an articulated 

forelimb (distal end of humerus articulated with 

fused radius and ulna) (fig. 13). The hindlimb is 

extended and the forelimb flexed-this animal died 

in the same position as the animal represented by 

skeleton 1 (figs. 9, 10) . The distal epiphysis of the 

humerus appears to be open; all other epiphyses are 

closed. 

All that can be said on the basis of the limbs of 

skeleton 5 is that the individual was probably an 

adult. A right mandible found near block A (fig. 9) 

must belong with either skeleton 4 or skeleton 5. It 

has a complete cheek-tooth series: P2 and P3 with 

enamel slightly worn, P~ with dentine showing on 

the anterior lophid, M~, worn to concavity, ~ with 

dentine showing on both lophids, and M3 with dentine just beginning to show on the first and second 

lophids. This would indicate an individual of about 

the same age as that of skeleton 1, and the teeth 

would not match the upper teeth assigned to skeleton 

4. The mandible is, therefore, tentatively assigned to 

skeleton 5. 

COMPOSITION AND INFERRED HABITS OF THE HERD 

All five peccaries were adult. Absolute ages cannot 

be assigned with confidence, but the relative ages of 

the individuals are significant because of their association. It is estimated that the herd consisted of two 

fully adult animals (skeletons 1 and 5), two slightly 

younger (skeletons 2 and 3), and a still younger animal (skeleton 4), that was nearly full grown. On 

the basis of size of canines and heaviness of zygomatic arch, skeleton 1 is believed almost certainly to 

have been a male. On the same basis, skeleton 2 is 

believed probably to have been a female. The sex of 

the other skeletons cannot be judged. As found, the 

skeletons were probably lined up in the order in 

which they were walking when overwhelmed: the 

two oldest animals leading and bringing up the rear, 

respectively; the youngest animal following the 

leader and the two slightly younger behind it. 

Despite morphological differences that certainly 

indicate contrasts in habit between Platygonus compressus and living peccaries, both forms share the 

characteristic of gregariousness as indicated by discoveries of herds of Platygonus, cited before. Both 

the collared peccary (Tayassu tajacu) and the white-
18 STRATIGRAPHY, MORPHOLOGY, AND PALEOECOLOGY, PECCARY HERD, KENTUCKY 

lipped peccary ( Tayassu pecari) run in herds. Harems do not exist; a herd consists of both sexes and 

all ages, more or less in random combination. The 

collared peccary has a year-round breeding season 

(Sowls, 1961). There is no evidence of pairing of 

males and females for either a short or a long period. 

Sows appear to have several mates during a single 

estrous period, and there is no aggressive behavior 

between males in the herd (Sowls, 1966). In Veracruz, Mexico, the collared peccary usually travels in 

herds of 5-10 individuals; the white-lipped peccary, 

in bands of 12-25, with herds of 50 or more reported 

(Hall and Dalquest, 1963). Leopold (1959, p. 494) 

pointed out that peccary herds are larger when the 

population is denser. The collared peccary, in areas 

of sparse population, runs in herds of two· or three 

up to a half-dozen. In areas of plenty they are seen 

in groups of 10-20, rarely more. Collared peccaries 

follow their mothers until at least 1 year old, so 

smaller herds may well be family groups. 

The composition of the Hickman herd of Platygonus compressus is consistent with the loose social 

organization observed for living peccaries. Skeleton 

4 may represent a yearling still following its mother. 

Among several structural differences distinguishing Platygonus from living peccaries are longer legs, 

presence of sharp, high transverse cusps on the cheek 

teeth, and much larger nasal cavities which have 

more extensive turbinal bones. As Leidy ( 1853, p. 

325-326) pointed out, the tooth pattern of Platygonus indicates a lower jaw movement that was 

"less rotary and more simply ginglymoid than exists 

in Dicotyles; for at the same stage of trituration of 

the teeth in the latter, the principal lobes would be 

worn down to a level with the bottom of the interlobular fissures, approaching more in this respect the 

Hog than the Tapir." The strongly lophodont teeth 

of Platygonus indicate a diet different from that of 

Tayassu; G. E. Lewis (written commun., May 1970) 

has suggested that Platygonus is better equipped to 

chew harsher vegetation from a different environment than Tayassu, which has a bunodont dentition. 

The geographic range of Platygonus embraced a 

more rigorous environment than does that of Ta11assu, but the range of both genera is latitudinally 

large enough to show that they share the ability to 

subsist on a wide variety of food. 

The collared peccary is distributed from the Rio 

de la Plata of Argentina, at about lat 35 o S., to southwestern United States at lat 35° N. This range includes both desert (Sowls, 1961) and tropical forest 

(Chapman, 1936; although Chapman's paper is 

titled "White-lipped Peccary," it also records observations of collared peccary herds on Barro Colorado 

Island, Canal Zone). Platygonus compressus is 

known to have ranged from California to New York 

and from Michigan south at least as far as Florida 

and Texas (Hibbard and Taylor, 1960, p. 184) ; Ray, 

Denny and Rubin (1970) reported a specimen that 

must have died "within a few miles of the wasting 

late Wisconsinan continental glacier [in Pennsylvania], and [must have] lived there in a periglacial 

environment." 

Leidy also remarked ( 1853, p. 334-335) on the 

"enormous cellular dilatation" between the maxilla 

and the palatine bones, whose interior communicates 

anteriorly with the cavity of the nose. The malar 

bone also has a cellular interior. A set of skulls sagittally sectioned by John E. Guilday showed that 

Platygonus has a much larger nasal cavity and more 

extensive turbinal bones than Tayassu or Mylohyus; 

it also has false internal nares, leading into cui-desacs at the posterior end of the palate ( Guilday and 

others, 1971, p. 304). The passage of air through the 

nasal passage was thus very tortuous, which may 

have been an advantage in a dust-laden atmosphere. 

Platygonus, unlike Tayassu, adapted to a cold environment, although, as indicated by the southern 

limits of its range, it also could live in warmer climates. Most occurrences of Platygonus are in areas 

that were probably characterized by harsh vegetation, such as silica-rich grass, in late Pleistocene 

time. Tayassu, by contrast, lives in warm climates 

but can subsist on both tropical and desert vegetation. The cold-climate range of Platygonus implies 

great differences from Tayassu in pelage and other 

adaptations to the environment; a comparable contrast is that between the Pleistocene periglacial 

woolly mammoth and the living elephants of Africa 

and India. 

OTHER HERDS OF PLA TYGONUS COMPRESSUS 

We have found eight reports of herds of this species that died together. Two of these consisted of 

only two individuals each, but they are included because the individuals were lying close together in the 

pose that is characteristic of larger herds. 

DENVER, COLORADO, HERD 

G. Edward Lewis (1970) reported a group of 

Platygonus compressus in eolian sand and silt of 

late Wisconsinan age (USGS fossil vertebrate loc. 

D714). Parts of five skulls were found: those of two 

adult males, an adult female, a juvenile, and either 

a newborn or a fetal animal. Numerous postcranial 

bones were found, but it was impossible to determine 

with which skulls these bones belonged. The proximity of the bones to each other indicates that the individuals constituted a herd. No complete articulated 

e 
FOSSILS 19 

skeleton was preserved. Lewis (written commun., 

1970) believed that dissociation was accomplished 

by dune movement, perhaps over a period of years. 

For this reason, only measurements of individual 

bones are available, and most bones cannot be referred with certainty to 

__. distinct skeletons. Previously unpublished measurements of these bones, 

furnished by G. E. Lewis, are presented in tables 1 

and 2. 

GOODLAND, KANSAS, HERD 

One of the best known reports of a herd burial is 

that of Williston (1894) involving nine skeletons 

buried in what was almost certainly loess. The animals were facing southwest, with the heads of the 

hinder ones resting on the posterior parts of those 

in front. The bones were "all or nearly all in the position in which they had been at the animals' death" 

(Williston, 1894, p. 23). As in all other excavations 

of Platygonus compressus herds, the skeletons were 

collected bone by bone rather than being left in death 

position. The skeleton of a female was mounted 

under Williston's direction at the University of Kansas. A second skeleton was assembled and sent to 

the American Museum of Natural History, and a 

third was sent to the Carnegie Museum (Peterson, 

1914, p. 114) and subsequently to the National Museum of Canada. Presumably the other specimens 

remained at the University of Kansas. Williston 

(1894, p. 27) applied the new name Platygonus leptorhinus to the members of this herd. This species 

has been synonymized with P. compressus (Simpson, 

1949, p. 22). Williston's type of P. leptorhinus bears 

the University of Kansas Museum number KU 458; 

the other skeletons of the herd are lumped together 

under number KU 3108. Williston stated that the 

animals were of different ages and sexes, but he does 

not give the number of animals in each category. 

From the descriptions and measurements in his 

paper, it is apparent that the herd included two old 

individuals, one adult female, two adult males, and 

two young individuals. Of the young, one had only 

the first molars erupted of the permanent tooth 

series, and the other still had its deciduous teeth. 

SANDUSKY COUNTY, OHIO, HERD 

Parts of at least four individuals were recovered 

in sand, possibly a dune deposit (Hoare and others, 

1964). The bones were partially articulated. The 

skeleton of a mature female (BGSU 2353) was 

mounted for exhibition. At least one individual 

(BGSU 2354) was immature, with open epiphyses 

on the leg bones and vertebrae. The other peccary 

bones are numbered BGSU 2355. No mention was 

made of the positions in which the skeletons were 

found. The specimens are in the collections of the 

Department of Geology, Bowling Green (Ohio) State 

University. 

READING, OHIO, HERD 

We thank Mrs. Elizabeth Dalve of the University 

of Cincinnati for information concerning one peccary 

skeleton (UC 40311) and part of a second (UC 

. 40312) excavated by her in 1948 and for permission 

to measure the complete skeleton, which is mounted 

in the University of Cincinnati Museum. The skeletons were found on the Albert Stegmann farm, 

Cooper Road, just northeast of Reading. They were 

about 6.5 feet (2 m) below the surface in what appears to be an area of lateral outwash from kame 

deposits. The altitude of the kame terrace is approximately 635 feet (195m) above sea level, in contrast 

to the common 800-foot (245m) altitude of the bedrock hills of the region and the 580-foot (175 m) 

altitude of the terrace in Reading of latest Wisconsinan age. Mrs. Dalve pointed out that more than 1lj2 

skeletons may have been present, but that excavation 

had to be discontinued owing to danger of collapse 

of the trench wall. 

COLUMBUS, OHIO, HERD 

Twelve skeletons were found in 1873 "embedded 

in calcareous clay, intermingled with a very generous quantity of calcareous sand" (Klippart, 1875). 

Six of the smallest animals were found together at a 

depth of 8 feet (2.4 m) ; the six larger animals were 

6 feet (1.8 m) from the first group and 4 feet 

(1.2 m) deeper. Klippart reported that "the strata 

immediately above the remains were confused, presenting evidence of disturbance so far as the deposition of sand and gravel were concerned, whilst the 

overlying clay was, so far as the eye could discern, 

entirely intact or undisturbed." This stratigraphic 

situation could result from the burial of the peccaries in the cave-in of a bluff under which they had 

taken shelter; the overlying undisturbed clay could 

be an alluvial deposit laid down on top of the landslide material at a later time. The animals were lying 

side by side with their heads toward the southeast, 

the same orientation as the Hickman peccaries. The 

bones were entire except where broken from "manifest pressure," and Klippart could find no evidence 

of the bones "having been gnawed, or 'crunched.'" 

He reported that nearly all the "bases" and "heads" 

of the femora, humeri, ulnae and other bones became 

separated from the shafts while the bones were being boiled in glue. This indicates the presence of a 

number of juveniles considerably less than a year 

old, which is to be expected in so large a herd. Half 

the specimens were apparently sent to 0. C. Marsh at 
20 STRATIGRAPHY, MORPHOLOGY, AND PALEOECOLOGY, PECCARY HERD, KENTUCKY 

Yale (Hay, 1923, p. 214). One skull and one mandible (USNM 16557) are in the U.S. National Museum. 

BELDING1 MICHIGAN1 HERD 

Wagner (1903) reported on five skeletons in the 

museum of the University of Michigan. He reported 

that they had been found in a peat bog, but C. W. 

Hibbard and R. E. Eshelman, in restudying the 

specimens, have determined that they came from upland loess (Eshelman, written commun., Mar. 8, 

1972). No record had been made of the positions of 

the skeletons when found. The group contains one 

adult whose skull sutures are obliterated. The skeleton of this individual (V7325) was mounted at the 

University of Michigan and was figured by Case 

(1921, p. 295). Wagner identified this specimen as a 

female, but Hibbard and Eshelman identify it as a 

male. The other skeletons are incomplete, and Wagner did not mention the age or sex of the individuals. 

Hay (1923, p. 216) pointed out that the Belding herd 

was found close to a part of the Charlotte moraine 

system of Wisconsinan age. 

GAINESVILLE1 NEW YORK1 HERD 

Two skeletons were found in a sand and gravel 

bank (Clarke, 1916). One belonged to an older individual; the other, to a younger, though ·grown, 

specimen which, according to Clarke, still had its 

temporary molar teeth. No mention was made of the 

position of the skeletons, which were disturbed before being collected, inasmuch as many of the bones 

had been carried away with sand for mixing concrete. The recovered bones were placed in the New 

York State Museum (N.Y.S.M. V41a and V41b). 

Hartnagel and Bishop (1922, p. 85) stated that the 

Gainesville skeletons were found in a drumlin less 

than 1 mile south of the Silver Springs-Rock Glen 

kame area, in a pocket of sand with clasts "up to one 

foot in diameter, those of three to four inches in 

diameter being most abundant." This depositional 

environment is reminiscent of that reported by Ray, 

Denny, and Rubin ( 1970) for a skeleton of Platygonus compressus from Mosherville, Penn. 

PITTSFORD (?) , NEW YORK, HERD 

Leidy (1889) reported the occurrence of two adult 

individuals, one represented by the greater part of 

a skeleton and the other by a skull. They were found 

in a gravel bank. Leidy did not mention the orientation or position of the skeleton. The specimens were 

deposited in the Academy of Natural Sciences in 

Philadelphia (skull, ANSP 11544; postcranial bones, 

ANSP 11545). 

SIZE DISTRIBUTION IN PLATYGONUS COMPRESSUS 

Herds such as the Hickman group, found buried 

together, are helpful as indicators of the size range 

that existed in groups of known contemporaneity 

and probable blood relationship. Although several 

such groups are known, as described above, available 

measurements are few. Measurements of the Hickman herd are presented in tables 1 and 2 together 

with measurements of the Denver herd. Publication 

of measurements of other existing groups would be 

useful in determining whether population differences 

can be discerned, and possibly correlated with ecologic 

conditions, over the wide geographic range of this 

species. Table 3 reproduces measurements, all made 

from articulated skeletons of P. compressus, for 

comparison with measurements of the members of 

the Hickman herd. Other measurements are available in the sources cited; those reproduced here were 

chosen because they may be indicators of body size. 

Only for the Goodland, Kans., herd (Williston, 

1894) and the Denver, Colo., herd (tables 1 and' 2) 

were measurements for more than one skeleton available. The Goodland and Denver herds differed from 

the Hickman herd in that they contained juveniles. 

For the Goodland herd, Williston presented postcranial measurements of only two members, an adult 

male and an adult female (1894, p. 27-28). The adult 

female· was mounted for exhibit at the University of 

Kansas. A composite skeleton, includi~g an immature skull, was traded to the Carnegie Museum. where 

it was mounted (CM 2806; Peterson, 1914) ; later it 

was transferred to the National Museum of Canada 

(NMC 17912). 

The upper dentition of NMC 17912 consists of 

dP1 •

2 ·

3 , M1 just coming into wear, M2 erupted but unworn, and M3 unerupted. In the lower dentition, P 2, 

Pa, and P4 are beginning to erupt (the milk teeth 

have been shed), M1 is slightly worn, M2 is erupted 

but unworn, and M3 is unerupted. The following 

measurements were made by Whitmore: dP1-M2, 

56.2 mm; M1-M3 , 44.1 mm; C-M3, 129 mm; upper 

diastema, 43.5 mm. Despite the composite nature of 

the National Museum of Canada skeleton, measurements are included in table 3 as indicative of the size 

range represented by the members of the Goodland 

herd. 

Another skeleton from the Goodland herd was forwarded in exchange to the American Museum of 

Natural History, New York (AMNH 10388). Simpson (1949, p. 38-44) published measurements of the 

cheek teeth of this specimen which indicate that it 

was fully adult. The American Museum skeleton is 

probably a composite, although this is nowhere 
TABLE 2.- Measurements, in millimeters, of postcranial skeletons of Platygonus compressus from near Hickman, Ky., and Denver, Colo. 

Kentucky Colorado 

Specimen No ........................................................................................ USNM USNM USNM USNM USNM D714A D714B D714D1 D714D2 D714F1 D714F2 26098 26099 26100 26101 26102 1 2 3 4 5 Young Immature Old Juvenile Adult Adult 

Male 

Vertebrae: Greatest width of atlas .............................................................. ...... ------ 94 ...... ····-· 114.5 Width of condylar facets of atlas ........................................... ...... 51.7 ------ 55.3 Height of seventh cervical vertebra, tip of neural spine to anteroventral extermity of centrum .................. 103.3 Height of first thoracic vertebra ............................................. 151 1 140 Height of second thoracic vertebra ......................................... 162 1 127 Height of last lumbar vertebra ................................................ 1 57 63.1 1 53 Length of sacrum (five vertebrae) .......................................... 131 1 165 1 128 Scapula: 

Length ... · ......................................................................................... 207 1 180 ...... . ..... ····-· ...... ------ ...... 

Width .............................................................................................. 118 195 ...... 1 80 Anteroposterior diameter of glenoid surface ........................ 28.3 ------ 27.7 ...... 23.4 Transverse diameter of glenoid surface ................................. 22 22.4 ...... 19.1 Least anteroposterior diameter of neck ................................. 26.5 122 22.8 21 -····· --···· Greatest anteroposterior diameter of neck distally, 

including supraglenoid tubercle ........................................... 36.4 33 ------ 26.4 ...... . ..... . ..... . ..... 

Humerus: 

Length ............................................................................................. 206 ...... 1 191 . ..... . ..... ...... ·----- ...... . ..... ...... 

Length from head to posterior process of inner condyle .. 188 1 185 ...... ······ ·····- ...... 

Anteroposterior diameter of shaft just below deltoid tubercle ......................................................................... 1 39 125 Maximum breadth near distal end, across epicondyles ..... 1 42 ····-· 1 45 ······ 40.2 Maximum breadth of distal articulation ............................... 1 37 ····-· 1 35 ...... 33.2 Length of ulna ...................................................................................... 222 226 ...... 221.5 . ..... ...... . ..... ······ 213 Length of radius .................................................................................. 160 1 165 160.5 ...... ······ ...... ······ 159 Width of sigmoid fossa ...................................................................... 32.3 ...... 1 35 29.4 ------ ...... ······ ··-··· 29.8 --·· Least width of conjoined radius and ulna .................................... 20 1 25 24.2 ...... . ... ······ 30 Greatest breadth of distal portion of conjoined radius and ulna .............................................................................................. 143 43.5 ...... 38.5 ...... ······ ······ 45.2 Ulno-radius, greatest breadth of distal articular surface ......... 33 134 32.1 ..... ······ 44.5 Metacarpal IV, length ........................................................................ 92.1 ...... 80.4 . ..... 98.8 98.2 . ..... 92.0 Proximal phalanx, digit IV, length ................................................ 39.5 ...... . ..... 36.6 . ..... 39.5 . 38.0 . ..... 39.7 41.0 Innominate bone: Greatest length ............................................................................. 253 Center of acetabulum to anterior border of ilium .............. 129 Center of acetabulum to posterior border of ischium ........ 124 1 120 Diameter of acetabulum ............................................................. 25.4 27.4 Longest diameter of obdurator foramen ............................... ...... 146 Femur: 

Length ............................................................................................ 201 2195 180 1 •

2180 Anteroposterior diameter of head ........................................... 227.3 1 27 225.9 227 Transverse diameter of head ..................................................... 232.5 1 25 231.6 232.5 Transverse diameter of condyles ............................................. 51.2 248 1 32 247.3 Transverse diameter of trochlea .............................................. 25.2 223.3 ...... 225 Tibia: 

Width of proximal end ............................................................... 53.8 -14.3 ...... 39.6 49.2 Length ............................................................................................. 198 189 ...... 180 1204 . ..... . ..... . ..... . ..... ······ Transverse diameter of distal a.rticulation ............................ 24 117 ...... 21.1 1 24 _Fibula, length ........................................................................................ 178 ...... 1179 Metatarsal IV, length ......................................................................... 92.4 1 90 ...... 83.2 1 91 ...... . ..... . ..... 96.3 Proximal phalanx, digit IV, length ............................................... 35.5 37.3 33.7 

1Estimate. 

2Bone not in place, but assumed to belong to this skeleton. 

D714F3 

Newborn 

or fetal 

153 

······ 

. ..... 

------

--··-· 

78 

68 

10 

61 

r 

~ 

0 

Ul 

Ul 

-t"-4 

Ul 

1:-.,j 

1----l 
TABLE 3.- Measu-rements, in millimete-rs, indicative of statu-re of Platygonus compressus, made f-rom a-rticulated skeletons 

[Localities listed geographically, from west to east. KU, Museum of Natural History, University of Kansas; NMC, National Museum of Canada; USNM, United States National Museum; UC, Uni- versity of Cincinnati; BGSU, Bowling Green (Ohio) State University; ANSP, Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia. Leaders ( ...... ),measurement not possible] 

Locality 

Kansas: G<>odland, Sherman 

County. 

No. 

KU 458 KU 3108 NMC 17912 

Specimen 

Individual 

Adult female ................... . Adult male ....................... . Young .............................. . 

Young .. -------------------·········· 

Skull1 

294 

294 

315 

304 

Kentucky: Hickman, Fulton 

County. 

KU 3108 

USNM 26098 USNM 26099 USNM 26100 USNM 26101 USNM 26102 

Adult male........................ 330 Adult female.................... 6 310 Adult ................................. . Young ................................ . Adult ................................. . 

Ohio: Reading, UC 40311 Young adult female........ 330 

Hamilton 

County. Washington BGSU 2353 Mature female................. 302 

Township, 

Sandusky 

County. New York: 

Pittsford ( ?) ANSP 11544 Adult........................... 292 near Rochester, ANSP 11545 Adult ........... . 

Monroe 

County. 

Pennsylvania: 

Moserville, USNM 23706 Old female(?\.................. 302 

Bradford 

County. 

1Greatest length. 2End of premaxillary to end of ischium. 3At first dorsal vertebra. 4Right side as restored. 

Scapula Humerus 

175 

180 

4 192 

207 

5 180 

201 

206 

8184 

212 

200 

222 

190 

206 

5191 

195 

200 

190 

194, 

195 

Length Skeleton 

Innominate Femur Ulna bone! Tibia Length2 Height3 Source of data 

212 

215 

4 196 

222 

226 

223 

213 

214 

211 

220 

4 199 

253 

5229 

265 

233 

238 

5Estimate. 

195 

205 

186 

201 

6 195 

180 5 •

6

180 

190 

200 

193 

190, 

189 

196 

179.5 

198 

189 

180 

5204 

195 

196 

1140 

5 1270 

71161 

1210 

Williston (1894, p. 26-28). Do. 690 Peterson (1914, p. 117); 

parts measured by F. C. Whitmore, 

Jr., and C. R. Harington, National Museum of Canada. Williston (1894, p. 26-28). 

Measurements by F. C. Whitmore Jr. Do. 

Do. 

Do. 

Do. 

Measurements by F. C. Whitmore Jr. 

Hoare and others (1964, p. 212-214). 

Leidy (1889, p. 45-48). Do. 

600 Ray and others (1970); length and height measured by F. C. Whitmore, Jr. Do. 

6Bone not in place, but assumed to belong to this skeleton. •Length of skull plus length of vertebral column. BPosterior border. 

--· 

t-.:l 

t-.:l 

r:n 

1-3 

~ 

> >-3 

I-< 

C1 

~ 

> 

~ 

::q 

~~ 

~ 

0 

~ 

~ 

::q 

0 

t"4 

0 

C1 

~ 

> z 

tj 

~ 

> 

t"4 

tzj 

0 

tzj 

0 

0 

t"4 

0 

C1 

~~ 

~ 

tzj 

0 

0 

> 

~ 

~ 

::q 

tzj 

~ 

~tj 

~ 

tzj 

z 

>-3 

~ 

0 

~ 

~ 
PALEOECOLOGY 23 

stated. Simpson (1949) compared the American Museum skeleton and Williston'·s and Peterson's measurements of the Goodland skeletons with his large 

suite of P. compressus bones from Cherokee Cave, 

St. Louis, Mo. He concluded (p. 44) that 

It is nevertheless clear that as populations, that represented 

by Williston's Kansas specimens is somewhat different from 

that represented by the series from St. Louis. Their variations 

fully intergrade, and many individuals could not well be distinguished taken separately, but the mean size of their teeth 

(and perhaps some other averages for details) are somewhat 

different. They represent slightly different segments of one 

specific population. 

The Goodland, Hickman, and Denver herds of P. 

compTessus are the only ones for which measurements of several individuals are available. In several 

parameters (P2-M3 length, skull length, scapula 

length, ulna length), the range of measurements of 

Hickman bones demonstrates a larger size than does 

that of bones recovered at Goodland (table 3). Ray, 

Denny, and Rubin (1970) suggested a clinal decrease 

in size northward in P. compressus. This was indicated by a regular decrease in cheek-tooth length 

from southwest to northeast, and the cheek-tooth 

lengths in the Hickman herd fit within this trend. 

The single upper dentition measured from the Denver herd also fits the trend, but the lower dentition 

from the Denver herd is larger than would be expected if a cline existed, and it is also unusually 

large considering the size of the upper dentition (to 

be compared to Ray and others, 1970, table 5). Measurements of postcranial elements of articulated 

skeletons (table 3) do not give a clear clinal picture. 

If the Goodland and Hickman herds are combined 

and used as a standard of comparison, almost all 

measurements from the other cited skeletons fall 

within their range. Total length and height of skeleton, noted in table 3, should be considered only as 

approximations because of differences in posture and 

mounting techniques for exhibit specimens and because of distortion of specimens left in natural position. In most parameters, the Denver herd falls 

within the size range of the combined Hickman· and 

Goodland herds (tables 1-3; Williston, 1894, p. 26-

28). In length of temporal fossa, however, the largest Denver measurement is smaller than the smallest 

Hickman measurement and only slightly overlaps 

the Goodland range (Denver, 68~78 mm; Goodland, 

75-82 mm). The Denver herd has markedly longer 

metatarsals and metacarpals than the Hickman 

herd (table 2), but the proximal limb bones in both 

herds fall within the same size range. 

MOLLUSCA 

Large gastropods ranging from 1.5 to 3 em across 

occur around the peccaries as single shells, in clusters of two or more shells 5-10 em in diameter, and 

in layers 2.5-5 em thick. One such layer 5 em thick 

at the peccary level was composed of whole and 

broken shells of Aquispira alteTnata (Say) that covered an area at least 10 by 30 em. A few gastropods 

occurred among the bones of the peccaries. 

At the mollusk locality north of the peccary site 

(fig. 1), Anguispira lcochi (Pfeiffer) and the giant 

Allogona pTofunda (Say) were found by Mrs. Ruth 

Browne (written commun., 1967) to be limited to the 

Farmdale (Roxana as used here), though small Allogona pTofunda were identified in the lowermost typical Peoria Loess. 

AGE OF FOSSILS 

Radiocarbon dating of the peccary bones is not 

feasible because they are largely replaced by calcium 

carbonate (Meyer Rubin, oral commun., 1968). 

Aragonitic gastropod shells of Anguispira alte1·-

nata (Say) collected about 4 feet (1.2 m) above the 

base of the Roxana and within 50 feet (16m) of the 

peccary skeletons were radiocarbon dated as >34,000 

years B.P. by Meyer Rubin (sample W-2127, in Sullivan and others, 1970). This date is within Altonian 

Substage interval of 28,000-70,000 year,s (fig. 3; 

Frye and others, 1968). This assignment would hold 

true even if as much as 3,000 years were subtracted 

from the radiocarbon date to compensate for possible presence of inorganic carbon incorporated into 

the gastropod shell. Rubin and Taylor (1963) discussed sources of error in carbon-14 dates determined on shell material. 

PALEOECOLOGY AND THE DEATH OF THE 

HERD 

During Altonian time the glacial front was in the 

vicinity of Shelbyville, Ill., about 200 miles (320 km) 

north-northeast of Hickman. As the glacial ice 

melted, the resulting streams flowed southward 

heavily laden with silt. The low-gradient drainage 

was no doubt poorly defined, giving rise to extensive 

mudflats and marshlands. The Mississippi is believed 

to have flowed southward through the Morehouse 

lowland west of Sikeston, Mo., toward Hickman and 

at the most only a few miles west of the present 

Chickasaw Bluffs. Aquatic gastropod fossils found 

in Roxana Silt just east of the bluffs indicate the 

presence of another perennial stream in the vicinity 

of Hickman (Finch, 1971, Roxana description). 

The climate and vegetal cover at the time the peccaries roamed the Hickman area can be ascertained 

from associated fossil material. The large number of 

Anguispira kochi (Pfeiffer) and large specimens of 

Allogona profunda (Say) "seems to confirm the presence of true forests during the time of Farmdale 
24 STRATIGRAPHY, MORPHOLOGY, AND PALEOECOLOGY,.PECCARY HERD, KENTUCKY 

[Roxana as used here] deposition. Climate was probably somewhat cooler than at present" '(Ruth G. 

Browne, written commun., 1967). Hackberry trees 

were common and locally abundant. At the peccary 

horizon and within 50 feet ( 15 m) a vertical zone 

about 1 em wide, 30 em long, and 2.5-8 em high 

trending N. 60° E. was found to be filled with hackberry seeds. This zone probably represents a mudcrack filling, indicating at least local ponding and 

drying periods. The great abundance of carbonate 

root casts suggest a heavy grass cover. 

The poses of the peccary herd indicate that the peccaries died quietly and that their bodies were buried 

quickly. There is no evidence of the death pose-the 

head thrown back-that results from desiccation of 

the large tendons of the back of the neck when the 

body lies exposed on the surface. From the poses, 

death could have occurred in one of three ways: 

smothering in a duststorm, freezing, or smothering 

beneath the slumping of a vertical or overhanging 

loess bluff. The third possibility was suggested to 

Whitmore by Corneiia C. Cameron, who is familiar 

with sudden and heavy slumps of loess in Iowa. The 

Hickman peccaries may have died in a gully that was 

subsequently filled; perhaps they had taken refuge 

in the lee of an overhanging part of the gully wall 

which caved in on them. This would have preserved 

the skeletons in undisturbed position. Modern peccaries seek shelter in burrows, sometimes sleeping in 

them (Hall and Dalquest, 1963). However, comparison of the strong orientation of the silt particles surrounding the Hickman peccary skeletons with the 

linear orientation of skeletons (figs. 6A, 8) tends to 

favor burial by windblown silt rather than by slumping. 

Numerous observations of windblown silt (Pewe, 

1951; Lugn, 1968) leave no doubt that dust burial 

can be rapid enough to cover animal bodies in such 

a way as to preserve them from predators. It is 

much less certain, however, that a herd can be smothered in a duststorm and remain in the relaxed natural posture in which the Hickman herd and other 

herds of Platygonus compressus were found. We 

have made an extensive, though not exhaustive, 

search of travel literature on central Asia and Arabia and have found no reports of smothering of animals in the many duststorms and sandstorms that 

have been described in those areas. Heat, cold, and 

drought are frequently cited as causing localized and, 

sometimes, mass mortality, which emphasizes the 

lack of citation of dust as a cause of death. Pos·sibly, 

however, dust inhalation can be a contributary cause 

of death when coupled with immobilization because 

of cold. If extreme weather conditions rendered a 

Platygonus compressus herd comatose, or dead, it 

could be quickly covered with dust. The way in which 

this might happen was graphically described by 

Hedin (1905, p. 48) : "You have only to crouch down 

with your back to the wind, and you are at once wellnigh suffocated by the amount of dust and sand that 

accumulates in the eddy formed by the shelter of your 

own body." Hay (1923, p. 214, 216) and Clarke 

(1916, p. 34-35) suggested that peccary herds were 

overcome by cold. 

In Altonian time the prevailing southwesterly wind 

combined with the intermittent northwesterly (figs. 

6, 8) wind swept across the seasonally dry mudflats, 

picking up silt and depositing it as a blanketlike 

mantle on the low hills east of the flood plain. It was 

probably during one of the northwesterly duststorms, accompanied by a drop in temperature, that 

the peccaries met their sudden death and were 

buried. Their linear arrangement and inclined positions (fig. 9) suggest that they were walking up a 

trail away from the river with their backs to the 

wind when they became cold, crouched down, and 

were overwhelmed. 

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