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Digging Into Western New York's Past

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Dr. Richard Laub (foreground)		California condor. This species once lived in Western New York

Science is often about teamwork and many years of dedicated research. Perhaps nowhere better in New York to illustrate this principle is the Hiscock site project that looks at life from the end of the last ice age about 11,000 years ago almost to the present day.

For 29 years the Buffalo Museum of Science supported one of the longest and most detailed studies of Western New York’s recent evolutionary history.

Largely from fragments of bone, plant remains, and stone, scientists have managed to identify key historical changes in climate and animal and plant survival in the region, including evidence of early Paleo-Indian occupation, disease among the now extinct mastodons, and the presence of giant beavers and California condors. If you are interested in how science works, this is the exhibit to see.

To learn more about the field research, plese visit
our Ice Age Research page

The Byron Field season encompasses three weeks of intensive field excavation at the Hiscock site of Western New York. Over this period a team of volunteers and collaborators, under the direction of Dr. Richard Laub, are engaged in an intensive program of excavation and recovery of artifacts ranging from the present to the end of the last Ice Age. This field program requires coordinated teamwork and extensive operational facilities. The success of this project in July-August of 2010 was made possible through kind donations from many individuals as well as regional corporations who recognize the importance of this work to enhancing our understanding of New York's past and present. Please view the corporate sponsors below.