Southern California’s recent run of south swells isn't just reshaping local sandbars and causing coastal homeowners to tremble—it’s unearthing forgotten history.

Last week, New York visitor Katherine Kinnison was taking a casual stroll along Linda Lane Beach, just north of the iconic San Clemente Pier, when she noticed something bizarre jutting out of the tideline.

“I knew that it looked familiar, but I was like, it doesn't look like a shark or anything that I've ever seen on the beach before,” Kinnison recalled. She stopped to analyze the object. “The more I looked at it, I was like, ‘It looks really familiar, it feels like it's human.’”

What she was staring at was a human jawbone with several teeth still intact. Wisely bypassing a touch test, Kinnison immediately reported the discovery to a nearby lifeguard tower.

The coroner division of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department (OCSD) quickly responded to secure the remains. Following an initial examination, officials confirmed the bones were human but determined they were not relevant to any active missing persons investigations or criminal cases.

Instead, authorities revealed that the bones are ancient, believed to be of Native American ancestry. Long before the arrival of Europeans, the coastal land surrounding San Clemente was inhabited by the Juaneño Band of Mission Indians (Acjachemen Nation). The OCSD has since transferred the remains to the Native American Heritage Commission to oversee identification.

An OCSD spokesperson noted that discoveries of this nature are not totally uncommon when massive swell events dynamically shift coastal sands. While surfers chase the waves, the ocean has a habit of revealing long-buried secrets.

For Kinnison, the experience left her hoping the find can offer a window into the past.

“I hope that we can maybe figure out if it's like male or female, how old it was, or if there's any way to link it, if they knew anything more about the people at that time,” she said.