At the La Brea Tar Pits Museum (also known as the Page Museum) in Los Angeles, the fossil lab where paleontologists work on the fossils is open to be viewed by visitors.
The first fossil from the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles was confirmed in 1875 by geologist William Denton. This first fossil was an ancient saber-toothed cat. In 1924, George Allan Hancock donated 23 acres of his family’s ranch to the County of Los Angeles so that it could become a public park which would protect the tar pits and safeguard the fossils. In 1977, the Page Museum opened to the public.
Paleontology is the study of the ancient past through fossils and the geologic record. In studying ancient life forms, paleontologists can add to the knowledge of evolutionary sequences. In his book The Blind Watchmaker: Why the Evidence of Evolution Reveals a Universe Without Design, evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins writes:
“Paleontology is the study of fossils. It is a very important branch of biology, because evolutionary ancestors all died long ago and fossils provide us with our only direct evidence of the mammals and plants of the distant past. If we want to know what our evolutionary ancestors looked like, fossils are our main hope.”
Fossils are simply the preserved remains or traces of ancient plants and animals. With regard to animals, the parts of the animal most likely to fossilize are the hardest parts, that is, bones, teeth, and shells. At the La Brea Tar Pits, the fossils have been preserved because they were buried in asphalt which began forming about 55,000 years ago. According to the Museum display:
“There are many conditions which affect the nature of the specimens preserved within the asphalt deposits or ‘tar pit.’ Some animals die a distance away and their bones may be abraded (water worn) or broken, and scattered as they are washed into the pits by streams or floods. Because the cool winter months cause the asphalt to harden, some bones may lay exposed on the surface and splinter (surface weathering), or may be disturbed by other animals.”
In uncovering fossils paleontologists may find:
Articulated skeletons: in this instance, the skeleton is still joined together. While an articulated skeleton may be complete, in most cases some pieces, particularly the smaller bones, may be missing.
Associated skeletons: in this instance, the bones are spread out and may be broken. Working carefully, with an understanding of the animal’s anatomy, the paleontologist has to identify the different bones and their fragments and determine if they belong to one animal or several.
Isolated bones: often isolated bones are large bones, such as those in the leg or perhaps a skull.
When a fossil arrives in the lab, it is first cleaned with a solvent (n-propyl bromide) to dissolve the hardened asphalt from the bones. At times, dental picks are used to dislodge the sediment. It may take days, and even weeks, to clean large fossils and fossils, such as skulls, with many cavities.
In the lab, the fossils are sorted, cataloged, and recorded into a data base.
Shown below is the paleontology lab at the Page Museum.
More Paleontology
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Paleontology 101: The North American Camel
Paleontology 101: The Hagerman Horse, Equus Simplicidens
Paleontology 101: North American Horses, Rhinos, and Camels (Photo Diary)
Paleontology 101: Wolves, Dogs, Cats, and Bears (Photo Diary)
Paleontology 101: Dinosaur Hall (Photo Diary)
Paleontology 101: The Mesozoic--The Age of Dinosaurs (Photo Diary)
Paleontology 101: The Cenozoic--The Age of Mammals (Photo Diary)
Paleontology 101: Bears, Pronghorns, and Pigs
Paleontology 101: The La Brea Tar Pits Museum
Paleontology 101: American Mastodons at the La Brea Tar Pits