will test samples, which archaeologist expects to date back to
Ice Age... Samples from rock stacks on the Sonoma Coast will be
sent to a Texas university for radiocarbon testing, part of an
effort to prove the rocks served as prehistoric scratching posts
for The scratching left the rocks with a polish that is still
"If I am right and the polish came from mammoths, they will be
able to extract carbon and date it," state archaeologist Breck
Parkman said. "They should date to 15,000 to 30,000 years ago,
the end of the last Ice Age." The tests at Texas A&M University
are being underwritten by Stewards of the Coast and Redwoods, a
Guerneville-based group that usually funds such programs as
whale- and It is the first time the group is funding archaeology
work. Parkman "is finding things that date back thousands and
thousands of years and are very exciting," said Michele Luna,
executive director for the stewards. "We feel compelled to
support what he is doing, it is so significant for the coast."
The group will spen