 |
This family of ostriches has been frequenting Area 123.
They don't hang around! |
MORE PHOTOS
>> |
|
WEEK 9 |
Text and photographs by Louise
Leakey |
here was absolutely no wind at all this morning. A
heavy silence hung about us, but we were occasionally
joined by a pair of curious ravens landing to sit on a
rock and inquisitively watch what we were doing.
Nzube and I
were determined to finish off the collection of specimens
from Area 123. Each specimen has to be collected
carefully to make sure that nothing is left behind. Towards the
end of that morning rain clouds began to build up and
it finally it rained! This cleared the air and dropped
the temperature appreciably. However, when the ground
is wet we do not go out to the fossil areas as the mud
on our shoes can easily pick up small fragments of
bone and move them out of context as we walk. It is
also not good to excavate specimens while the soil is
damp, as they are more easily damaged. Instead we
spent a day in camp catching up with gluing of
specimens, data entry on the computers and preparing
plastered specimens for travel. It takes not time at
all to dry up and so we were back at work again next
day and excavating some of the bigger specimens still
in the ground.
|
|
|
|
A
solution of Bedacryl, when painted on delicate
specimens like this hippo skull and allowed to
dry, strengthens the fossil for transport back to
the National Museum in Nairobi. |
|
|
|
|
Nasser’s pig needed excavating, as did a big crocodile
skull found by Justus in a sandstone ledge, and two
hippo skulls. When a specimen is excavated a large
hole must be dug around it to ensure that you can get
at the specimen from all sides without doing it any
damage. This is good practice. Any exposed bone is
first painted with a hardener to preserve it and then
the soil is carefully taken away from the specimen
using dentist’s picks and fine brushes. Big specimens
are never lifted without first covering them in a
jacket of Plaster of Paris. To do this the specimen is
covered first with a layer of dampened tissue to
prevent the plaster from sticking to the fossil. Then
strips of sacking are dipped into a mixture of
high-grade plaster powder mixed with water and these
are laid over the specimen, covering it completely.
This soon sets hard, allowing the excavator to turn it
over and clean up the underside of the specimen. This
specimen can then be safely transported back in the
truck or the aeroplane to the National Museum in
Nairobi where it is further prepared and put in the
main collections in the Palaeontology Department.
There is a complete tortoise carapace to collect, which
will need plastering next week, as well as another pig
skull, lying teeth down, which should turn out
beautifully too. We also began the final hominid
excavations and sieves from Area 123. This is now
under way and so far nothing has come from it. It is
frustrating but we have a few days to go yet and we
are working slowly, taking away an inch of sediment at
a time across a square of 2 by 3 meters. Once this is
completed we will move into a new area and hopefully
we will have some more excitement come our way again.
Louise Leakey,
Koobi Fora
March, 2004
<<
Previous |
Return to Main |
Next
Dispatch
>> |
|
|
|
|
|
|
PROJECT DESCRIPTION: The Koobi Fora Research Project annual
paleoanthropological expedition. |
|
LOCATION:
The area surrounding Lake Turkana, in the
extreme north of Kenya. This region is
extremely rich in hominid fossils and has
produced some of the oldest dates for Homo.
Launch
Position Locator. |
|
PURPOSE:
To increase knowledge of the origins of our
genus, Homo, and the context in which
we evolved. |
|
|
|
