Pictures from Thanksgiving and Luci

Thanksgiving and Luci

Some artifacts from the Massachusetts Survey and Crew Photo

Coldest and Last Day of Project


Quartz Point

Lamoka Point

More artifacts

Pipe from the 1800's recovered in Deadwood at site SD0969

Pictures from the dig in Deadwood

Deadwood

Pictures from the trip to Deadwood from Chicago

Here are some pictures I took with a disposable camera while I was on the road last Sunday and Monday. I wish I could have taken more but I ran out of room on my lowly disposable. I hope to buy a camera in the near future so I can update more regularly on how the dig is progressing.

Entering Wisconsin

Rest stop just before Mississippi River in Wisconsin

Over the Mississippi

Wind power generators in Minnesota

Sunset in western Minnesota

Morning at the Super 8 in Murdo, SD

Lots of fog

Free range cattle during their morning graze

New Fossil Strenghtens Theory of Evolution

“You ever noticed how people who believe in Creationism look really unevolved? You ever noticed that? Eyes real close together, eyebrow ridges, big furry hands and feet. "I believe God created me in one day" Yeah, looks like He rushed it.” - Bill Hicks

Today, in New York the primate fossil dubbed, 'Ida', was unveiled. The significance of Ida is monumental. Not only is the fossil 95% complete, but even the remnant of her last meal is intact. "It tells a part of our evolution that's been hidden so far. It's been hidden because the only [other] specimens are so incomplete and so broken there's nothing almost to study", says Dr. Hurum of Ida. Ida is similar to other 4 legged mammal like the cow, sheep and dog.

The amazing preservation of this fossil is attributed to a volcanic deposit at Messel:

"The basin in which the deposit accumulated formed during a volcanic explosion. It filled with water, which seemingly, one way or another, accumulated gases that poisoned animals individually, episodically, or periodically"

Archaeologists here in the Midwest wouldn't mind that kind of preservation!!

A monumental find like Ida helps to solidify the theory of evolution, not that it was ever in any real harm. Science is not a guessing game, or a set of dogmatic rules. It presents facts to us and we place those facts in context. Ida will allow us to understand more fully how our species has evolved. Even with all of his research shortcomings, Darwin attempted to put the human existence into context, so it is fitting that the scientific name for Ida is darwinius masillae.

Pure Bliss