Topline:
A construction project at San Pedro High School has revealed literal tons of fossils from L.A.’s prehistoric past. The find ranges from 120,000-year-old shells to nearly 9 million-year-old fish bones.
Why it matters: The vast range of species represented in the fossils includes plants, whales, dolphins, sea turtles, birds, clams, snails and countless fish. “It's the entire ecosystem from an age that's gone,” said Wayne Bischoff, who helped oversee the excavation. “We have all this evidence to help future researchers put together what an entire ecology looked like nine million years ago. That's really rare.”
The backstory: The Palos Verdes Peninsula, which was once covered by the ocean, has a rich history of paleontological discovery. The district began a $245 million construction and renovation project at San Pedro High School in 2021. LAUSD hired Envicom Corporation, where Bischoff oversees cultural resources, to monitor the site for any potential fossil finds. The discoveries presented Monday were unearthed between June 2022 and July 2024.
What's next: Researchers at the L.A. County Museum of Natural History have already started to sort and identify the fossils and many were transferred to CSU Channel Islands. A few of the fossils will be displayed at San Pedro High School so students can learn more about the history under their feet. “The fact that it's here, and that we get to learn more about it, and it's gonna spur more discovery?” said senior Taya Olson. “It's just something that I'm really really excited about.”
A construction project at San Pedro High School has revealed a treasure trove of marine fossils from L.A.’s prehistoric past.
School construction project reveals a treasure trove of marine fossils in San Pedro
The most ancient fossils in the collection are thought to be as many as 9 million years old and date to a time when the Palos Verdes Peninsula was covered by ocean.
Scientists are still identifying new species in the tons of material excavated from the site, but have already unearthed pieces of a saber-toothed salmon, sea turtles, whales, dolphins, clams, birds and teeth from the largest shark to ever live.
“It's the entire ecosystem from an age that's gone,” said Wayne Bischoff, who helped oversee the excavation. “We have all this evidence to help future researchers put together what an entire ecology looked like nine million years ago. That's really rare.”
‘A once-in-a-century opportunity’
San Pedro High School opened in 1903 and debuted the Leland Street campus in 1937. The district began a $260 million, bond-funded construction and renovation project in 2021.
A vertebrae fossil of extinct dolphin species.
The jaw bone of an extinct saber-tooth salmon which had fangs that extended from its mouth.
The rib bone from an extinct dolphin species.
The Palos Verdes Peninsula has a rich paleontological history. LAUSD hired Envicom Corporation, where Bischoff oversees cultural resources, to monitor the site for any potential fossil finds.
The first find — a layer of 120,000-year-old shells — emerged from beneath the school’s central courtyard in June 2022, and the fossil discoveries continued through July 2024.
Learn more about L.A.’s prehistoric underwater past
The Los Angeles County Natural History Museum exhibit L.A. Underwater explores the more than 90 million years our region was submerged beneath the sea through fossils, interactive maps, a hologram, and other multimedia elements.
L.A. County Museum of Natural History paleontologist Austin Hendy found out about the dig from a colleague and rushed to the site the next morning.
“This is a once-in-a-century opportunity,” Hendy said. “It's the only site in California that looks like this.”
Though L.A. is home to the famous La Brea Tar Pits, much of the region's fossil record is buried beneath concrete.
AirTalk: A surprise fossil excavation at San Pedro High School reveals L.A.’s underwater past
The second largest discovery was an 8.7 million year-old densely layered bonebed with millions of fish and marine mammal remains.
Multiple tons of material were ultimately excavated from the site — “We collected more than we needed, because you only get one shot to do this,” Hendy said.
These limestone rocks excavated from San Pedro High School were later identified to be 8.7 million-years-old, placing them in the Late Miocene period.
Fossilized shark and dolphin poop, known as coprolites, contain small fish bones.
The majority of the fossils were relocated to CSU Channel Islands and the L.A. County Museum of Natural History. Future research could paint a more complete picture of the region’s history.
“We've moved away from just describing what we find, identifying new species, and making lists of things,” Hendy said. “To really trying to understand how ecosystems function, how they've changed through time.”
Hands-on experience with San Pedro’s prehistoric past
A few of the fossils will be displayed at San Pedro High School so students can learn more about the history under their feet.
“The fact that it's here, and that we get to learn more about it, and it's gonna spur more discovery?” said senior Taya Olson. “It's just something that I'm really, really excited about.”
San Pedro senior Milad Esfahani worked with Hendy to help catalog this prehistoric ecosystem as an intern with the museum this summer. The marine science magnet student remembered holding a 125,000-year-old shell for the first time.
Many of the fossils were discovered beneath the area where students now eat lunch at San Pedro High School's main campus.
"Hands on stuff is a lot more of an educator than a textbook," said San Pedro senior Milad Esfahani, right, of his internship experience at the L.A. County Museum of Natural History. Assistant Curator of Invertebrate Paleontology Austin Hendy, left, said Esfahani's work cataloging fossils helped make the collection accessible to researchers around the world.
“It was like a lot of shock, but eventually I was like, wow, this is, you know, super cool,” Esfahani said.
Though tedious at times, Esfahani’s work meticulously examining the tiniest details of each fossil, sometimes with a microscope, helps make the fossils accessible to researchers from around the world.
“Hands-on stuff is a lot more of an educator than a textbook,” said Esfahani, who plans to study marine paleontology after he graduates.
Other LAUSD students have had an opportunity to interact with the fossils on field trips to the Natural History Museum.
“My goal in the long run is to see that this becomes a teaching opportunity,” Hendy said.
