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The development of “modern” palaeontological laboratory methods: a century of progress

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 September 2013

Matthew A. Brown
Matthew A. Brown*
Affiliation:
Vertebrate Paleontology Laboratory, The University of Texas at Austin, 10100 Burnet Rd, R7600, Austin, TX 78758, USA. Email: matthewbrown@utexas.edu School of Museum Studies, University of Leicester, Museum Studies Building, 19 University Road, Leicester LE1 7RF, UK
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Abstract

Vertebrate fossils have been converted from natural history objects into research specimens through the act of preparation for over 200 years. All of the basic techniques applied to specimens in the 21st Century were already in use in palaeontological laboratories by the first decade of the 1900s. It behoves any worker in the field to be intimately familiar with processes for treatment of specimens, as these procedures almost always permanently alter material available for interpretation. Historic treatments also complicate attempts to re-treat or re-prepare specimens. Sometimes this results in damage to fossils and loss of information, and often in wasted resources. Most palaeontologists are unaware of the historical evolution of laboratory methods through this time; much of the documentation of this process is considered to be obscure. However, there is in fact a robust body of literature that chronicles the development of procedures for the preparation of fossils. Awareness of the past development of methods is crucial to guiding future directions in the palaeontological laboratory. Regular reporting of laboratory methods in the technical literature at a pace matching that of other analytical methods is integral to the function of palaeontology as a science.

Keywords

Adam Hermannfossil preparationFrancis Batherhistory of sciencelaboratory techniquespalaeontology conservation
Type
Articles
Information
Earth and Environmental Science Transactions of The Royal Society of Edinburgh , Volume 103 , Issue 3-4: The Full Profession: A Celebration of the Life and Career of Wann Langston, Jr., Quintessential Vertebrate Palaeontologist , September 2012 , pp. 205 - 216
Copyright
Copyright © The Royal Society of Edinburgh 2013 

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