Pleistocene Period

Pleistocene Period. 2.6 Million - 11,700 Years Ago. Fossilized bones were discovered on this site in 2017 during earthwork grading operations for the Stanford Redwood City campus. The bones were found 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 determined to be the left radius and ulna of a Camelops; most likely Camelops hesternus, a bone from a now extinct species of camel! The other specimens were more difficult to identify. It is like they are also from Camelops, but there is a lesser chance they are from a Bison antiguus - an extinct species of bison – or possibly a horse or elk., (There is a small panel in braille below the main text) , Images: , (Top) Bones from an extinct species of camel (Camelops hesternus) were unearthed at this site during 2017 Stanford Redwood City earthwork grading operations. , (Bottom Left) Fossilized bones unearthed during grading in-situ. , (Bottom Right) Fossilized bones found during grading were studied in the laboratory.