tar pits, and found animal bones when digging for oil at them. Until 1875, bones found in the asphalt deposits were considered remains of domestic stock and native mammals of the region. In that year scientist William Denton published the first mention of the occurrence of extinct fauna at Rancho La Brea. It was not until 1901 that the bones on the Hancock Ranch were thoroughly studied by William Warren Orcutt, a prominent Los Angeles geologist and petroleum pioneer. who examined bones he personally collected. Orcutt collected bones of saber-toothed cat, dire wolf, ground sloth and other fossils from the site, bringing the attention of the scientific community to the value of the La Brea Tarpits in understanding the late Pleistocene fauna and flora of North America. Orcutt eventually donated his fossil collection to John Campbell Merriam of the University of California. The park is registered as California Historical Landmark #170. The La Brea Tar Pits are a designated U.S. National Natural Landmark. The park is to receive a renovation and makeover. A design was chosen in 2019 designed by Weiss/Manfredi. California Historical Landmark Marker California Historical Landmark Marker NO. 170 at the site reads: NO. 170 HANCOCK PARK LA BREA - The bones of thousands of prehistoric animals that had been entrapped during the Ice Age in pools of tar that bubbled from beneath the ground were exhumed from this site. First historic reference to the pools, part of the 1840 Rancho La Brea land grant, was recorded by Gaspar de Portolá in 1769 - first scientific excavations were made by the University of California in 1906. The site was presented to the County of Los Angeles in 1916 by Captain G. Allan Hancock to be developed as a scientific monument. See also List of fossil species in the La Brea Tar Pits California Historical Landmarks in Los Angeles County, California Lagerstätte – fossil formations. Ranchos of Los Angeles County, California – Spanish & Mexican land grant ranchos. References External links Official George C. Page Museum at the La Brea Tar Pits in Hancock Park website Arcadia Publishing: Historical Photos & Images of Los Angeles's La Brea Tar Pits and Hancock Park (book) Parks in Los Angeles Fossil parks in the United States Mid-Wilshire, Los Angeles California Historical Landmarks National Natural Landmarks in California Paleontology in California Protected areas established in 1924 1924 establishments in California