Fossil preparation

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.

[2] The film pull technique is a means of recovering carbonaceous compression fossils for study under transmitted light microscopy.

[4] An improvement on the method, using gelatine (with glycerin and formalin) instead of cellulose, was reported in 1930, and is especially suitable for larger samples.

Even the latest technique does have some disadvantages; most notably, smaller fossils that may lie between cell walls will be washed away with the acid etch, and can only be recovered by a thin section preparation.

[10] The technique is notable for delivering exquisite preparations of both very high scientific and display value, as the area exposed in this method is protected by the matrix prior to the preparation, while the initially exposed fossils are often subject to damage from improper mechanical removal of sediment or where the plane of splitting has extended through the fossil.

[11] The method was pioneered by Harry Toombs and A. E. Rixon of the British Museum in 1950[12] with the introduction of the technique as a means of extracting fish fossils from acid-soluble carbonates.

The technique permitted the preparation of delicate, fragmented, or otherwise unstable fossils by the removal of virtually all of the surrounding rock matrix.

While the method developed by Toombs and Rixon calls for plastic resins, other substances, such as a mix of ground chalk and beeswax have been used.

As soon as the slab bearing the fossil is worked free from the rock, it is submerged in water to stop it from cracking.