Monday, August 4, 2014

Dealing with Cement

"So is the ash kind of hard?"

 "No, not at all, it's really soft! See how you can scrape through it with just the side of a trowel?"

 At least, that's normally what we get to tell people. And normally, the skeletons are in that soft layer.

 But then, in science there is always something that breaks that rule. More often than not you hear the words "that's weird...." instead of "I GOT IT!!!"

 This is one of those cases. Here we have a horse rib cage that was found when the foundation for the second (and current) Rhino Barn was being excavated. This had to be done as much by hand as possible, but in this case they had given up due to the cemented layer. You see, parts of the ash have had clay and stray minerals wash into them, causing the ash to harden into what basically seems like cement when you're working on it. And because there are normally no fossils in this, they actually started to remove this with heavy machinery.... until the interns spotted bone.

 I can just hear the exasperated voices now...

 So, away went the heavy equipment, and out came the plaster and little tools. They removed the jacket and put it away in storage, only bringing it into the lab when they ran out of things to work on and never actually making any progress.

 Until this year, that is. We just got (and got these in working order...) air scribes. It's basically a pick that, instead of you making the tip vibrate against the rock with your hand, uses air. It's more powerful, requires more maintenance, and needs a user with coordination and a quick eye. It is accurate when used correctly and destructive when not, and more capable of getting through the cemented part than we ever were.

 So this is the project for the lab. We've actually managed to get through a couple of inches with all of us working on it. Maybe some day this little guy will actually see some light.

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My Story (Very briefly...)

Lots of people claim that they wanted to be paleontologists at the age of 3. So did I. The problem is, I never really grew out of it. My third birthday party had dinosaurs. Everywhere. I grew up digging in fossil dirt from Aurora, NC, looking for coral and shark teeth. I practically lived at my local science museums (and still do, only now I get to do research, fossil preparation, and work in collections!) When local paleontologists discovered a dinosaur with a "fossilized heart" (no longer considered such) when I was little, I got to meet the man who led the work. And then, years later a dinosaur bone with soft tissue turned up. I was officially hooked.
No longer was I dreaming about dinosaurs. I was actively pursuing the science behind prehistoric creatures. I didn't want to read about it, I wanted in on the action. So I started working at the museum, and finally going on my own adventures. And thus, I needed a place to share them and maybe inspire others the way I was inspired. I have gone from watching fossils be prepared from one side of the glass at the museum to working on them on the inside of the glass. I am a student working toward my goal. I can finally start to call myself a paleontologist.