Description
On 18 July 1866, Josiah Whitney presented a paper to the California Academy of Natural Sciences describing a skull recently found near Angels Camp in Calaveras County. Whitney, head of the state Geological Survey, described that it came from a mine shaft at a depth of 130 feet, containing gold-plated cottage rocks that were later buried under million-year-old volcanic deposits. . “Therefore, the skull is not only an early pioneer of this state, but the oldest known human,” Reported the San Francisco Alta the next day. “It is hardly necessary to say that Professor Whitney’s announcement and remarks created a deep sensation in the Academy.”
