When: April 19, 2024
Location: Fujian Yingliang Stone Natural History Museum
Character: Annie Yu, a fossil cleanser
In mid-April, a world-class dinosaur fossil exhibition was held in Nan'an, attracting dinosaur enthusiasts from all over the world to check in. When we marvel at the magnificence of these ancient giants and the antiquity of the earth, we can't help but wonder, how these precious fossils were discovered and how they were preserved?
There is a group of obscure young puritans here, who are the restorers of time and the guardians of history. With their hands and wisdom, they restored the fragments of those broken years bit by bit, allowing us to get a glimpse of that distant and mysterious history.
In the Qing repair laboratory, Annie Yu in front of the microscope carefully used a pneumatic pen to clean up the surrounding rock of the fossil, and used a probe to clean up the details. With the delicate movements of her hands, a fish fossil gradually "broke through the ground".
Born in 2000, Yu Annie studied mathematics in college, and by chance joined the Yingliang Stone Natural History Museum in Fujian Province to become a fossil restorer.
"The test for newcomers is to complete 100 fossils of the Green River Formation in the United States. Yu Annie said that there are currently eight members of the puritan team, with an average age of 25 years old, and most of them do not have relevant professional backgrounds. Newcomers usually complete basic theoretical courses such as anatomy, and the retreat room allows them to enter the practical operation process according to the training plan to get used to the feel. These extremely large number of fossils are not only cultural and creative commodities of the museum, but also a "touchstone" for every newcomer to hone their patience and craftsmanship.
At first, a palm-sized fish fossil took Annie Yu seven or eight days to complete. With her experience, she can now finish a fish fossil in three or four days. It turned out that the tools used by fossil cleaners were mainly microscopes, various types of lights and adhesives, sandblasting machines, pneumatic pens and probes. The pneumatic pen is used to clean a large area of surrounding rock on the outside of the fossil, and then the rock and gravel around the fossil can be treated more finely with a probe. Depending on the size of the fossil, the cleanser can choose from a dazzling variety of models.
Fossil restoration is a time-consuming and laborious task that requires the full attention of the cleanists to avoid mistakes. They usually need to meditate in the ashram for 8 hours, day after day. During the restoration process, cleanists need to consider a variety of factors, such as the degree of mineralization and weathering of the fossils, as well as the complexity of the internal structure of the paleontology. All of these factors can have a significant impact on the difficulty of the restoration work.
"The unknown is the biggest enemy of fossil Qingxiu, and it is also the greatest charm. Yu Anni said that there is one of the world's most complete dinosaur embryo fossils that have been scientifically recorded so far - the "Yingliang Beibei" oviraptor embryo fossil. Qingxiu dinosaur embryo fossils are almost a new attempt in China, and it is unknown what problems will be encountered in the process and how high the integrity of the bones will be.
Fortunately, the integrity, ossification and hardness of the bones are relatively high, which makes the cleaning process not as difficult as imagined. But every step and every stitch of the Qing cultivator is to choose between prudence and keep the truth from the false. This is like a key to unlock the mysteries of the earth, through which the cultivators restore the story of life hundreds of millions of years ago, and provide a guarantee for the study of the origin and evolution of life.
In the eyes of most non-specialists, fossil cleaning can seem monotonous and boring. However, this group of young fossil cultivators was very interested in it. Anne Yu confided that since stepping into this field, she has experienced a strong sense of responsibility and mission. She sees it as an honor to be part of the great cause of restoring the history of ancient life. "As if we are in a race against time, we use our hands to carefully reassemble those fragments of history and bring them to life. ”
Reporter: Cai Jingqi
Editor: Wu Xuejiao
First instance: You Yiqun |
Second instance: Huang Chongcheng |
Third trial: Cai Yi |
Final review: Huang Dongbin