Hobbies And Interests
Heavy Equipment
Archaeologists use heavy equipment to speed excavation after a site is mapped and marked. Bulldozers and back hoes remove soil on flat land, but care must be taken when moving soil in such a manner. The machines might accidentally pull up precious bones and other fossils if researchers are overzealous. The equipment is so heavy that it can crush bones located below ground. Use of back hoes and bulldozers is carefully planned.
Digging Tools
Archaeologists use long shovels and pick axes to dig into the earth by hand. This allows the safe removal of dirt close to the fossils. Dirt removed by hand is sifted, filtered and checked for bones or bone fragments. Shovels are skimmed over the dirt, scooping it up a layer at a time to minimize the risk of damage. Pick axes are primarily used to break rock layers surrounding encased fossils.
Hand Tools
Once most of the dirt is removed -- and more fossils are exposed -- archeologists use hand-held tools. Hand trowels and shovels are used to scrape dirt away from the fossils, or to break rock layers. Toothbrushes and dental picks are used to brush away dirt from the crevices of dinosaur fossils. The goal of this process is to clean the fossils as well as possible before a cast is applied.
Sorting and Cleaning Tools
Dirt and gravel from a dig is sifted on-site. The material is usually placed in a tray featuring a wire-mesh bottom. Water is poured over the mix to wash away the dirt, leaving behind rocks and fossils. The trays are shaken slightly to help with the sifting process. A magnifying glass is used to examine possible specimens in fine detail.