Take the Day Off

It's Thanksgiving, and just like people in much of the country today, the interns working in Dinoland, U.S.A. are enjoying some well-deserved R & R. Of course, if you were to ask Dr. Dunn, he would probably tell you that his interns look for every chance they can to goof off.

There are deck chairs and coolers sprawled out on the upper level, best for catching some rays or enjoying the view, and this dino-bike for commuting from the dormitories, cruising the site or just generally disturbing the professors.

Look around this area, and you'll find the interns have everything they need to enjoy a lazy afternoon of not working. There's a portable stereo, plenty of cold drinks, and a grill for cooking up some burgers.

The white board on the back wall is labeled "Fossil Recovery List," but don't be fooled. This area is purely all play and no work. A closer look at the board reveals the usual shenanigans.

Clearly, the interns here are having a good time, but they also know how to get the job done. Good thing, because tomorrow morning there's no Black Friday sale at Chester & Hester's Dinosaur Treasures. It's back to work in the Boneyard. The Dino Institute is funding this work, and they expect results!

A Mammoth Discovery

Not all the finds being unearthed by the teams working in Dinoland are dinosaurs. At this Dig Site (head to the upper level of the Boneyard and across the Oldengate Bridge), the team has discovered the fossilized remains of a Columbian Mammoth, dating back approximately 10,000 years.

As the interns and Guest paleontologists uncover more of the find, they come across evidence of what might have happened to this creature. The tracks of both humans and a Sabertooth cat (Smilodon) can be found. There's also a spear tip and marks on the bones left by human tools. Was the Mammoth hunted by a tribe of warriors? Maybe, but there are also fragments from a Smilodon fang and scrapes on another bone.

Typical of many such sites, there are different ways of interpreting the fossil evidence... and differences of opinion among those doing the work.

Can You Dig It?

The Boneyard Fossil Fun Site in Dinoland, U.S.A. is many things. On the surface, it's a great playground area that's set up like a dinosaur dig. Young Guests can scale the scaffolding, reveal bones and slide down spill chutes. There's a lot more here, though, that's not just for the kids. The Boneyard also happens to be a hotbed of story material and a decent education in paleontology.

The Boneyard is the site of an incredibly rich deposit of fossils from the late Cretaceous period. In fact, this is where the first dinosaur bones - those of a T-rex - were discovered in Diggs County back in 1947. Today, the work of unearthing, documenting and cataloguing fossil finds continues under the guidance of Dr. Bernard Dunn and his team.

The tools of their trade, everything from spades and chisels to jackhammers and shovels, are scattered everywhere.

You'll also come across the team's notes. The Boneyard is filled with them, and they're loaded with fascinating details. Take this chalkboard, for example. There's a discussion of how dinosaurs are often classified by their hip bones (either bird-hipped or lizard-hipped), and there's a terrific diagram and explanation of the site geology.

The information about what can be found in the strata is interesting to read, but even more so to actually see. As you explore the Boneyard, you'll find these rock layers exposed, allowing for close study of their composition.

This white board not only educates us on the Hadrosaurs found in a nearby fossil matrix, but also opens a window into the paleontological world, where there are often conflicting theories. Intern Jenny Weinstein has posted a theory on the board as to why there are so many Hadrosaur skeletons grouped together. She suggests it could be evidence of a huge cataclysm, but one of her professors has left her a message in return, proposing other potential answers.

The pair of fossilized tracks embedded in this area of the Boneyard present a similar controversy. In this case, Jenny made the find and presented a straightforward assessment. Another intern has come along, insisting that these tracks show a chase between a Theropod (meat eater) and Sauropod (plant eater). In yet another difference of opinion, Dr. Woo has asked the question, "How do we know which came first? One set may have followed the other by hours."

Mark Rios, an intern known to his friends as "Animal," has been working on clearing this pair of Triceratops skulls. With his skewed view of the world, Animal has cooked up an idea that these two were locked in battle, allowing themselves to starve to death before one would concede defeat to the other. Dunn has stepped in to remind Rios to consider all the evidence (or lack thereof).

All these pieces in the Boneyard help to educate us, but they also clearly demonstrate one of the greatest challenges facing paleontologists. Their theories are at the mercy of 65 million-year-old fossil evidence, much of which can appear contradictory or confusing.

Hmmm... If only the scientists could somehow travel back in time to have the chance to observe the dinosaurs as they really lived. Oh, but that would be silly and reckless. Besides, it would take all the fun out of digging and uncovering mysteries.