Over millions of years of entombment a developing fossil can undergo many changes that will challenge the researcher and illustrator alike. The geologic forces at work can twist and distort the very stone encasing the bones, sometimes pulling them deep below the earth’s surface or pushing them halfway around the globe. A fossilized bone emerges with all the artifacts of its long and arduous journey. The most obvious scarring can occur when the rock fractures and shifts, causing the embedded fossil to also crack and shear. Sometimes whole structures may be carried away, leaving actual gaps in the bone. At other times the material may become folded back onto itself, making the detective work of reconstruction particularly difficult. |
