Preparing Dinosaurs—The Work Behind the Scenes; Caitlin Donahue Wylie (2021 PB)

Description: Preparing Dinosaurs: The Work Behind the ScenesBy Caitlin Donahue WyliePaperback: 264 Pages — Publisher: The MIT Press (2021) An investigation of the work and workers in fossil preparation labs reveals the often unacknowledged creativity and problem-solving on which scientists rely. Those awe-inspiring dinosaur skeletons on display in museums do not spring fully assembled from the earth. Technicians known as preparators have painstakingly removed the fossils from rock, repaired broken bones, and reconstructed missing pieces to create them. These specimens are foundational evidence for paleontologists, and yet the work and workers in fossil preparation labs go largely unacknowledged in publications and specimen records. In this book, Caitlin Wylie investigates the skilled labor of fossil preparators and argues for a new model of science that includes all research work and workers. Drawing on ethnographic observations and interviews, Wylie shows that the everyday work of fossil preparation requires creativity, problem-solving, and craft. She finds that preparators privilege their own skills over technology and that scientists prefer to rely on these trusted technicians rather than new technologies. Wylie examines how fossil preparators decide what fossils, and therefore dinosaurs, look like; how labor relations between interdependent yet hierarchically unequal collaborators influence scientific practice; how some museums display preparators at work behind glass, as if they were another exhibit; and how these workers learn their skills without formal training or scientific credentials. The work of preparing specimens is a crucial component of scientific research, although it leaves few written traces. Wylie argues that the paleontology research community's social structure demonstrates how other sciences might incorporate non-scientists into research work, empowering and educating both scientists and nonscientists. Condition: BRAND NEW. Payment: PayPal only. All items to be paid for within 7 days of the end of the auction. If you are bidding on multiple items and/or need more than 7 days to complete payment, please be sure to contact me. I gladly combine shipments of two or more items. Combined shipping is best facilitated by contacting me before payment. If an item remains unpaid for 7 days, I begin the Unpaid Item process with eBay to recover my eBay fees, will relist the item, and an unpaid item ding will be recorded on the non-paying bidder's/buyer's Ebay account. Shipping: If an Ebay Store listing or auction features free shipping, there is no shipping cost to the buyer. Otherwise, Buyer pays shipping. Please Note: Sellers are not responsible for service transit time. This information is provided by the carrier (i.e., US Postal Service) and excludes weekends and holidays. Carrier's transit times can vary considerably during peak periods. Therefore, I make no guarantees about transit times (despite Ebay's promises), but I will put your package into the carrier's system in one business day. Please note: I do not ship on Saturdays or Sundays, as my local post office is closed on weekends. Items purchased after 12:00 p.m. on Friday, on Saturday, or on Sunday will be shipped the following Monday. Feedback: I leave positive feedback for all of my customers who pay on time and leave me positive feedback. As soon as I receive your feedback, I will leave feedback for you.

Price: 39.95 USD

Location: Sacramento, California

End Time: 2024-12-06T06:21:14.000Z

Shipping Cost: 4.99 USD