Fossil preparation is currently going on smoothly at the laboratory at Ileret. Many fossils that had been collected in the laboratory from the last season need preparation and accessioning and the crew has been doing this on a daily basis.
|
Veteran fossil hunter and preparator Elgite carefully scribbling off fine matrix from an antelope skull at the Ileret laboratory. Even the humid weather can’t dampen his resolve to do what he does best
|
Ileret finest preparators who during the seasons when the crew heads out to the badlands move round surveying and discovering the fossils are settled in the laborartory for this work that needs deligence and a great deal of expertise. Fossils here range from skulls of antelopes and elephants to tiny jaws of porcupines. Micro faunal fossils too make the collection that the crew is working on using microscopes to sift through the fine sediments.
John Lonyerich applies a hardener on a fossil cranium at the laboratory. This makes the specimen hard enough to withstand preparation procedures
The crew is expected to do this job any time the survey takes a break and also in turns once the surveying is done so that they are not only surveying but also getting a chance at handling them post collection.
Hillary Sale carefully working on microfaunal fossils using a microscope at the laboratory
