Tag Archives: paleontology

Notes from La Brea: Fossil Lab

This week is about cleaning and sorting: matrix from fossils, guesses from identifiers, non-microfossils from microfossils, bio-fuel from sediment, unexpected finds into new experiments, contaminants from useful data.

“The biggest picture we are trying to paint is of climate change over time – to see what happened in the past in order to help us to understand what is happening now.”

Photo of Hollywood sign taken at the intersection of Cochran and 8th while cycling to La Brea.

“At a time when libraries around the western world are in decline we are building a fossil library that will be here for generations to study.” Continue reading

Notes from La Brea: Excavations

The Dark Matter: Anthropocene special project at La Brea Tar Pits and Museum in Los Angeles uses the lens of art to investigate the work of paleo-scientists researching the preservative properties of bitumen and the prehistoric stories revealed within.

Each discipline has its own language with which to communicate. The paleo-scientific world of La Brea is no exception.

    “This site is a living organism…

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