State-of-the-Art of Fossil Collecting
Joseph Leidy gratefully received fossils from a number of collectors. The volume of material received was substantial, but many of the fossils were badly damaged and most were seriously incomplete (1).
In large measure, these shortcomings can be explained by the difficult conditions experienced by the collectors. Modern-day field paleontology can be arduous work, but conditions were far worse during the mid-19th Century, especially in the American West.
Transportation was one major problem. It often took weeks for a collector on horseback to reach the fossil beds from frontier towns. Once the fossils were collected, it took even longer for them to reach Leidy in Philadelphia. Moreover, the volume of fossils that could be transported out of the wilderness was limited by what the pack animals could carry.
There were other problems for the collector as well. One was that the bone beds were concentrated in inhospitable terrain (badlands) which were devoid of vegetation, were excessively hot in summer and often had little drinking water. Collecting could also be dangerous. Harsh weather and treacherous trails were common. Collectors were also vulnerable to hostile Native Americans.
But difficult collecting conditions were only part of the problem. Incomplete and damaged fossils also resulted from the crude state-of-the-art of field paleontology. The science was only a couple of decades old and field methods were poorly developed. Moreover, since the collecting was done by others and not by Leidy, the shortcomings of the crude methods were not readily apparent (2).
The fossils Leidy received from the American West were almost always gathered from the surface of the earth. In a typical scenario, the collector would first notice the fossil while riding on his horse. He would then dismount, gather the fossil and then look for more in the immediate vicinity. Whatever was found would then be placed in a saddlebag, and he would continue on his way.
After the collection was completed, the fossils were typically combined and shipped with insufficient packaging and minimal documentation. As a result, the fossils Leidy received were often damaged in transit and there was little information concerning the geology where the fossil was found and what, if any, fossils were found together. In some cases, even basic information on where the fossil was found was lacking.
Noticeable advances in field methods first occurred during the early expeditions of O. C. Marsh and E. D. Cope. Both paleontologists actively participated in the search for and handling of fossils. Both also had assistants and their expeditions were better equipped (more so for Marsh than for Cope). Finally, both would excavate at sites where fossils were first found on the surface. Consequently, both Cope and Marsh would have better fossil specimens than Leidy.
Some of the most dramatic improvements in field methods were made by John Bell Hatcher, who started working for Marsh in 1884 and would later gain fame collecting for Andrew Carnegie. Hatcher developed a systematic method of excavation in which a site was laid out in grids. As each grid was worked, the type, position and orientation of the fossils found in that grid would be thoroughly documented.
Field methods also improved for other reasons. One was the expansion of the railroads which greatly improved transportation. This in turn enabled collectors to ship greater quantities and ship them with less damage. Collectors also became more professional, better trained and more experienced; their ability to find and successfully excavate fossils increased.
Websites:
- Peabody Museum's web page on John Bell Hatcher:
www.peabody.yale.edu/archives/ypmbios/hatcher.html
Notes:
- Leidy's
most complete specimen was Hadrosaurus foulkii. For its time, Hadrosaurus was the most complete dinosaur known.
[go back] - One could only speculate
as to whether Leidy would have improved field methods. He commented on the incompleteness
of the fossils in his 1869 monograph, On the Extinct
Mammalian Fauna of Dakota and Nebraska, and expressed hope that better
specimens would become available as the West became settled. On the other hand,
he did little to change the collecting methods of two of his friends and collectors,
Joseph K. Corson and J. Van Allen Carter, while visiting them in Fort Bridger
in 1872 and 1873. He did, however, provided detailed information about the sites
where he himself collected fossils.
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