Editing North Laurel, Maryland (section)

===Prehistoric times===
[[File:Astrodon johnstoni.jpg|right|thumb|The Astrodon approx 112,000,000 B.C.]]
The edge of the [[Arundel Formation]] underlies the North Laurel area. The [[astrodon]], a herbivorous [[sauropod]], was present about 112 million years ago.<ref>Carpenter, Kenneth and Tidwell, Virginia (2005). "Reassessment of the Early Cretaceous Sauropod Astrodon johnstoni Leidy 1865 (Titanosauriformes)". In Carpenter, Kenneth and Tidswell, Virginia (ed.). ''Thunder Lizards: The Sauropodomorph Dinosaurs''. Indiana University Press. pp. 38–77. {{ISBN|978-0-253-34542-4}}.</ref>  Prior to 10,700 B.C. North Laurel was a [[spruce]] forest evolving into a [[boreal forest]] occupied by mammals ranging from [[mastodon]] to [[sloth]]. By 3000 B.C. the vegetation was similar to modern plant life.<ref>{{cite book| title=Human Adaptation to the Fall Line Setting: A Framework for the Archeology of| page=13| author=Conrad Jay Bladey, Helen Curtis}}</ref> Humans have lived along the [[Patuxent River]] since at least 6500 B.C.<ref name=furgurson>[http://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2011/04/amazing-artifacts-unearthed-at-pig.html "Amazing artifacts unearthed at Pig Point"], E.B. Furgurson III, ''The Archaeology News Network'', April 2011. Original source: ''The Capital'' [April 17, 2011]</ref> By the time of European contact, the lands in the region were occupied by various tribes of [[Algonquin language|Algonquin speaking]] Native Americans.