In 2006 scientists found a number of fossils underneath an old parking lot next to the famous La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles. Just last summer a team of scientists started to excavate this parking lot and with their effort game great reward. Although they found a great deal of other bones and fossils, the most significant finds were an almost perfect mammoth skeleton, the bones of saber-toothed tigers, dire wolves, bison, horses, and sloths. On the mammoth the team found a pair of ten foot long tusks, which is around the height, if not taller, of the earth science classroom. The Page Museum, which serves as the official museum of the La Brea Tar Pits, is said to possibly double its Ice Age Collection with these recent excavations. This type of discovery typically takes many years to finish, but with a looming deadline of a soon to be art museum parking lot, the team had to work fast. A giant crane was brought to the site where it pulled out all of the fossils. After all of the work was done and the dust had settled, the crane had pulled 23 boxes of old bones and other deposits. After this magnificent feat, it was now time to examine the excavated items. As the paleontologists cleaned off the mammoth, they noticed that he had several broken and re-healed ribs. Zed, which the named this mammoth, also had arthritic joints, which hints us to believe that said didn't live the most happy of mammoth lives. The La Brea Tar Pits are home to much more than just these recent discoveries, however. This large tar pit used to ooze sticky tar up onto the ground which trapped all of the creatures whose remains were later found. Over 100 years of excavation in these famous tar pits and around one million bones and other deposits found in this paleontological playground. Who knows, maybe during the construction of the soon-to-be parking lot, they will find one of Zed's relatives.
This scientific discovery can change many people's lives. If you're someone that is into paleontology or a kid that is in the dinosaur phase of his/her childhood, you will want to see these Ice Age wonders. I know I've always wanted to visit Los Angeles and this would make me want to go even more. I don't think that I have ever seen a mammoth skeleton in real life before, let alone one that has ten foot tusks! This excavation could definitely help bring some scholars specializing in paleontology to the area, and who knows, maybe the University of Southern California or the University of California - Los Angeles will become schools where paleontologists dream to study because of these significant paleontological discoveries. Further analysis of these fossils could tell us where these ancient creatures have been or how old they are. The more we know about these creatures the better we can classify and understand the animals that exist today that evolved from the prehistoric creatures. For example, say we find some species of elephants that have joint problems, and some species that don't. We could go down the evolving chain to see where these species were separated and why some have arthritis and some don't. This is the impact this article has on me, others, and the whole world.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29247199/
Chang, Alicia. "Cache of Ice Age fossils found in Los Angeles - Science- msnbc.com." MSNBC. 17 Feb. 2009. 22 Feb. 2009 http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29247199/.
