Pleistocene Period

Fossilized bones were discovered on this site in 2017 during earthwork grading operations for Stanford’s 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 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 likely they are also from Camelops, but there is a lesser chance they are from a Bison antiquus — an extinct species of bison — or possibly a horse or elk.