Comments on: Eyes in the Sky Look Back in Time http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/crux/2012/03/22/eyes-in-the-sky-look-back-in-time/ Thu, 23 May 2013 02:13:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4.2 By: djlactin http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/crux/2012/03/22/eyes-in-the-sky-look-back-in-time/#comment-799 djlactin Fri, 30 Mar 2012 12:16:40 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/crux/?p=1215#comment-799 If this is what declassified military imaging technology can do, imagine what the classified stuff can do! If this is what declassified military imaging technology can do, imagine what the classified stuff can do!

]]> By: Cameron http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/crux/2012/03/22/eyes-in-the-sky-look-back-in-time/#comment-798 Cameron Sat, 24 Mar 2012 18:00:38 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/crux/?p=1215#comment-798 Hi Iain, The soil, dirt and morass and "stuff" they dig through is known as the sediment matrix. Generally, paleontologists scrape away a small fraction of the matrix in the field, but not all of it. All of it is removed together in a big block of matrix which includes bones, artifacts, plant matter, sedimentary information, and many other treasures. Back at the lab, specialists remove the sediment matrix from the block in order to free the bones, but they analyze the matrix as well to find clues about the past. Only the worst paleontologists ignore the importance of the sediment matrix. Hi Iain,

The soil, dirt and morass and “stuff” they dig through is known as the sediment matrix. Generally, paleontologists scrape away a small fraction of the matrix in the field, but not all of it. All of it is removed together in a big block of matrix which includes bones, artifacts, plant matter, sedimentary information, and many other treasures. Back at the lab, specialists remove the sediment matrix from the block in order to free the bones, but they analyze the matrix as well to find clues about the past. Only the worst paleontologists ignore the importance of the sediment matrix.

]]> By: Mc http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/crux/2012/03/22/eyes-in-the-sky-look-back-in-time/#comment-797 Mc Sat, 24 Mar 2012 15:39:59 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/crux/?p=1215#comment-797 Why? So in ten thousand years people can see other humans inhabited a space 18,000 years ago? By then I'd hope that thoroughly turning the soil in our time would be recognizable as such by our descendents. Why? So in ten thousand years people can see other humans inhabited a space 18,000 years ago? By then I’d hope that thoroughly turning the soil in our time would be recognizable as such by our descendents.

]]> By: Iain http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/crux/2012/03/22/eyes-in-the-sky-look-back-in-time/#comment-796 Iain Fri, 23 Mar 2012 00:14:33 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/crux/?p=1215#comment-796 I wonder at the waste of the careful scraping away of the soil, dirt, morass whatever that archaeologists do when they find something. Whatever the 'stuff' they are digging through, has clues for us to learn from. For instance, clothing will rot etc but will leave evidence of it's demise just as the bones are evidence that a creature was there. Why not use some kind of spray on lacquer or something non damaging to lift off layers of dirt to be analyzed by whatever instruments that could shed light on what was there before decomposition? I wonder at the waste of the careful scraping away of the soil, dirt, morass whatever that archaeologists do when they find something. Whatever the ‘stuff’ they are digging through, has clues for us to learn from. For instance, clothing will rot etc but will leave evidence of it’s demise just as the bones are evidence that a creature was there. Why not use some kind of spray on lacquer or something non damaging to lift off layers of dirt to be analyzed by whatever instruments that could shed light on what was there before decomposition?

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