How 4 Million Fossils Are Extracted From Tar At La Brea Tar Pits | Colossal Collections
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 14 มิ.ย. 2024
- Excavators at the La Brea Tar Pits & Museum work to dig up fossils of mammoths, dire wolves, giant sloths and more out of the ground. They clean and piece together the bones, and prepare them for research and museum collections. With 4 million specimens already in scientists' hands, why keep excavating after more than 100 years?
The La Brea Tar Pits is one of the only paleontological sites on Earth that has preserved an entire ecosystem over time, from plants to camels to bugs. And every new fossil not only helps tell the story of the Los Angeles Basin over 50,000 years but also gives us clues about how current species, including humans, could weather climate change in the future.
We went to the La Brea Tar Pits to see how specimens are discovered, cleaned, and pieced together to build a record of the last 50,000 years.
0:00 - Intro
0:41 - Acquisition
3:58 - Cleaning and Preparation
6:17 - Research and Collections
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How 4 Million Fossils Are Extracted From Tar At La Brea Tar Pits | Colossal Collections - วิทยาศาสตร์และเทคโนโลยี
My son is working in a tunnel for the metro rail that's going through the area of those tar pits and they had to take a class in paleontology in case they come across any fossils. I'm glad that they're making the workers aware of the importance of being careful around these fragile artifacts.
That's good thinking by the LA Metro. I'm sure it's tempting to pocket any fossil you find. Did they have any incentive to turn in any found fossils? (Also, artifacts are by definition man-made objects)
@@yanosaur imma start robbing those workers houses in search of a sabertooth Tooth
I've noticed in the UK, before construction can begin, archeological surveys have to be taken
@@yanosaur I think whenever a fossil is discovered, the work site automatically becomes part of the la brea paleontology project. They record anything that's found and the museum collects the bones, but there's not really a reason for the construction company to deal with storing or transporting them. They might pocket a small bone here and there, but anything bigger is probably difficult to steal.
Finders keepers!
I was blessed to visit the tar pits in late 70s and 80s. My dad's office was a few blocks away as well as school field trips. This a a neat introduction but the knowledge is deep .. the most important concept not told here: the area is rather dry Mediterranean ecosystem with 80% rain in 2 months. Water sits on top of the tar looking like a pool of water.. thirsty animals and humans would wade into shallows to find themselves sinking into the asphalt the water is floating on... settling into layers..
yes, a horrible death for them. you are right about the rain, mostly jan or feb.
Blessed? By the Tar Pit god? 🙄
@@Diana1000Smiles tar pit god is as real as any other lol
😎
@@strayiggytv hahahaha GOT EM! lol that’s a true statement
I know Laura personally, she is a wonderful, knowledgeable, and dedicated representative of the Tar Pits. Excellent video!
Tell her that she needs to make an ASMR youtube series of just her cleaning the fossils with the dental pick. I got major ASMR vibes from seeing her do that.
I used to work there a couple years ago & they are still actively excavating to this day! Over 5 million specimens have been found since they began!
Hey here’s an idea why not bring these creatures back to life with DNA from their modern relatives
I'm so jealous! I'd absolutely LOVE to work there in fossil prep. Unfortunately I live in Europe so I don't think I'll ever get the chance
@@batfurs3001 You may be jealous but I’m not there’s nothing to be jealous of just not a good characteristic jealousy
@@jamessparkman6604 It's not that simple. These are fossils, meaning they're mineralized. When this occurs, there is no DNA left to extract. So you wouldn't be able to recreate these species using their modern relatives as you would need DNA from the animal you're trying to bring back. However, there are animals from this era that you would be able to bring back. Those being any preserved in permafrost such as Mammoths. The animals preserved in permafrost still have skin, bones, blood, and even meat that's still edible. These can be recreated using their modern relatives as you have the DNA from the previous animal.
@@gr3mlin404 Well I know affect the tyrannosaur femur did Have DNA put that in your notebook so there
It’s weird to think how many creatures died in that small area of the tar pits…. I’ve been there several times and it’s not that large.
Honey trap
The tar pit today is just a miniscule amount of what is left over decades of time and human terraforming. I'm sure it was an amazing other wordly sight back then
It was a lot larger before they started quarrying it for asphalt.
The need of water !
Yeah not only was it bigger back then but every animal that died in it was a lure fir other animals to die in it. You see the same thing in abandoned mines where an animal falls in and other animals fall in trying to get to it.
This girl loves her craft! It’s beautiful to see how passionate she is.
She loves her job I mean look a her she is so happy and eager to show her tools and technique
It's so refreshing to watch people enjoying their craft.
You'd think after the first 40,000 years the sabre-toothed cats would've learned to stop jumping into tar pits 😶
Bruh
🤣🤘
@@Jonquavious2780 people still say bruh????
@@dougdavis8986 no
Well, the ones who jumped in took themselves out of the gene pool. I suppose that didn't incentivize tar pit swan dives
Gotta say this looks pretty fun, always loved paleontology and archaeology, there's just something so cool about finding old stuff and fossils in dirt or some other materials
The patience, skill and attention to detail required is incredible, it just shows you how much these people love what they do, every day is a treasure hunt!
5 year old me would be absolutely losing his shit right now 😂
19 year old current me is losing her shit right now! It looks SO fun to dig through that. I would LOVE to get my hands on a big clump of that stuff to clean.
I love the tar pits! I live near LA and I've been on so many field trips with my schools over the years. This place is amazing, there is a small museum for the pits which is realllllyyy awesome. It's filled to the brim with amazing fossils and information. They also have lots of games and statues, and its right next to the art museum!! I highly recommend a visit if ever in the area.
At every stage my only thought was “I would love this job” this was absolutely fascinating
It's not too late. Go do it
@@dougdavis8986 I bet everyone wants to work in the LA tar pits.
I know right? everything is so captivating!
But I don't even have archeological degree.
Heard about these tar pits for forever. First time getting a glimpse of what they hold. Really thank and appreciate being able to finally see some of the animals. ♥️👍♥️
Worth the visit if you ever get a chance
I remember visiting la brea 20 years ago with my dad and mom and I felt so excited and never wanted to leave the museum. I was just there in June and I felt like a little kid again.
Cool mate, i would like to visit there once.
So wild that such a horrifying way to die could lead future researchers to learn about life in different time periods.
Fun fact: The largest natural deposit of tar/asphalt is the La Brea Pitch Lake in La Brea, Trinidad and Tobago, covering 100 acres and 250 feet deep.
Many of the earliest asphalt paved roads in NYC and D.C. were paved with material from this lake.
"La Brea" is Spanish for "the tar/pitch".
Trinidad no longer owns the pitch lake.
@@unexpected7837 lmao they couldn’t make their own so they had to use the natural shit??
@@unexpected7837 lemme guess, some white dude owns it
@@MyBoomStick1 China owns it . I'm from Trinidad and Tobago so i know
@@MyBoomStick1 Racist got ratioed lol
I was there last year in September and it's one of the coolest places I've ever been. The collection is insane! If your in LA take the time and visit!
Usually the parts of California I love are on Fire. It's a sad situation, Climate Change, very sad, indeed.
i wanna go but i also dont wanna get stabbed or robbed enjoying something i've never experienced LOL
@@snakepl1skin I had no problems while I was out there people were nice,might be because they are all high as hell, hung out in Hollywood at night with a bunch of other musicians and had a blast!
@@Diana1000Smiles oh yah i beleive u lol what a lie but u thought u better ur self to spread
Neat how the La Brea fossils are prepared in a similar way with the same materials or techniques as to how old paintings are cleaned and restored, including the use of reversible adhesives that don't harm the object itself that future researchers/restorers can get rid of again. I never thought about it but of course it would be a similar process.
You can see how many in the comments who love this work or enjoy at least the viewing of such, proving that discovery ambition will never die
Very cool video! I love hearing researchers discuss their work, and the detail and care that goes into the excavation and preservation of these fossils is very impressive. No place cooler to me than a museum's collections!
Amazing how many creatures lived in the area.
Around 1987 a friend & I stopped by and I have to tell you the Most amazing thing I witnessed was a homeless man who had trained his cat to take a small plastic spoon that he had filled with a small bit of caned cat food. Taking the spoon in its two paws standing on it's hind feet would feed it's self from the spoon. The Pit was interesting too.
@@mikemiller659 homeless in LA?! Noooooooooooooo. I. Just. Don’t. Believe. You.
kudos to the staff and volunteers for their time and patience.
Imagine how cool ot must be to work there excavating fossils... Wow!
Went there in 2020 with my wife on our formerly yearly trip to Disneyland and I absolutely loved it there. Excited to go back whenever we're able.
Interesting...it really never hurts to learn something new.
Except if you were a young earth creationist.
I saw the tar pits early 2000s. Fascinating place.
They had a series called La Brea on NBC. It was about a sink hole that opened up in cal and people fell into another dimension back in the Stone Age. Wow.
I watched that show, it was pretty neat.
Until it got all weird when the dad found out the blonde kid from that tribe was him from the past.
Hopefully season 2 is better (if it ever comes out)
In all reality. There was a sink hole that opened because a guy lied on his resume and became the head engineer for the new publ7c transit systems in 90s.. no education at all .. there was methane seeping up onto street surfaces and would catch fire from cigarettes/ matches tossed by pedestrians ... I'd think that guy is still in prison
That was a documentary; Laura in this video is excavating the fossil remains of those guys
😁😄😀😐😶
Sorry
Based on a true story
@@beastmaster0934 yeah. And he was boinking his future mom!
Visiting the Tar Pits was the highlight of my time in LA! But that was a long time ago.
right next to the art museum!
Went there in the early 2000s, it was an amazing place to see and learn about extinct animals from the past. More interesting was La Brea was in the heart of LA.
I really love this type of work 👍
I'd probably break everything lol these people are amazing. Thanks for all that you do.
That first fat woman looked like she was being rough with those fossils pounding on them with a hammer and chisel like she was. I bet you anything she has broken Tom's of Fossils.
Just going point out this is good quality video work and animation. Good job on the creative team! 👏
This was a super cool video. Love seeing this kind of exploration.
an assessment from the extinct to preserve the present, a truly holistic endeavor...
great 👍 job !!!
Thank you. I appreciate the knowledge we gain from this painstaking work.
This was extremely interesting, especially considering that I have no knowledge in this subject. Very cool video!!
I love learning about fossils and dinosaurs, thank you
The The Tar Tar Pits. 😂😂❤❤❤ love this place!
these people have way more patience than I do. Kudos to all the people involved.
Imagine what we would find in the deep underwater brine pools, we could literally find completely intact creatures.
Brine pools are absolutely insane.
@@leonmat26 they are, shame we can't enter them yet.
You're talking about brine pool where a hagfish toxicated themselves right?
@@anonymousstout4759 yes.
This is really exciting
The point is how to get there
Dive suits more resembling an exoskeleton maybe??
I would love to put that gigantic hunk of dry tar and bone into a vat of solvent and just watch it all gently dismantle into a pile of bones. So. Satisfying.
This is super cool! Thank you Laura
Very neat! I hope to visit there one day!
Been there before and holy hell it stinks lolol but literally amazing all at the same time
Do you need a degree to do the specialized fossil cleaning? That's what an artist does on the daily!
Ypu are aware that there are actually degrees in higher education to be an actual artist? And that ordinary uneducated people collect fossils every day? We dug fossils as kids drive distance from Arcadia in LA county... so cal. But now I l7ve in Utah and fossils are everywhere... especially dinosaur national park..
Hello how are you doing?
Recently visited the tar pits when I was in LA. I highly recommend it.
How many sabretooth skulls do we really need to dig up? Seems we spend a lot of money digging up bones just to put them in some box.
All these fossils remind me of pokemon
Be careful where you park when visiting the pits: asphalt seeps, up to a 1/4-mile away from the museum site, frequently and erratically appear on sidewalks, parking areas, and streets. More than once, my car's tires fell victim to tar oozing from below.
There's so much history beneath our feet.
OIL companies should be in this place to extract the tar with scientists to help with the energy demand of the local government
I reckon they would suck up or destroy too many fossils. A similar thought crossed my mind, too.
Besides, America already has enough oil reservoirs, it doesn't _have_ to use these pits.
Tar is a terrible fuel. It releases lots of chemicals.
The oil isn’t usable, but believe me there’s a lot of oil extraction in Southern California.
Dork
Yeah this isn't usable oil and even if it was, oil is a temporary energy solution anyway. You're basically advocating for a bandaid over a gaping wound.
10 hrs haha a Mexican will do that in 30 mins
One of my favorite places, due for a visit again
I find it amazing how more and more of these fossils are being located with soft tissue still on the bones.
Many finders and collectors...never give your finds to a museum. It will be put away downstairs....for ever. Sell it, it will be treasured and admired by its new custodion.
Or use them to play the drums
Where are angry religious fans?
In japan
You're angry enough.
I've always wondered how they got fossils out of there. Thanks for posting this!
I went to the tar pits as a grade student in the 60’s and returned again when I was in my 60’s … wonderful wonderful place! ( as is the LA County Museum of Natural History similarly visited and revisited )
Homeless people can do this job.
If they were trained in paleontology I guess. But that's a really weird thing to say
i would like nothing more than to spend hours every day sitting in front of a fossil and cleaning it up. what a dream!
The Pits are really awesome < so many animals < Thanks for informing us
Next part of that project should be to do a high quality 3d scan. Then it could be shared for schools to 3d print replicas for class room use etc. Very cool video, thanks!
So crazy that Alaska is having bigger findings than this. Super cool either way, definitely making us rethink what we know about paleontology
La is not the place that has tar pit with bunch of fossil in it there been other places across the world with tar pit
LA warm Alaska cold.
Keep digging 💪👍🤗
We're watching and enjoying 👍👍
When I was young growing up in East L.A. i loved when our school had field trips to the tar pits and the mesuems.
Come to the tar pits here in Los Angeles, folks. It's so cool!
Fascinating hope we humans invest more into such research before our end. love from india
Wow!!! Super interesting!!! Lots of patience
I have been there a couple of times. I have mainly viewed the pit easily accessible to the public; has some sort of statues of the animals. On my shelf is a bottle of "Goo" from the pits. Very cool!!!!
My goodness that's fascinating
I would do anything for a fossil restoration ASMR channel
It’s not all so quiet… once the power tools come out I doubt it would be relaxing
@@kaizusmyguyzus6469 Who doesn't love a peaceful sound of a dremel on high with a brush attachment lol
Incredible, looking forward to visiting in a few weeks! Nice to see South Africa represented in LA Stephany!
Extremely interesting 🤔 I would not mind doing that. Seems like great therapy.
They got the coolest job ever
That sound of that hook scraping against bones sends chills up my spine. Reminds me of the dentist.
Really enjoyed watching the video! it was very informative and helpful for a research project
I would love a job cleaning up fossils! It's something I have the patience for!
Damn still finding stuff today. Crazy.
When I was a kid, I found several fossils on the shores of Lake Huron while playing with rocks
Pit 91 sounds like a rock band
what an incredible collection. colossal is the best term, no doubt.
This is so cool, I would love to dig for fossils all day
The La Brea Tar Pit rival the wealth of many nations combined.
Are there any Mesozoic tar pits?
Ik they are short lived, however I’d love to see how an entire ecosystem would look look back then.
Well, thank you for your work.
I visited the Tar Pits on a visit to see my father many, many years ago.
I feel like the visiting parking lot should be very well maintained based on the amount of available asphalt
I loved this episode!
That's pretty awesome
This is cooler then anything on (entertainment weekly television, TMZ, or people magazine)
I was immediately captivated by Laura! Her personality and passion are killer and really elevate this from a typical dumbed down science video!
I first went to the tar pits as a kid on field trips and then went as an adult. Cool place to go. You would think it’s a massive place for all of these animals to have died at but it’s actually pretty small
Thanks for all this great information and for the real care that you all have on the conservation of our magnificent world God Bless !!!
This tar pit was talked about loads in the 90s and now this is the first time ive heard about it since lol.
such a pleasant person ❤
I found acient marine species just on a side of my summer residence wall! 400millions years old. Amazing!
thank you this is very interesting i was at the tar pits in the mid 60s on a visit to LA
Excellent
Thankyou
So Informative So Well Presented 🎁
Also wow the sound of dentist pick on bone gives me the chills
The alaskan boneyard man "hold my beer"