Pleistocene Period

Fossilized bones were discovered at this site in 2017 during earthwork grading operations for the Stanford Redwood City campus, at substantial depth below the ground surface. They were determined to be from the Pleistocene Epoch, about 2.6 million to 11,700 years ago, a period of glaciations, extinction of many mammals, the last ice age, and the dawn of humans. As each fossil was unearthed, it was stabilized by the project paleontologist and removed from the site for cleaning and interpretation. One specimen was identified as the left radius and ulna of a Camelops, most likely Camelops hesternus, an extinct species of camel. The other specimens were harder to identify and were thought likely also to be from Camelops, though there was a lesser chance they were from Bison antiguus, an extinct species of bison, or possibly a horse or elk.

Redwood City, California · United States