Dinosaurs are definitely one of the first things that come to mind when you think of a museum. All of us at some point wanted to go to a museum and see the skeletons of dinosaurs. However, as one gets older, the question arises whether these dinosaur bones are real or not. Let’s learn together.
Dinosaurs were wonderful creatures, and we still haven’t fully discovered them as humanity. At least we have a chance to see as much as we can discover today, or is it really so?
Do the structures that we see in museums, in which bones are brought together to form a skeleton, really belong to dinosaurs? This question is a little difficult to answer because a complex subject but not impossible; So let’s find out if the dinosaur bones in museums are real.
Let’s start with the most basic: What is the ‘fossil’ we always hear about, how is it formed and how is it unearthed?
A fossil is evidence of prehistoric life, be it a plant or animal, and is at least 10,000 years old. The most common fossil forms are bones and teeth (body fossils) but also footprints and skin remnants (trace fossils) are included in the fossils.
fossils; Ancient stream beds, lakes, caves, volcanic ash residues and tar pits can be obtained from many different environmental shapes. So how are fossils formed? As a matter of fact, many of the ancient creatures could not turn into fossils. consumed by another organism or deteriorated due to climate effects.
But when the right conditions are met, they turn into the fossils we see today, but what are these conditions? The fossilization process of an animal begins if it is buried with sediments such as sand or silt after the animal dies. The layers of sediment under which it is buried protect the animal from decay. The flesh parts of the body are eroded and only hard parts such as bones, teeth and horns remain.
Of course, this process we are talking about is not such a short period of time, as we said before, it takes at least 10,000 years for this to happen. After all these processes extract the fossil staying.
To unearth fossils, they must first be found, and for this, paleontologists organize expeditions to areas where fossils are most likely to be found. For the fieldwork to be successful substantial funding and careful planning must.
Paleontologists are often in areas where fossils have been found before They organize fieldwork, but if they can’t find it, they try to locate the rock from the age to which the fossil they are looking for belongs, using geological maps and satellite photographs.
When the paleontologist finds a fossil fragment, he brushes the dust off the surface to see how much of it is buried in the ground. If a large part of the sample is underground, excavation operations are started. As the fossil bone is exposed, cracks and fractures are used to hold the fossil together. special glue is applied.
A trench is then dug around the fossil so that the fossil rests on a foundation but is still covered with rock or matrix. Over the fossilized bones before a layer of plaster bandage is wrapped around the matrix to create a hard cast, like a doctor’s recipe for a broken bone. A moist toilet paper is placed. Once the mold has hardened, the fossil is excavated by breaking off the matrix from the underlying rock, and the fossil in the mold is packaged to be sent to the museum.
And let’s come to our main question: Are the dinosaur bones we see in museums real today?
As you can see from what we’ve said so far Fossils are very fragile structures. Getting it out and ready to be exhibited in the museum is a very delicate process. This naturally raises the question of whether scientists display replica dinosaur bones in museums so that the real ones are not damaged.
Actually, there are two answers to this question: both yes and no. Yes, the bones you see in museums are 90% (parts that could not be found are restored with plaster) really belong to prehistoric dinosaurs. No, because the ‘bones’ that make up the skeleton in museums are no longer bones, but rather rocks.
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After thousands of years of fossilization, the bones of dinosaurs do not have the structure we call bones today. However, those who once lived thousands of years ago they formed the skeleton of a living thing.
Thus, we get the answer to our question. In summary, dinosaur bones exhibited in museums they really belong to the dinosaurs, but they are no longer bones. What are you thinking? Please do not forget to share your thoughts with us in the comments.
Sources: Field Museum, The Guardian, American Museum of Natural History