Critter Geek

What a great story! From SFGate: Ice Age clues near Bodega: Scientist thinks mammoths rubbed coast rocks 12,000 years ago. Edward Breck Parkman, the senior archaeologist for the California Department of Parks and Recreation, has quite a bit of support for his theories that these rocks on the Sonoma coast were polished smooth by ice-age megafauna like mammoths, who rubbed against the rocks for grooming.

The theories about the rubbing rocks are part of what Parkman has called “The Rancholabrean Hypothesis”:

Simply put, the hypothesis proposes that elements of the Rancholabrean landscape (e.g., megamamal rubbing rocks and wallows) still survive and can be detected on the contemporary landscape. Furthermore, by identifying these Pleistocene features, it may be possible to map the archaeological presence of the area’s first people.

You can read more about Parkman’s work at this California State Parks page: Mammoth Rocks.