On our way back from Nashville, we stopped at Mammoth Cave National Park. This national park is home to the largest known cave system in the world. I was fascinated with the extensive caverns and expanses within the cave. Naturally, the historian in me wanted to connect the human historical element but also the geological aspect of it as well. Not unlike the Mississippi River, this cave has a longer history than the humans who have used it. As I reflected on this, I was reminded of something a professor of mine once said: “Geologists work with things that are far older than anything a historian will ever study.”
After pondering this for a while I realized that this trip gave awareness to more than just human cultivation, but also our natural environment and our relationship with it. At Mammoth Cave, this was acknowledged more directly than with the Mississippi River at the Gateway Arch. However, both the cave and river have a lot of information regarding their use by indigenous peoples as well as Europeans and the United States. I wondered what the cave could tell me about the attitudes of the people and societies that have interacted with or even used it. As well as the parallels between the cycles of human existence and those of nature, i.e. the seasons.
These questions brought my thinking into a more anthropological focus rather than a historical one. Since I am not an anthropologist, I wanted to avoid getting into that territory but thought it was important to look into the relationship between these natural wonders and the humans that have experienced them. Not surprisingly, I learned that Mammoth Cave as well as the Mississippi River have had both practical and symbolic value to all who have lived near them. Indigenous peoples had an extensive relationship with both as did Europeans and the United States.
As I learned at the Gateway Arch, merely having resources like these within the borders of one’s country can have an enormous impact on national identity. While the Mississippi River continues to have immense economic importance, Mammoth Cave relies its tourism appeal for any sort of revenue. That being said, Mammoth Cave once held vast resources that were mined for conflicts during the nineteenth century and brought much needed tourism to the region during the Kentucky Cave Wars the early twentieth century.
Today, the cave’s biological, geological and historical value cannot be understated. Much has been learned about the geology and indigenous people of the region from studying the cave. It also provides an important learning experiences for visitors whether their interests are anthropological, biological, geological, or historical. For me it demonstrates a little bit of each but mostly how a government will quickly move to take control of natural features such as Mammoth Cave or the Mississippi River.
This became my primary focus with my visit to the cave and made me wonder what it could tell me about the previous destinations. It appeared that even when a place like Mammoth cave no longer held any major contemporary economic value, it could still be “used” as a tourist destination and subject to various research and studies. For not generating anywhere near the revenue of other natural resources, it seemed like both state and federal authorities devote substantial resources to protecting it.
So, this begged the question: is it the ongoing research in the above-mentioned fields of study that is so coveted? Or is it merely a symbol and point of pride for a nation to claim for its own image? My opinion is that it is a little of both…Certainly, Kentucky and the United States get bragging rights for having the largest cave system in the world. But in addition to that, its contributions to research in numerous disciplines can also reinforce the United States’ capacity for education. Especially when it comes from something obtained and preserved through its own tumultuous history.
Do you think that Mammoth Cave is valued by the government as a natural resource? Or is it just preserved as one of the country’s symbolic possessions? Perhaps something else?