The University of Southern California campus boasts a diverse galaxy of sculptures, including well-loved pieces such as the Trojan Shrine and the Traveler. It also includes lesser-known artifacts. A short distance away, on the Eastside of the Doheny Memorial Library, lies an unassuming-looking log — a petrified piece of wood that bears a unique history
The log was gifted to the University by the class of 1887, which had a total of 10 students. The class transported the log from Arizona's Petrified Forest, led by professor John Dickinson, their professor of geology??. The stump is from the Triassic period and is over 225 million years old. Each student chipped in with $10, which is equivalent to $250 today.
This kind of landmark is uncommon on college campuses, "It's pretty impressive for a campus, usually you don't see this in many places so we have a paleontological history here that is shown," explained USC Professor David Bottjer, Instructor of Earth Sciences, Biological Sciences and Environmental Studies.
While housed on a non-descript corner of the campus, those that discover the history of the piece are surprised. "It's kind of interesting because you're on a very modern campus and you've got a lot of very manicured buildings and then you see this stump that's just a little out of place and a little wacky and has got some rough edges. But I like the contrast because it connects a relatively new campus with an old piece of history," remarked Kaitlyn Mogentale, an environmental studies graduate .
As the university campus continuously evolves and expands, artifacts like these, gifted to the school by past generations, are the links and connections between the past and future.
Annenberg Media