Most folks come visit Charleston because of the beautiful historic straw market area… a gorgeous waterfront open aired market that has it’s history in colonial roots. I admit we love it there too… amidst the historical landmarks and buildings and art galleries and pirate dungeon and horse drawn carriages and cobblestone streets… but I have a new favorite. And it has nothing to do with Historic Charleston at all… or anything at all to do with mankind.
It has to do with what happened millions of years before man set foot on what is now known as Charleston… a snapshot of life captured by the College of Charleston in their Natural History display, which is now open to the public.
From the website: “This museum contains more than 2,000 vertebrate and invertebrate fossils. The collection’s focus is on North American mammals, and 90-percent of these mammals once roamed the South Carolina Lowcountry. This visually stunning collection includes complete skeletons of mammals, such as, a giant armadillo, a cave bear, and a saber-toothed cat. The fossils are part of the Mace Brown collection.”
This place is only one room big, but it packs a punch. I am still in amazement and full of wonder from the fossils we saw there… knowing they were locally discovered and of creatures that roamed right where I now live!
Clara thrills at seeing a fossil being worked on… this is thought to be the skull of an ancient ancestor to a sperm whale, dug up right here in Summerville, SC!
How about 500,000 year old Mammoth arm bones, found in Mount Pleasant, SC? I was shocked to so many absolute treasures, just sitting out row after row after row…
Look at this 25 million year old sea turtle, found in Summerville? This is exactly what we want to find in our own backyard dig!!!!
Or a 50 million year old prehistoric whale backbone, found in Harleyville, SC? Amazing!
Yum! Ammonite! Tasty food!
See the gorgeous glow on this ammonite? You would think they added resins or something over it to get that thick gloss, but they didn’t, this is just the glow of the fossil!
Here are some other pics of beautiful sites from the day… I could go back again tomorrow. I encourage everyone who is local to visit, and leave a donation if you can! The exhibit is free and open to the public. You can find more info about it here. See you on Monday for a new Thought On Health! xoxo
Fossils as they look in the field…
Precursor to the anteater…
Saber tooth cat skull…
The giant beaver… with modern day beaver skull as comparison…
A full mouth of Megalodon teeth, the entire set all found locally here in Charleston…