Fossil preparation
preparing fossil specimens for use in research or exhibition
Fossil preparation is a complex of tasks that can include excavating, revealing, conserving, and replicating the ancient remains and traces of organisms. It is an integral part of the science of paleontology, of museum exhibition, and the preservation of fossils held in the public trust. It involves a wide variety of techniques, from the mechanical to the chemical, depending upon the qualities of the specimen being prepared and the goals of the effort. Fossil preparation may be executed by scientists, students or collections personnel, but is often undertaken by professional fossil preparators.
Techniques
Acid maceration
Acid maceration is a technique to extract organic microfossils from a surrounding rock matrix using acid. Hydrochloric acid or acetic acid may be used to extract phosphatic fossils, such as the small shelly fossils, from a carbonate matrix. Hydrofluoric acid is also used in acid macerations to extract organic fossils from silicate rocks. Fossiliferous rock may be immersed directly into the acid, or a cellulose nitrate film may be applied (dissolved in amyl acetate), which adheres to the organic component and allows the rock to be dissolved around it.
Film pull
The film pull technique is a means of recovering carbonaceous compression fossils for study under transmitted light microscopy. An acid is applied to the surface of the rock to etch away the matrix from the surface, leaving carbonaceous tissue protruding.
“Fossil preparation” enters the record as preparing fossil specimens for use in research or exhibition. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Fossil, preparation and preparing can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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