Exchange Club of Bellevue Tuesday Breakfast Meeting 7:30 a.m. March 17, 2026 Olivia Thompson Tn State Museum Mastodon Bones in Bellevue

Olivia Thompson, Tn State Museum will speak about the Mastodon bones found near the Harpeth River in Bellevue, TN

The Tennessee State Museum in Nashville features Ice Age mastodon fossils, including a significant lower jawbone found in 1924 near the Little Harpeth River in Williamson County, Tennessee. These fossils are displayed in the "First Peoples" gallery, highlighting the interaction between Paleo-Indians and these large prehistoric mammals.

Olivia Thompson received her B.S. in Anthropology with a focus in archaeology and history in 2016 from Middle Tennessee State University. Olivia works at the Tennessee State Museum as a museum program assistant where she gives tours and teaches students about archaeology and the history of the state. Olivia was an intern in the conservation lab at the Tennessee State Library and Archives from August 2023 to January 2025. She has a passion for historical archaeology and anthropology and plans to further her education and career with graduate studies in the nearfuture. Currently the President of the Rutherford County Archaeological Society (RCAS), she also serves as the assistant director for its historic preservation and interpretation project at Murfreesboro’s Old City Cemetery. She began her fieldwork experience at the Center for American Archaeology in Kampsville, Illinois, and has participated in various archaeological projects in Middle Tennessee including: Clover Bottom Plantation, Pickett Chapel, Trustpoint Hospital Expansion Survey Project, the Oaklands Mansion Root Cellar Project, the Lone Rock Stockade Archaeology Project, and excavations at Sevier Park (Metro Nashville Historical Commission). Olivia was a tour guide, performed public services, and assisted with museum collections at the Hermitage, Nashville, TN. She has participated in various public archaeology events with MTSU and the Rutherford County Archaeological Society. Olivia was a field crew member of the 2022 and 2023 MTSU forensic aviation archaeology partnership with the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA). Olivia enjoys hiking, playing the violin, traveling, and reading.