SITE OOZES WITH SENSE OF HISTORY; MUSEUM LAUNCHES ANNUAL DIG AT TAR PIT.Byline: Jin Whang Daily News Staff Writer Three women in orange construction helmets gently poked with chisels and screwdrivers at black ooze OOZE - Object oriented extension of Z. "Object Orientation in Z", S. Stepney et al eds, Springer 1992. in a 14-foot-deep pit Thursday, their eyes on the lookout for in search of; looking for. See also: Lookout such things as 28,000-year-old rodent bones and insect remains. The annual excavation of Pit 91 at the La Brea Tar Pits La Brea Tar Pits Fossil field in Hancock Park (formerly Rancho La Brea), Los Angeles, Calif., U.S. It is the site of “pitch springs” oozing crude oil, formerly used by local Indians for waterproofing, and was explored by Gaspar de Portolá's expedition in was under way. ``You just have to be extremely patient,'' said Meghan Mayer, a member of the excavation team that on Thursday began this year's efforts to dig for the vertebrate bones, wood fossils, shells and seeds entrapped by sticky asphalt thousands of years ago. Last year alone, teams of mostly volunteer excavators recovered more than 1,000 fossils, including saber-toothed cat The terms saber-toothed cat and saber-toothed tiger describe numerous species, mainly in the families Felidae (subfamily Machairodontinae), Hyaenodontidae, and Nimravidae, but also including two marsupial families, that lived during various parts of the Cenozoic and evolved skulls, and bones of a bear, sloths and a North American North American named after North America. North American blastomycosis see North American blastomycosis. North American cattle tick see boophilusannulatus. lion. All of it provides extensive data on the climate and ecology of the Los Angeles Basin The Los Angeles Basin is the coastal sediment-filled plain located between the peninsular and transverse ranges in southern California in the United States containing the central part of the city of Los Angeles as well as its southern and southeastern suburbs (both in Los Angeles during the last Ice Age. The excavators will be working in the pit in Hancock Park next to the George C. Page George C. Page was a farmer boy from Fremont, Nebraska who left for California at the age of sixteen because of an orange. He had only $2.30. He worked as a busboy and a dishwasher until he had earned $1000 dollars. Museum until Sept. 13 and the public can watch for free. A viewing station will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. ``The tar looks weird,'' said 11-year-old Aiko Apuya, who is visiting Los Angeles this summer from Oxford, Ohio, and came by to check out the dig. ``It's amazing to see history just bubbling up in front of you,'' said Culver City resident Pat Hinson, who brought Aiko to see Pit 91 and was himself taking it in for the first time. The fossils recovered from the pit will be cleaned, identified and then cataloged at the fossil laboratory at the Page Museum. ``This locality has the richest Ice Age fossils in the world,'' said John Harris, chief paleontologist and head of the excavation project. ``This is the only museum dedicated to the study of tar pits.'' Excavations have been taking place in 100 tar pits in the Museum Row area since 1915. More than 1 million bones and 3-1/2 million fossils are stored at the Page Museum today. For information about the Page Museum, call (323) 934-PAGE. CAPTION(S): 2 Photos PHOTO (1 -- 2) Above, paleontologist Ted Connors examines fossils at the George C. Page Museum. At right, Sharen Dyer, left, and Meghan Mayer dig through Pit 91 at the La Brea Tar Pits on Thursday. Tom Mendoza/Daily News |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion