Victorville Daily Press
The Victor Valley Museum will recognize the 50th anniversary of the Calico Mountains Archaeological Excavation with a special exhibit, “50 Years Ago: The Calico Dig.”
The exhibit will open on Saturday and continue through Nov. 9.
The Calico Mountains Archaeological Site (once called the Calico Early Man Site) is a quarry and tool production site near Yermo. For thousands of years, prehistoric people gathered stones (chalcedony and chert) from which to fashion tools for hunting, preparing food and making other tools.
Dr. Louis Leakey, Ruth DeEtte (Dee) Simpson, and Dr. Gerald A. Smith, then director of the San Bernardino County Museum, established the Calico Mountains Archaeological Site in 1964. The National Geographic Society funded the first four years of excavation. The site was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. Continuously excavated for 50 years, the site is still active with the help of trained volunteers, college classes and scout groups.
The Friends of the Calico Early Man Site, incorporated in 1981, cares for this important public resource and provided the funding for this exhibit.
The Victor Valley Museum is at 11873 Apple Valley Road in Apple Valley, just east of the Jess Ranch Marketplace. Contact the museum at 760-240-2111 or visit the San Bernardino County Museum’s website at www.sbcountymuseum.org.
The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. Admission is $5 for adults, $4 for military/seniors and $2.50 for children ages 5-12.
