Preparators’ PDFs

A variety of PDFs for preparators are listed here.  All contributions are made by SVP members.  View and download Preparators’ session and poster presentations from past SVP annual meetings, how-to guides and Materials & Methods FAQs, and other references from meetings and publications beyond SVP.  You can submit your past presentation(s) anytime.  Please consider making your presentation(s) available online.

Preparators’ Symposia & Session Presentations from Past Meetings

Presentations are divided into categories used in the Bibliography of Fossil Preparation and Collection Care.

Preparation
Adhesives, consolidants, fill materials
Acid preparation, chemical techniques
Conservation and preservation
Collecting and field techniques
Molding and casting
Museology [collections, storage, documentation, environmental control, shipping and handling]
Exhibits, mounting, reconstructions
Pyrite, salts, mineral problems, radioactivity
Miscellaneous

Preparation

Monica M. Bugbee and William J Wilkins, The Mammoth Site of Hot Springs, SD, Hot Springs, SD. 2018

• Preparation and transportation of a complete mammoth skull from Channel Islands National Park, California, U.S.A.

Trine Sørensen, Museum of Southern Jutland, Gram, Denmark. 2014

• Multiple issues when preparing and preserving Late Miocene beaked whale (Gram FM) for research and exhibition: The difficult task of doing as little as possible

Amy Davidson, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY. 2008

• Removing fossil ribs: the thread technique

Jean-Pierre Cavigelli, Tate Museum, Casper, WY. 2007

• Air Abrasives 101

Gary Jackson, Cleveland Museum of Natural History, OH. 2007

• A dissolvable support jacket for preparation of thin arthrodire and shark specimens from the Upper Devonian Cleveland and Bedford shales utilizing carbowax 4000

Donald De Blieux, Salt Lake City, UT; James Kirkland, Utah Geological Survey, Salt Lake City, UT; Alan Titus, Bureau of Land Management, Kanab, UT. 2006

• Discovery, excavation, and preparation of the skull of a new centrosaurine ceratopsian from the Wahweap Formation of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument (GSENM), Southern Utah

 

Adhesives, Consolidants, Fill Materials

Akiko Shinya, Constance J. Van Beek, Peter Makovicky, The Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, IL. 2019

• Challenges in the field: collecting wet vertebrate fossils with the Aapplication of Acrysol WS24, Acryloid B72, and cyanoacrylate consolidants

Suzann Goldberg and Amy Davidson, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY. 2014

• Adhesives used in 2014 by the vertebrate paleontology preparation laboratory, American Museum of Natural History: An illustrated wall chart

Amy Davidson, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY. 2009

• Temporary gap-filling to stabilize an exploded matrix for fossil preparation: the sand and Butvar B-76 technique

Shawn Haugrud and Brian Compton, East Tennessee Museum of Natural History, Gray, TN. 2008

• Reversible filler: A fresh look at Butvar-76

 

Acid Preparation, Chemical Techniques

Carlos Padilla and Mary Parra, Fundacion Colombiana de Geobiologia, Bogota, Colombia. 2009

• Acid preparation of fossils using sulfamic acid, a weak organic acid, and its advantages over acetic and formic acid preparation

Christina Maywin, Joseph Groenke, and Doug Boyer, Department of Anatomical Sciences, Stony Brook University, Story Brook, NY and Jonathan Bloch, Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL . 2004

• Novel use for cyclododecane in acid preparation of recently recovered Paleocene limestones from the Western Crazy Mountains Basin, Montana

 

Conservation and Preservation

William J Wilkins, Monica Bugbee and Elizabeth Storms, The Mammoth Site of Hot Springs, SD, Inc., Hot Springs, SD. 2018

• Preventative maintenance at The Mammoth Site: excavation and stabilization methods for an active in-situ bonebed

Vicen Carrio, Geological Conservator/Preparator, Edinburgh, United Kingdom; Silvia Da Rocha and Nicholas Fraser, National Museums Scotland, Edinburgh, United Kingdom. 2014

• Scottish Mammoth tusks at National Museum Scotland

 

Collecting and Field Techniques

Vicen Carrio, National Museums of Scotland, Edinburgh, Scotland.  2016

• Tetrapod World: ealry evolution and diversification (TW:eed) Project fieldowrk: Consolidation of damp specimens for trasportation using primal WS 24 and fabric bandages as field jakcets

Don DeBlieux, Jim Kirkland, and Scott Madsen, Utah Geological Survey, UT. 2013

• Tarpology 501: Advanced Shade Tarp Techniques for Paleontological Field Excavations; Strategies for field paleontology on a warming planet

Marilyn Fox, Faysal Bibi, and Andrew Hill, Yale University, New Haven, CT. 2008

• Jacketing the desert sands

 

Molding and Casting

Michael Cherney, William Sanders, Philip Gingerich, and Iyad Zalmout, University of Michigan Museum of Paleontology, Ann Arbor, MI, USA; Mohamed Antar, Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency, Wadi-Al-Hitan World Heritage Site, Fayum, Egypt. 2009

• Production of multi-purpose molds for versatile, detailed replication of large-scaled fossils: the Basilosaurus isis casting project as an exemplar

William Sanders, John Graff, Iyad Zalmout, Munir Ul-Haq, and Philip Gingerich, University of Michigan Museum of Paleontology, Ann Arbor, MI. 2008

• Restoration and three dimensional assembly of a nearly complete, articulated Eocene Protocetid whale skeleton from Pakistan

Amber Heard, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI; John Graf, William Sanders, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI. 2007

• A multi-media solution to complex molding and casting of internal and external surfaces of a fossil Homo erectus cranium from Java

Jeff Person, Charles Baker, Oklahoma Museum of Natural History, Norman, OK. 2007

• Methods for labeling silicone molds

Gregory Brown, University of Nebraska State Museum, Lincoln, NE. 2005

• Molding and Casting of In-situ Articulated Skeletons in Soft Matrix: A Case Study from the Ashfall Fossil Beds, Nebraska

Amy Davidson and Lisa Kronthal, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY; Rachael Perkins Arenstein, Conservator in Private Practice, New York, NY. 2004

• An investigation of cyclododecane for molding fossil specimens

 

Museology [Collections, Storage, Documentation, Environmental Control, Shipping, and Handling]

Michael Stache, Alexander Hastings, and Meinolf Hellmund, Martin-Luther-Universität Hall-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), Germany. 2014

• 3-D scanning and production of accurate formatting support cradles for fossils using CNC milling  technology (Computerized numerical control technique): A project with the Geiseltal Collection

Matthew Smith, Kimberly, OR. 2007

• Vertebrate microfossil storage, the basics, and a new technique

Amy Davidson, Samantha Alderson, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY; Marilyn Fox, Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History, New Haven, CT. 2006

• Assembling an archival marking kit for paleontological specimens

ReBecca Hunt, Augustana College, Rock Island, IL. 2006

• Packing and transporting vertebrate fossil overseas

Steve J. Jabo, Peter A. Kroehler, and F. V. Grady, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC. 2005

• A technique to create form-fitted, padded plaster jackets for conserving vertebrate fossil specimens

Rachel Benton, Badlands National Park; Ann Elder, Dinosaur National Monument. 2005

• Museum collection management – Is it really worth digging in a National Park?

Marilyn Fox and Vicki Yarborough Fitzgerald, Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History, New Haven, CT. 2004

• A review of vertebrate fossil support (and storage) systems and at Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History

 

Exhibits, Mounting, Reconstructions

Sue Beardmore and Janet Trythall, Elgin Museum, Elgin, United Kingdom. 2014

• The Development of the Elgin Museum as a public and scientific resource

Robert Evander, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY. 2009

• Armature damage in a mounted specimen

 

Pyrite, Salts, Mineral Problems, Radioactivity

Akiko Shinya, Lisa Bergwall, The Field Museum, Chicago, IL. 2007

• Pyrite oxidation: Review and prevention practices

 

Miscellaneous

Michelle Pinsdorf, Steve Jabo, Abby Telfer, Peter Kroehler, Amanda Millhouse, and Matthew Miller, Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History, Washington, DC, United States of America. 2014

• Repurposing the purposeful: Re-training fossil preparators in vertebrate mount dismantling and conservation(Supplemental data: Fossil Lab Deep Time Training- Specimen Housing Workshop) (Supplemental data: Fossil Lab Deep Time Training- Specimen Housing Workshop)

 

Preparators’ Workshops from Past Meetings

Joanne Wilkinson, Queensland Museum, Brisbane, Australia. 2019

• Fossil Preparation, Conservation, Replication and Storage Techniques
  (If SVP members wish to obtain a free copy of the 2019 SVP Workshop notes provided to participants as part of the Fossil Preparation, Conservation, Replication and Storage Techniques workshop, please contact the Queensland Museum Geosciences staff.)

Erin Fitzgerald, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL. 2017

• Photography and Photoshop 101, Digital imaging techniques and post processing basics for specimen data capture (Photography 101 and Photoshop 101)

 

How-To Guides and Materials & Methods FAQs

Don DeBlieux, Jim Kirkland, and Scott Madsen, Utah Geological Survey, UT. 2013

• Shade tarp parts and instructions

Ian Morrison, Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Canada. 2007

• Casting with epoxy resin using a desiccator chamber, vacuum pump and pressure chamber

Preparators’ Committee

• Materials & Methods FAQs

 

References Beyond SVP

Peter K Reser, Paleo-Tech, Albuquerque, NM, and Scott Williams, Petrified National Forest, AZ. 2009

• Maximizing situational conservation and minimizing visual ambiguity to reveal toothmarks on an osteoderm of Typothorax coccinarum, in typical Late Triassic Chinle Formation preservation, using cyanoacrylate and ground matrix exclusively

Thomas C. Nolan, Robert L. Atkingson, and Bryan Small. 2008. Presented at the First Annual Fossil Preparation and Collections Symposium.

• The use of linear collapsible foam for molding fossil footprints in the field

Carrió, V. and Stevenson, S.  From a presentation during the NOOX3 (a conference on anoxic and reduced oxygen environments hosted by the British Library and the Natural History Museum), London, 2003

• Experimenting with anoxic microenvironments

Carrió, V. and S. Stevenson; pp. 32-38 in J. Townsend, K. Eremin, and A. Adriaens (eds.), Conservation Science 2002: Papers from the Conference Held in Edinburgh, Scotland, 22-24 May 2002.  Archetype, London. 2003.

• Assessment of materials used for anoxic microenvironments.

Stevenson, S. and Carrió, V. From a presentation during the 11th Symposium of Palaeontological Preparation and Conservation (SPPC), Cambridge, 2002.

• The Making of the Geology Map of Scotland Display

Richard L. Cifelli (ed.) Oklahoma Geological Survey Special Publication 96-4. P.1-36. 1996

• Techniques for recovery and preparation of microvertebrate fossils

This PDF includes two articles:

• • • Cifelli, R. L. ; Madsen, S. K.; and Larson, E. M. 1996. Screenwashing and associated recovery techniques for the recovery of microvertebrate fossils, in Cifelli, R. L. (ed.), Techniques for recovery and preparation of microvertebrate fossils: Oklahoma Geological Survey Special Publication 96-4 P.1-24.
    • Madsen, S. K. 1996. Some techniques and procedures for microvertebrate preparation, in Cifelli, R. L. (ed.), Techniques for recovery and preparation of microvertebrate fossils: Oklahoma Geological Survey Special Publication 96-4 P.25-36.

Anne S. Elder, Cathy Wenz, and Scott Madsen. 1998. In J. Martin, J. Hoganson, and R. Benton (eds.), Proceedings for the Fifth conference on Fossil Resources, 5:141-143.

• Understanding cyanoacrylate adhesives and consolidants and their use in vertebrate paleontology