Utility Company Finds 1.4 Million Year Old Fossils

As I've mentioned before, I love stories like this; history, prehistory, geological, and geographical oddities are all on my list.  And it's a long one.

So, you can imagine the thrill from this story.  There is so much unknown that is just beneath our feet. Here is Delaware there are many artifacts from the many native American tribes who populated the area, as well as more recent finds including artifacts from Pirate ships as well as those from sunken British and Dutch navy ships. But, all that is for another time.

RIVERSIDE, Calif. — A utility company preparing to build a new substation in an arid canyon southeast of Los Angeles has stumbled on a trove of animal fossils dating back 1.4 million years that researchers say will fill in blanks in Southern California's history.
The well-preserved cache contains nearly 1,500 bone fragments, including a giant cat that was the ancestor of the saber-toothed tiger, ground sloths the size of a modern-day grizzly bear, two types of camels and more than 1,200 bones from small rodents. Other finds include a new species of deer, horse and possibly llama, researchers affiliated with the project said.
Workers doing grading for the substation also uncovered signs of plant life that indicate birch, pine, sycamore, marsh reeds and oak trees once grew in the area that is now dry and sparsely vegetated.
The fossils representing 35 species have all been removed from the site and will be on display at the Western Science Center in nearby Hemet starting next year.
The bones are about 1 million years older than those found in the famous La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles, said Rick Greenwood, a microbiologist who also is director of corporate environment health and safety for the utility, Southern California Edison.
"If you step back, this is just a huge find," he said. "Everyone talks about the La Brea Tar Pits, but I think this is going to be much larger in terms of its scientific value to the research community."
Greenwood continued: "Some of the things I personally find fascinating are the prehistoric camels and llamas and horses and deer. I don't think most people even have the concept that those types of animals were roaming around here more than a million years ago."

There is more HERE.

And so it goes.
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