Week 4



This week we continued working on type specimens and learning to navigate the difficulties these specimens bring when it comes to digitizing them. We are realizing that this process requires much more time than we originally anticipated, so the work flow has slowed down. A highlight from the Mapes Collection that was observed this week, thanks to Mariah Slovacek, the invertebrate preparator, we were shown a recent albino Nautiloidea, which allowed us to take time and ask her questions about the specimen and expand our knowledge on nautiloid biology. That being said, this week was also a short week due to the 4th of July. We were released early on Tuesday, which allowed us to take an impromptu tour of the “Big Bone Room,” guided by Carl Mehling.   

Can you see the large duckbill footprint?

This is an image of a duckbill skin impression that originates from the spinal section, where you can see visible puncture marks from the caudal vertebrae (assumed to have occurred after death).

Once returning from the holiday, we took our weekly departmental tour, touring the Anthropology collection. Alex Lando, a senior anthropology museum technician, guided us through a large variety of the collections artifacts and the collections management. We were able to view the differences in storage, cataloging, and overall treatment techniques between paleontology collections and anthropological ones. Throughout our tour we viewed a wide variety of objects, ranging from Chinese ceremonial robes, and Siberian shaman coats, Native American baskets, and South American pottery, to Pacific island weapons, dart poison, and mummies (Just to name a few). This by far was one of our favorite collection tours thus far.







Pictured above: A Native American Chief Headdress, 20th Century Peking China Dragon Robe, and a Shrunken Head (Shuar) from either Ecuador or Peru.

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