Live from the Middle of Nowhere

Today was a successful day at the Placerias Quarry! The weather was perfect, the  company pleasurable, and the bones plentiful. We arrived on site and began work around  7:30am, working through the morning until lunch at noon. We returned to work and finished out the day, packing up the van to head back into town around 4:30pm.

Arizona landscape

The field crew is working in a designated 9 meter x 3 meter grid. This area is divided into sections and each section is given a unique number for data purposes. Each crew member is then assigned a unique workspace within the grid. Every fossil found must be accounted for and its location within the quarry recorded. This grid is essential for keeping work within the quarry organized.

NC Museum of Natural Sciences field crew

Over the course of the day, our team recovered a number of fossils. The majority of the fossils found were vertebrae, the bone segments making up the spinal cord. Some were found in a mass together while others were scattered throughout the site. Several large limb bones were also recovered. Coprolites — fossilized poop — were abundant, as were bone fragments.

End of two limb bones

Vertebra

When you are out in the middle of nowhere, anything can happen and today we had a special visitor (featured below). This curious horse decided to check out our progress, although he did not contribute much to the effort (other than being a cute distraction for a moment or two)! All in all, it was a good day and we hope for productive day tomorrow as well!

New friend

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