Extracting dinosaur eggs using a bulldozer. (Photo by Ethan Schreuder).
6/17/13 — Our third and last day of field work. First we went to the local museum in Jinyun and met with the director, who showed us some eggs they had found, as well as an Ankylosaur pelvis. The director and a few other people from the museum proceeded to come with us out into the field. That day we went to two places, both at construction sites. At the first site, a local farmer gave Dr. Jin an egg out of matrix, while another local showed Wenjie an egg in matrix and showed him where it was found. Wenjie then found a group of eggs in an outcrop, which they excavated using heavy machinery from the construction crew. Gave all of us heart attacks, and an egg was broken in the process. They marked where the pieces went and then Dan showed Ethan, Nick, Devra and Coralyn how to do strike and dip measurements before heading out. After that site, we went to the local town and had a really good lunch with the museum director and Dr. Jin, along with someone from the town. At lunch, it was confirmed that Dan can’t noodle (trouble with the chopsticks). After lunch, we went to the second site, which was the site where they found the Ankylosaur. Actual bones were found at two separate spots and Wenjie and Dr. Jin collected them at the second spot. A multitude of pictures were taken and then we walked around a little more before heading back to the van and the hotel. After we showered, the museum director took us to dinner, which was an awesome meal. We met as a group afterwards and Frankie went over what we have written so far for our papers (introductions and methods). We also discussed the game plan for what we will do once back in Hangzhou.
Ankylosaur pelvis (Photo by Ethan Schreuder).
Students prospect in construction site. (Photo by Ethan Schreuder).
6/18: We left for Hangzhou after breakfast, with only Li accompanying us back. It was a three and a half hour drive or so back, and I’m pretty sure the driver got lost coming into Hangzhou from the freeway. Nonetheless, we made it back to the museum around 1 p.m. and retrieved our suitcases from where we had left them in the museum and walked across the street to check back into the hotel. We went up to our rooms and put our stuff down, then went out and got dumplings for lunch. After lunch, we relaxed and did much needed laundry and just relaxed in general.
Wenjie and Li walk back to the van after a very hot day of field work, but they’re still happy! (Photo by Ethan Schreuder).
Written by Devra Hock.
MSU China Paleontology Expedition 