Evening star., 1939-01-14
Of Stors, Men ,.@
And Atoms
Notebook Of Science Progress
In Field, Laboratory
And Study

In Field, Laboratory
And Study
By Thomas r. Henry.
An asphalt tomb Of hundreds Of Ice
Age animals now is being studied by
psychologists of the Carnegie 1nstitu-
ton Of Washington. E.
Perhaps more than 10000 years ago
these creatures, many OF them repre-
senting species long since extinct on
earth, were trapped in tar seeps on the
southwestern border of the Great Valley
of California In much the same way
were preserved the bones in the most
intensively studied prehistoric animal
deposit in the United States, the Rancho
La Brea near Los Angeles. Tar still
exudes from cracks and fissures in the
surface of the ground, showing clearly
how the ancient creatures came to their
ends.
The investigation of the area is joint
project of the Carnegie Institution, the
University of California and the Cali
fornia Institute Of Technology. A re-
port on the progress has just been made
by DR.. Chester Stock, Carnegie paleon-
tologist. Thousands of individual bones,
representing teeth, skulls and skeletal
material have been dug out. All show
the characteristic black or brown color
which is the result of long contact with
and penetration by bituminous sub
stances
At the time these animals were on
earth, DR.. Stock says, the Typographical
conditions must have been quite similar
to those now found in the area. The
country is foothill belt stretching from
fairly high mountain range to a broad
plain. 1t apparently furnished favor
able environment during the glacial pc
riod for highly diversified assemblage
of animals, even though the climatic
evidence suggests that at times the re-
gion was even more desertlike than is
the case today.
Among the 43 different kinds OF man.
mails from this locality are the Western
horse, bison, large camel, peccary, small
antelope, pronghorn, deer and elk. The
peculiar ground Sloths of South Amer
ican origin apparently are represented
by two forms. OF special interest are a
eli 1;y,,to
NAL similar to musk OK. Associated
with these plant feeders are several Of
the large f1esh-eating forms Of the Ice
Age period including the sabre-tooth
cat, the lion cat, wolves and short-faced
bears. With these occur the black bear,
puma, wild cat. fox, coyote, skunk and
badger.
In the Rancho La Brea deposits stud
led by DR.. John c. Merriam former
president of the Carnegie Institution, the
flesh eaters were decidedly in the major
ity. Here, however, the carnivores are
not relatively so abundant and the dog
family, present in largest numbers, is
represented chiefly by the coyotes.
Altogether So varieties of birds were
found. The majority were predators,
like vultures, eagles, hawks and falcons.
In one excavation remains OF water and
shore birds were found in considerable
numbers. These belonged to the herons,
grebes, storks, swans, ducks and geese,
including an extinct pigmy goose. There
must have been standing bodies of
water, perhaps lakes, in the region.
AvN ntt IN ~
statement from the Carnegie Institu-
ton, "at particular stage in geologic
history, as based upon the sedimentary
and fossil evidence, offers one Of the
fascinating problems with which the
student of the past life of the earth Is
often concerned. In the instance of the
McKittrick asphalt deposits and their
entombed record of the Ice Age it is not
entirely clear as to whether we are deal
ing with single climatic stage, of neces-
sity varied because of topography, or
whether two or more climatic stages are
in reality superimposed and in such a
way that the differences due to time can
not be readily recognized.
One may envisage region not unlike
oAAS AOoCAAA4 DClt d1OIlk Illc e6SG6Iu I0nK
OF the Coast Ranges as it exists there
today. During the period OF accumula-
ton, however, the vegetation in the i'm
mediate vicinity included the salty sage
which at present grows in more arid
parts OF the San Joaquin Valley. Not
far away at higher elevations in the
mountains to the west grew pines and
jumpers.
Doubtless then as now the range served
as barrier to the easterly movement of
moisture-laden air from the Pacific
Ocean. With essentially dry and cool
climate there existed in the immediate
region of the tar seepages pools Of water
or perhaps lake fed by streams from
the western watershed of the Sierra Ne
vada and possibly from the Coast
Ranges as well. Outpours- of tar in the
near vicinity, extending doubtless across
the lake border zone and into the water
itself, furnished the agent by which vari-
Gus mammals, birds and other creatures
were mired and subsequently. entombed.
Authorities seem agreed that these
events occurred during the last cold stage
near the close Of the Ice Age which would
place this portion of early California
history within the last $4,000 years.
Protests Employment