9 August 2010. Zhada, Tibet
We spent the whole day yesterday excavating ZD1001, the highly productive bonebed discovered by Juan Liu. In a day's work, we had uncovered 11 jaws of bovids and a mustelid. Among other elements were limb bones and axial elements of horses, rhinos, and more bovids.
Of course, among the most important finds are the small mammals; besides the two types of lagomorphs (rabbits and pikas), there were also squirrel teeth and post-cranial elements. Isolated teeth of these small mammals pop up everywhere as we carefully sort through the surface sediment with dental picks. We also collected bags of matrix to screen-wash for any missed microfossils.
Today, we are spending at least the morning (and potentially the entire day) dealing with the local police. We decided to check in at the police station last night after work, but the police shut down our operation by giving the reason that we are missing a piece of paperwork. More hurdles to jump, but hopefully things will work out.
It is overcast in Zhada today, with temperatures in the 60's degrees F. It has not rained so far today. There was a brief power outage this morning, but power is back on now.
[posted from Zhada's Internet Cafe]
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