Join Curator of Paleontology Eric Scott at the San Bernardino County Museum when he talks about hunting during the Pleistocene Epoch in his special lecture, “Big Game Hunting in the Ice Ages,” on Sunday, March 14 at 2pm. This presentation is free with paid museum admission.

            During the Pleistocene Epoch—the “Ice Ages”—North America was populated by an amazing variety of large mammals, including mammoths, mastodons, ground sloths, and sabre-toothed cats. “In southern California and the southwest, we have all sorts of fossils of these animals,” said Scott. “But we don’t know what happened to them at the end of the epoch. Were early humans here, living alongside these great beasts in our region? Can we determine whether or not humans might have hunted the Ice Age behemoths to extinction?”

            Scott’s presentation will focus on fossils from Pleistocene Lake Manix and other localities in the Mojave Desert. “During the Ice Ages, what is now a desert was then a more vibrant ecosystem, with broad lakes, abundant vegetation, and lots and lots of animals. What happened to this ancient living community remains a riddle in many ways,” he continued. He will also discuss the evidence for early humans living with Ice Age animals at Lake Manix and other sites from southern California.

            The San Bernardino County Museum is located at the California Street exit from Interstate 10 in Redlands. The Museum is open Tuesdays through Sundays and holiday Mondays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $8 (adult), $6 (military or senior), $5 (student) and $4 (child aged 5 to 12). Children under five and Museum Association members are admitted free. For more information, visit www.sbcountymuseum.org.

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