Synopses & Reviews
This volume fulfils a long standing need of vertebrate palaeontologists, whether they be amateurs attending their first excavation, or preparators and curators, for a book that describes and explains modern palaeontological techniques and practice. The authors of this volume are all exceptional technicians in their field and the book covers everything from field specimen collecting, through conservation methods, chemical preparation, moulding, casting and painting, and mounting of vertebrate skeletons, to the final chapter devoted to the use of CT scans and X-ray methods. This book aims to describe modern preparatory techniques and skills that have usually only been passed down by example and demonstration, and that until now have rarely been standardized or put down in print.
Review
"...the editors have brought together 35 workers from a variety of museums and other institutions to describe both time-tested methods and new technologies." Katherine Livingston, Science
Synopsis
This volume fulfills a long-standing need of vertebrate paleontologists for a book that describes and explains modern paleontological techniques and practice. The book covers everything from field specimen collecting, through conservation methods, chemical preparation, molding, casting and painting, and mounting of vertebrate skeletons, to the final chapter devoted to the use of CT scans and X-ray methods.
Synopsis
Everything that amateur and professional fossil hunters will ever need to know about modern palaeontological techniques and practice.
Synopsis
Everything that graduate and professional palaeontologists will ever need to know about modern techniques of specimen collecting, preparation and conservation.
Table of Contents
Foreword J. R. Horner; Preface; Introduction P. Leiggi and P. May; 1. Conservation of vertebrate paleontology collections S. Y. Shelton; 2. Adhesives and consolidants S. Y. Shelton and D. S. Charney; 3. Collecting taphonomic data from vertebrate localities R. R. Rogers; 4. Macrovertebrate collecting: field organisation and specimen collecting P. Leiggi, P. May and C. R. Schaff; collecting in caves F. Grady; site documentation D. Tanke; 5. Microvertebrate collecting - large-scale wet sieving for fossil microvertebrates in the field M. C. McKenna, A. R. Bleefield and J. S. Mellett; 6. Laboratory preparation: macrovertebrate preparation P. May, P. Reser and P. Leiggi; microscopic preparation W. W. Amaral; non-petrification preparation K. Anderson, J. Davids and T. Hodorff; fossilized eggshell preparation B. Quinn; 7. Chemical preparation I. Rutsky, W. B. Elvers and J. G. Maisey; 8. Heavy liquids: their use and methods in paleontology R. McCarty and J. Congleton; 9. Histologic techniques J. W. Wilson; 10. Molding, casting, painting: molding and casting M. Goodwin and D. S. Chaney; cast painting M. Tiffany and B. Iwanma; 11. Mounting of fossil vertebrate skeletons K. Carpenter, J. Madsen and A. Lewis; 12. Methods and use of CT-scan and X-ray: CT scan of fossils S. Clark and I. Morrison; radiography of fossils J. Harbersetzer; Index.