While Evan, Jorge, and Aldo ventured out into the field as per usual, Wesley, Robyn, and myself took a detour to our offsite facility in Corrazal. Our building there houses neatly organized samples as well as equally organized bags of dirt. Dirt? Yes, dirt.

Sediments, if we should use a more technical name, are taken from fossiliferous layers in sites from which we have been excavating. While our time in the field allows us to find many samples, smaller specimens often slip through our fingers (quite literally).

What is to be done about such a loss? Sediments from these sites are collected and transported to sites such as these, where they are washed through a careful process referred to as screen washing.

Having collected a hefty amount of sediment from a few of our most productive sites, we the interns have been excited to begin the screenwashing process. Only one thing stands in our way – cleaning our site!

A shot inside the rooms of the facility. Samples are housed in plastic crates, carefully labeled and arranged by date and location.

The “before” picture – broken crates, unlabeled samples, torn bags, piles of dirt, and an unlucky anthill litter our workspace.

The “after” picture – the salvaged samples have been newly labeled and stored safely indoors and our workspace is clean and ready

As Jorge (PCP PIRE intern supervisor) and Evan (PCP PIRE intern) are still in the field, we must postpone the commencement of screenwashing until tomorrow morning – stay tuned!