Learn about shell fossils Nov. 8

ESCONDIDO — The San Diego Archaeological Center will welcome Betsy Pain, professor of biological anthropology at Palomar College, as a speaker on Saturday, November 8, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Pain will speak on shell fossils.

Shellfish was a common food item throughout history and shells were discarded in heaped piles, called middens. By analyzing the middens, archaeologists can gain new knowledge, such as the environment of the area at the time when people were collecting and eating shellfish, how many people the shellfish fed, what species were available and how and when they were eaten.

The...