ss 



collector's manual 



often useful. The outfit also should include either a geologist's 

 hammer or a short-handled pick (fig. 46) usually carried in the 

 hand. Always keep the collecting outfit down to a minimum. 



Upon discovery of a specimen it is important to gather from 

 the surface and loose dirt all pieces of teeth and bones that may 



have been broken off. These pieces should 

 be carefully wrapped and each package 

 marked to indicate whether it contains 

 scattered surface fragments (float) or tooth 

 or bone pieces broken off by the collector. 

 This procedure will prove of great aid in 

 the laboratory in restoring the fragments 

 to their proper places. 



The next step is the removal of the 

 overlying burden of rock and soil. In gen- 

 eral the work of excavating should begin 

 from above and not from the side of a 

 specimen. When you have dug to within 

 a few inches of the bone, proceed with 

 caution, using small tools and at the same 

 time keeping the work surface clean by 

 brushing so as to avoid the loss of project- 

 ing processes or loose pieces. Continue the 

 removal of the rock or soil until the whole specimen, whether it 

 be skull or skeleton, stands out in faint outline (see fig. 47). 

 Harden soft or shattered places in the bone, as the work pro- 

 gresses, by saturating them with a thin solution of shellac or gum 

 arabic, preferably the latter, which is allowed to dr} r . The best 

 solution is made by dissolving crystals of commercial gum arabic 



45. — Awl and 

 scraper. 



