Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Collecting and preparing fossils in 1925

This great film distributed by the National Museum of Canada depicts the collection, preparation, and mounting of several ceratopsian dinosaurs from Alberta, Canada. The video shows field crews setting up camp, prospecting, making Marsh picks, and blasting overburden from what looks to be the same Anchiceratops (NMC 8547) collected by Charles Sternberg's crew in 1925 that closes the end of the clip. I'm not familiar enough with this material to say for sure, but the frame could be flipped left for right, hopefully someone with enough knowledge of the localities and personnel can correct this if wrong.

Once the specimens are jacketed, loaded onto wagons, and hauled back to the museum, preparation in the laboratory begins. We see fossils in the process of consolidation and repair, as well as armatures being constructed for mounts.

This is a film without audio, I start it by listening to Fats Waller's "Inside," and follow up with Duke Ellington. Your mileage may vary.