Field jacket mapping methods

[David in Japan]

Hi preparators friends,

 

I know that the method can be different according the preparator but can you explain us your method to map a jacket when you prep one. How do you proceed when multiple fossils are on each other in a jacket.  What to do and don't.

Please share with us your knowledge and experience.

[Ptychodus04]

I don't often work on jacketed blocks with multiple specimens... but, I got to witness just such a prep over multiple trips to the Perot's lab while they were working on the Pachyrhinosaurus perotorum block. Dr. Tykoski took regular digital photos of the block using the same camera from a fixed location. As a bone was uncovered/removed from the block, he shot a photo. Then, he combined them all into a file so you could tab through the photo sequence and see each bone and what was below it.