From Field to Museum: How Dinosaur Fossils are Prepared
By Myria Perez, Assistant Fossil Preparator and Perot Museum of Nature and Science • Published August 20, 2019 • Updated on August 20, 2019 at 5:21 pm When people think of a paleontologist, they usually picture a grizzled paleontologist gently sweeping dust away from a perfectly articulated dinosaur skeleton. In this scenario, the bones are perfectly preserved, easily distinguishable and seem to be miraculously excavated from the rock around it. The truth is, paleontology isn’t that easy. In most cases, it is rare to find fossils complete. Most fossils in the field are fragmentary and sometimes only impressions are left behind. In paleontology, context is everything! Field paleontologists know where to seek out specific fossil localities for their research by examining geological maps called topographic maps. From these maps, they can then use a trained eye to read the rocks and identify where fossil bone could possibly be found. Wh