‘Bizarre’ Porpoise With Giant Underbite Is First Mammal of Its Kind in Fossil Record

Saber-Tooth Cats, Dire Wolves Found in La Brea Tar Pits Show Wounds From Ice Age Battles

May 2, 2017 —by Blake de Pastino 2436 0

The bones of saber-tooth cats and extinct dire wolves from downtown Los Angeles still bear the marks of injuries sustained in battle more than 11,500 years ago, researchers say.

anthropology

Mastodon Site in San Diego Said to Be Earliest Sign of Humans in America, Riling Skeptics

April 26, 2017 —by Blake de Pastino 4073 5

A new study claims that humans were hunting in California 130,000 years ago, but skeptics abound.

anthropology

Clovis Culture, Ice Age Fauna Weren’t Wiped Out by Cosmic Impact, Study Finds

February 9, 2017 —by Blake de Pastino 10666 5

A new study may finally put to rest one of the most vexing theories about America’s natural history: that the giant fauna of the Ice Age — and the culture of humans who hunted them — were wiped out by a cosmic impact.

‘Unusual’ Mammoth Fossil Discovered on California Island

September 15, 2016 —by Blake de Pastino 3177 3

Scientists have discovered the remains of an “unusual” mammoth that lived alongside some of the earliest known human inhabitants of Southern California.

anthropology

Ancient Seafarers’ Tool Sites, Up to 12,000 Years Old, Discovered on California Island

June 2, 2016 —by Blake de Pastino 5070 11

Archaeologists have turned up evidence of some of the oldest human activity in coastal Southern California, just off the coast of Ventura County.

anthropology

Nearly 9,000 Artifacts Uncovered in California Desert, Spanning 11,500 Years of History

November 2, 2015 —by Blake de Pastino 5916 2

Archaeologists exploring a military base in southern California have uncovered nearly 9,000 artifacts dating back as much as 13,000 years, shedding new light on human history in the Mojave Desert.

anthropology

Severed Heads, Skull Bowls Found in California Graves Were Tributes, Not War Trophies, Study Finds

October 12, 2015 —by Blake de Pastino 2720 1

A 3,000 year-old village discovered in central California has been found to contain an unusual set of burials — with more than a half dozen individuals buried without their heads,…

anthropology

Mass Grave Found in California Reveals Prehistoric Violence Against ‘Outsiders’

September 28, 2015 —by Blake de Pastino 4160 5

An ancient mass grave, uncovered during the construction of a shopping mall outside San Francisco, contains the bodies of seven men who appear to have been victims of “mass homicide”…

20th Century

Radioactive Wreck of WWII Aircraft Carrier Discovered Near San Francisco Bay

July 10, 2015 —by Blake de Pastino 2547 6

After more than 60 years — and some of the most intense action that a military vessel has ever seen — a World War II-era aircraft carrier has recently been…

Western Digs’ Top 5 Paleontology Stories of 2014

December 30, 2014 —by Blake de Pastino 1288 0

A red-headed mammoth, a cave piled high with ancient animal remains, and an unusual South Dakota dinosaur are all among the discoveries that shaped Western Digs’ most popular paleontology stories of…

19th Century

Shipwrecks Discovered in Nautical ‘Graveyard’ at San Francisco’s Golden Gate

September 18, 2014 —by Blake de Pastino 1254 1

Maritime archaeologists say they’ve discovered the wrecks of two great but long-forgotten ships, along with a newly found “mystery wreck,” just outside San Francisco’s famous Golden Gate. Researchers with the…

anthropology

First Columbian Mammoth With Hair Discovered on California Farm

September 3, 2014 —by Blake de Pastino 4794 7

Artichoke farmers plowing their fields in northern California have reaped a strange harvest: a trove of exotic animal fossils, including camel, mastodon and — most striking of all — the…

20th Century

Vinyl Records Excavated at Famous ’60s Commune Challenge ‘Hippie’ Stereotype, Study Says

June 5, 2014 —by Blake de Pastino 4593 33

The Grateful Dead once lived there, apparently taken with the acoustics of the living room. Its bucolic grounds were featured on the back cover of the Dead’s 1969 album Aoxomoxoa….

18th Century

Projectile point in human remains in California

From Stone Darts to Dismembered Bodies, New Study Reveals 5,000 Years of Violence in Central California

April 28, 2014 —by Blake de Pastino 3630 12

From shooting their enemies with darts and arrows to crushing their skulls and even harvesting body parts as trophies, the ancient foragers of central California engaged in sporadic, and sometimes…

anthropology

Earliest Evidence of Gigantism-Like Disease Found in 3,800-Year-Old California Skeleton

March 24, 2014 —by Blake de Pastino 3724 10

The remains of a man buried 3,800 years ago in a richly decorated California grave bear some unusual but unmistakable features — a protruding brow, a lantern jaw, thick leg…