La Brea Tar Pit Fossils

[@ophirdog]

I would have loved having you as a lecturer, Nick. Your knowledge is on another level.

[@GeologyUpSkill]

Be careful what you wish for. I'm a bit of a scatter brain in live presentations. KZbin works much better for me :)

[@mikebrennan7331]

I went with my family when I was 6 years old. They have a little plunger that sits in a container of the tar that you can pull on to get a feel for what the trapped animals had to deal with. As a six-year-old, I did not have strength to pull the plunger up more than maybe 10 cm or so. It was terrifying to think about as a kid. A decade and change later as a grad student, I went back chaperoning undergrads on a field trip and was able to pull the plunger all the way up, but even then, it took effort.

[@GeologyUpSkill]

Yes. The plunger is still there!

[@danp6897]

Went to La Brea as a kid in the 80s, and found the wall of dire wolf skulls particularly fascinating.

[@GeologyUpSkill]

It's an impressive display and really captures both the effectiveness of the traps and the amazing preservation. At most fossil sites you would get excited to find just one intact skull!

[@rodparker6530]

Sweet job mate. Thanks again

[@GeologyUpSkill]

Thanks very much!

[@corneliuswowbagger]

The La Brea tar pits are indeed amazing. I was at an AAPG conference in Long Beach and had one day and a long train and bus ride to get there. Well worth the effort! The environmental fallout is also interesting. There were tar seeps all over the area and since bacteria metabolize the tar creating methane every building had a methane monitor. This is within sight of the iconic “Hollywood” sign on the mountain, btw!

[@GeologyUpSkill]

Yes and they have done a great job on the museum.

[@markrothenberg9867]

I grew up less than 2 miles away from the tar pits and used to ride bicycles with friends; hang out on the grounds, and view the tar pits frequently-2 to 3 times per month. I knew every inch of the buildings and grounds.

[@GeologyUpSkill]

@@markrothenberg9867 The stuff dreams are made of :)

[@mikebrennan7331]

Similar issue about 20 Km away in the beach cities of Hermosa Beach and Redondo Beach. There was always globs of tar on the beach and as 6 year olds in the 1970s, we'd track the stuff into the cars on our feet. Sort of ruined the upholstery in the rear seats of my mom's 66 Mustang. The tar issue abated over the years as apparently the source of the seeps was exploited with some inconspicuous slant drilling from shore. About a month ago, I did find a few globs of tar in the sand while surfing a few km further down the coast.

[@gavinkalaher7314]

Really good video Nick. I remember reading about these tar pits as a kid. The sabre tooth tigers were my particular favourite!

[@GeologyUpSkill]

Seeing those teeth up close and personal is a sobering experience!

[@ronkirk5099]

I grew up about 50 miles from La Brea and we made a couple of school field trips to the museum there in my youth. Very interesting place for anyone interested in paleontology.

[@GeologyUpSkill]

Should be a part of every school program!

[@jasonflay8818]

Great video great content.I have one (pardon the pun) bone to pick with you, human migration to the Americas dates have in the past few years been pushed back. Now the prevailing thought is humans skirted the edge of glaciers along ice free coastal corridors prior to the opening of the Bering land bridge. Sites such as Monte Verde in Argentina, The Topper site in South Carolina, even Kanorado site in Kansas hinted at earlier migration, but the real nail in the coffin is the White Plains site in New Mexico. Sediment from footprints found at the site date to 22,800 BP. Lingustic anthropologists and Biological anthros have for decades been suggesting a date closer to 30,000 years ago, archaeology didnt have the data to support it. Just recently are we just now catching up to that. Other than that, the video is great!

[@GeologyUpSkill]

Thanks very much. I think the arrival date for humans is the weakest piece of data in this story. I understand it is based on radiocarbon dates of campsites near (but not in) the tar pits. A longer human occupation history would have given more for populations to build up and have an effect, but extinction by hunting still seems far fetched because it was so fast and affected so many different species.

[@sciptick]

More to the point: there can be no blaming humans for mass extinction of megafauna, excepting perhaps mammoths. Humans were in the Americas for at least ten millennia before the sudden wave of extinctions. We know now that there was a massive comet strike 12,800 years ago that lit off the continent-wide conflagration that did in 30+ genera of megafauna. Martin Sweatman published the definitive review article in, I think, 2019, summarizing investigations at dozens of sites throughout North America and also South America and Africa, and ice core data from Antarctica, with the spike in platinum concentration everywhere. The comet strike _might_ have set off the Younger Dryas cold spell, but definitive evidence to prove that will be long coming. Quibbling over this devastating event has been disgraceful. Boslough and Holliday, particularly, should be ashamed and disgraced. Boslough has promoted the bankrupt argument that because meteor strikes must be vanishingly rare, none could have been so recent, which is both statistical nonsense, and begs the question. It now turns out, furthermore, that strikes are much more frequent than had been assumed. There has been plenty of disingenuous malfeasance to go around.

[@jasonflay8818]

@@GeologyUpSkill my personal belief (and I'm just an historical archy so take this with a grain of salt) it was a culmination of the two. The climatic changes vastly altered the environment putting heavy stresses on megafauna. I believe humans pushed species teetering of the brink over the edge. If it was just environmental one would expect regional extinction, but an overall migration of species northward to northern latitudes that would have remained or developed similar ecological environs (similar to what is happening today). But if it was solely human driven then we wouldn't see examples like the Mammoths of Wrangle Island which had a population until about 4000BP. Though the island was utilized by the Inuit in this period, did not have the human population like the mainland allowing for a holdout population to survive. Regardless it's a very interesting and dynamic period to study especially when considering our current mass extinction period.

[@NeonRainGeo]

I'm glad that you were able to visit! It's a neat place to go and see the bubbling tar pits and all the fossil recovery work they are doing. It's truly fascinating! On the flipside, I've got some Australian areas on my geology bucket list, like Flinders Ranges and Uluru. I hope to go and see them someday.

[@GeologyUpSkill]

It should be on every geologists bucket list!

[@sciptick]

Uluru, anyway, will need to be admired from some remove.

[@markfox1545]

Ayer's Rock.

[@VolcanixAquatix]

I wish we could find more theraspid/synapsid fossils. Fascinating beasts!

[@GeologyUpSkill]

Indeed, and you have to wonder why we dont see more fossil tar pits from the age of the dinosaurs.

[@_Opal_Miner_]

I'm very happy to have chanced upon your channel. This is my 1st video of yours that I am watching. You're not a natural gesticulator with your hands when talking, I gather, so the fact alone that you have bothered to take the time to be more visually expressive has my respect. I look forward to sharing in your knowledge and passion. Thanks. Subscribed.

[@GeologyUpSkill]

Many thanks. I just talk. My hands do their own thing ;)

[@wishgodgirl1903]

Glad you finally were able to get to go to the tar pits

[@GeologyUpSkill]

It was worth the wait!

[@lachlanscanlan5621]

Fantastic video Nick. So much bad luck for so many animals, however for the researcher/scientist who wants compelling evidence, the tar pits are a fortune almost beyond comparison.

[@GeologyUpSkill]

Prior to the climate debate, they were very interesting. Now they are invaluable!

[@AEVMU]

Tar is still bubbling up on the grounds and if you walk around the area you can still find clumps of fresh tar. I have even seen a crayfish in a small creek onsite not far from a tar ball it could have gotten stuck in.

[@GeologyUpSkill]

Surprising only one human skeleton has been found!

[@eagarde]

Context Climate change United Nations Climate change refers to long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns, mainly caused by human activities, especially the burning of fossil fuels. Big brother has to splain this to us cuz we are sheep and can't think for ourselves

[@AncientAnimalAtlas]

Very interesting video, learned a lot about the tar pits!!

[@GeologyUpSkill]

Thanks. It's a very interesting place!

[@Bacon2000.]

>Be me, just a regular guy browsing 4chan for some laughs >Stumble upon a thread about pits, thinking it's gonna be some funny shit >But no, it's actually a heated debate about which pit is the best: armpit, peach pit, or pitbull >Scrolling through the thread, I can feel the tension rising as people passionately defend their favorite pit >Some dude is going on and on about how armpits are the most sensual and underrated pit of all >Meanwhile, another anon is arguing that peach pits are the superior pit due to their versatility in cooking and gardening >But then, out of nowhere, a pitbull lover jumps in and starts barking about how pitbulls are the ultimate pit and anyone who disagrees is a coward >The thread quickly turns into chaos as people start throwing insults and memes at each other >Meanwhile, I'm just sitting here, wondering how the hell we ended up arguing about pits on a random Tuesday night >But hey, that's just 4chan for you, always finding a way to turn the most mundane things into a heated debate >And as I close the tab, I can't help but think, 'Man, what a time to be alive. Pits, who would've thought?'

[@GeologyUpSkill]

Welcome to the climate debate!

[@GeologyDude]

This is a great place. It took a while for me to visit it too. Glad you saw it!

[@GeologyUpSkill]

Thanks Google Maps for pointing me in that direction!

[@Kda2456]

Thank You, This answered a couple of questions I always wondered about.

[@GeologyUpSkill]

That's great. I can thoroughly recommend a visit!

[@glendataylor7713]

This was fantastic. Thank you so much for such an interesting video.

[@GeologyUpSkill]

Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for your support.

[@jeffrey7938]

I want to visit the tar pits! So interesting.

[@GeologyUpSkill]

I can absolutely recommend it!

[@bristleconepinus2378]

great piece of prehistoric America, right on Wilshire Blvd.

[@GeologyUpSkill]

It is indeed!

[@mikelong9638]

I've of course heard about these all my life. After this video, I'm wondering if the bones that are found are the actual bone material (possibly containing DNA) or has the bone been replaced during fossilization?

[@GeologyUpSkill]

The bone material is preserved and in some techniques for dating, collagen is extracted to ensure the date represents the bone rather than the oil.

[@mikelong9638]

By the way, have fun in the USA. Welcome.

[@GeologyUpSkill]

@@mikelong9638 Thanks Mike!

[@ohasis8331]

Were there any human skeletons ever found there?

[@GeologyUpSkill]

Just one.

[@canadiangemstones7636]

Every year a few people are lost to the tar pits, but they’re invariably republicans, who don’t believe in science, so nobody cares.

[@rawbacon]

My only knowledge of The La Brea Tar Pits comes from Bugs Bunny.

[@GeologyUpSkill]

It also turns up in the animated Croods movie :)

[@davidanderson7389]

I’ve been there, simply amazing!

[@GeologyUpSkill]

It is indeed. Certainly worthy of a place on the bucket list.

[@سلفيسكران]

How can I contact you? There are many veins and gold, but experts in our country, Tibesti and Chad, want us to communicate with you

[@GeologyUpSkill]

Best to link up on LinkedIn and chat with the messaging system there.

[@سلفيسكران]

@@GeologyUpSkill I can connect with you on Instagram

[@garyprince2867]

At 4:43 you refer to 'current ice age'. Does that mean we are still emerging from the last maximum and are not yet - from a scientific perspective - fully into the inter-glacial period? Not meant as a smarta55 question - just keen to know.

[@GeologyUpSkill]

Yes we are technically still in an ice age because there are permanent ice caps on the poles. Take a look at the extended version that is linked in the video description. It has a detailed chart that defines the interglacial period.

[@garyprince2867]

@@GeologyUpSkill Thank you, will do.

[@rodbhar6522]

We have been fully into the current inter-glacial for thousands of years.

[@GeologyUpSkill]

@@rodbhar6522 Yes, roughly 10,000 years of remarkably stable conditions. That has allowed us to develop from wandering hunter gatherers into the high tech society we are today. Hopefully we can use that accumulated skills base to adapt to the climate next time it mkaes a major change, regardless of what causes it.

[@sciptick]

@@GeologyUpSkill Not so permanent as hoped, as it turns out. But we could still tip into another glacial maximum: climate is chaotic, so a quick hot spell could easily kick us off into another mode with unpredictable trajectory.

[@garrettmillsap]

A channel i came accross is uploading your videos. The channel name is Gea Pedia

[@GeologyUpSkill]

Many thanks Garrett. They managed to avoid the KZbin content matching. Your human eyes are smarter!

[@garrettmillsap]

@@GeologyUpSkill glad I could help

[@GeologyUpSkill]

I also tracked down Geo Girl whose content they are copying and alerted her. She makes some great videos about geology. www.youtube.com/@GEOGIRL

[@garrettmillsap]

@@GeologyUpSkill I'm glad you did. I didn't notice she was being copied. I also subscribe to her as well.

[@chrisgriffiths2533]

No Humans in the Tar Pits ?.

[@glennsimonsen8421]

1 female

[@chrisgriffiths2533]

@@glennsimonsen8421 Thanks, But from what Time Period ?.

[@GeologyUpSkill]

Just one skeleton of a woman about 10200 years old. Close to the skeleton of a domestic dog that was thought to have been buried with her but later found to be much younger en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Brea_Woman

[@7slotgrille]

Totally ignoring the foot prints newly discovered that are 25,000 years old

[@GeologyUpSkill]

The dates for human arrival reflect the oldest human evidence near the tar pits. It seems pretty clear that humans arrived on the continent much earlier.

[@lindaj5492]

Popularised in The Big Bang Theory as a place that Sheldon Cooper likes to visit 😊

[@GeologyUpSkill]

And yet his view of geology is so disparaging!

[@michaelkaiser4674]

5x5 Datil NM Territory

[@vickilindberg6336]

The Climate change verbage Facebook apparently and inserted is inappropriate & unnecessary to this story.

[@GeologyUpSkill]

It's the new "C" word...

[@youlovetoseeitlol]

@@GeologyUpSkill recession from an ice age, ooga booga.

[@AEVMU]

Boo hoo.

[@andrewrivera4029]

Sounds like we’ve all been meat eaters for a long time…

[@GeologyUpSkill]

Yes indeed!

[@sciptick]

But for far too long to blame the mass extinctions on. We know now that the end-Pleistocene comet strike is to blame for most of the extinctions. It was probably pretty uncomfortable for the people of the day, too.

[@michaeldeierhoi4096]

​@@sciptick Who is this "we know" you are referring to? Because at best the comet that supposedly came at the end of the Pleistocene is hardly an open and shut case.

[@Mrmidknight-yx9pg]

I herd tgat the discovery in white sand new mexico pushed the date of humsn arrival into the americas to about 20 th 23 thousand years ago

[@GeologyUpSkill]

The dates I mentioned reflect the oldest evidence of humans near the tar pits. It seems pretty clear that humans arrived elsewhere on the continent much earlier.

[@nigelbowe6688]

Tah.

[@GeologyUpSkill]

Thanks. You might also like my new one kzbin.info/www/bejne/eGXEqJ-njdWhhas

[@warrenwalker2665]

Facebook didn't like your time lines mate. Too close to BIBLICAL dating. GOD ALONE has the power to undo man's insatiable insanity. II CHRONICLES 7:14. Good on ya.😊

[@GeologyUpSkill]

Facebook doesn't like KZbin...

[@peatmoss4415]

Oh brother.....

[@susanjaeger9851]

You lost me at the carbon dating. 🙄

[@YECBIB]

King James Bible He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.✝️

[@GeologyUpSkill]

All this happened about 12,000 years before King James was born.

[@bryanr.4947]

Nope, not interested in your ideas of climate implications on any level. A giant waste of time.

[@GeologyUpSkill]

I put the climate segments on a separate channel for exactly that reason. You have the option to stick with the geology focussed version.

[@jamesburke6078]

I love stuff like this... unfortunately it's in California...I ain't never going to that pit! Too much dirt of all colors!

[@a1971-d6d]

Actually, the world is only 6000 yrs old

[@GeologyUpSkill]

Do visit the museum. It might change your mind on that!

[@kungfu2toe]

Bullshit!

[@GeologyUpSkill]

Which part?