Category: Member Posts
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Collecting Echinoids (Sea Urchins) in North Jutland, Denmark
Today, we have an interesting guest post from long-time ESCONI member Marie Angkuw. Marie is part of the Lyme Regis Babes as John Catalani has named them. Marie, Rhonda Gates, Jann Bergsten, and Deborah Lovely have taken numerous trips to Europe to collect fossils. They’ve been to Lyme Regis (multiple times), Whitby, Yorkshire, and the…
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Crystals from the Maquoketa Formation
Unfortunately, we don’t have enough mineral posts, but here’s one from ESCONI VP Dave Carlson about crystals in the Maquoketa Formation. If any has an article or information they’d like to contribute, please send us an email at esconi.info@gmail.com. I wanted to share pictures of some crystals found over the years at the Vulcan DeKalb…
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The Forgotten Paleontologist: A Commentary by Keith Robitschek
The discovery: Paleontological events are based on theory and evidence is required to prove that an event actually occurred. Today, the event that occurred sixty-six million years ago at the Yucatan peninsula has been proven through scientific research based on core samples at the impact site and iridium analyses in the K-Pg boundary that was…
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Opal Hunting at the Spencer, Idaho Mini-Mine by Andy Jansen
Rock hunting opportunities were dancing through my mind when I was requested to go to Idaho Falls, ID for a business meeting the third week of July. Should I go for fossils, minerals, or both? I was scouring websites for options that would be within a couple hours drive from Idaho Falls in the likely…
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Come See Tyler Keillor’s Dryptosaurus at the Bess Bower Dunn Museum of Lake County Grand Opening Event on Saturday, March 24th, 2018
Tyler Keillor, a past ESCONI member and paleo-artist will have his latest work, a Dyptosaurus, unveiled at the Bess Bower Dunn Museum of Lake Count on Saturday, March 24th, 2018 from 10 AM to 5 PM. Details are here. “… The Bess Bower Dunn Museum of Lake County invites visitors of all ages to attend its grand…
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Mazon Creek Fossil Blog – American Fossil Hunt
Recently, I ran across an interesting blog called “American Fossil Hunt”. It’s written by Andrew Bach, an ESCONI member. He details his adventures hunting for Mazon Creek concretions in Pit 11, the Braceville spoil pile, and other nearby locales. Additionally, there are posts about trips to Florida and California. His posts include many pictures of…
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New 245 Million Year Old Horseshoe Crab Discovered in Idaho by ESCONI Member
Live Science has a story about a new species of horseshoe crab. The crab lived during the Triassic Period about 245 million years ago. It was discovered by ESCONI member Trick Runions and is called Vaderlimulus tricki. The name stems from the shape of the head shield, which resembles the helmet worn by Darth Vader…
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Humans Today Have Even More Neanderthal DNA Than We Realised
George Dvorsky Oct 6, 2017, 6:00pm A international team of researchers has completed one of the most detailed analyses of a Neanderthal genome to date. Among the many new findings, the researchers learned that Neanderthals first mated with modern humans a surprisingly long time ago, and that humans living today have more Neanderthal DNA than…
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News Flash from Africa
Former ESCONI Junior, Rebecca Rogers Ackermann, has been promoted to a full Professor at the University of Cape Town. Professor Ackermann is one of only three women professors of archaeology in Africa. Well done ESCONI!
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Archaeology Study Group Meeting Report: Shroud of Turin
From Dr John Ruskamp: Revered by some as a religious artifact and rejected by others as a medieval fake, the Shroud of Turin is both a historic and scientific enigma. Indeed! However, for the members of ESCONI’s Archaeology group the scientific facts related to this artifact are now clear. In a presentation by member John…
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Archaeology Study Group Auction Deferred
Eric wrote in to remind everyone that the the archaeological study group auction will be deferred to a later date please stay tuned for further updates.
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Letter from Member
December 12, 2013 ESCONI old-timers may remember Allan Mitchell of Iowa City, Iowa, who died on November 22, 2013 at the age of 101. He sold and/or donated large amounts of interesting micro material to the micromount group on several occasions in the 1980s and was a familiar name to that group at that time. …
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ESCONI Earth Science Auction
From Eric Schmidt, Archaeology Study Group Leader: The Archaeology Study Group will be hosting the first of what we hope will be several auctions designed to promote the interest of Archaeology within the club. The auction will be hosted at the January 2014 meeting and will be devoted exclusively to ESCONI related interests. While the…
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Member Report on Recent Visit to Lizzadro
Member, Mary Fairchild sent in this report from her visit to the Lizzadro Museum of Lapidary Art: Chinese Jade Carvings, Fossils, and Minerals The upper level of the Lizzadro Museum of Lapidary Art displays a large selection of Chinese jade and hard stone carvings from around the world and the lower level of the museum…
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Book Review: Chinese Petroglyphs in America? by John Ruskamp, Jr.
Chinese Petroglyphs in America? – A Book Review Asiatic Echoes: The Identification of Chinese Pictograms in North American Rock Writing; Ruskamp, Jr., John A.; Amazon Press, Charleston, SC; 2012. ($29.50) Asiatic Echoes: The Identification of Chinese Pictograms in North American Rock Writing – Addendum 2012; Ruskamp, Jr., John A.; Amazon Press, Charleston, SC; 2012. ($9.25)…
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Report on Mid-America Paleontology Society
Sent in by ESCONI Member, Mary Fairchild: Is it dinosaur? This fossil was found in gravel in northwest Iowa and it has not been identified yet. That’s what makes events like the MAPS fossil show a great way to learn and share with other fossil enthusiasts. MAPS is a non-profit organization of amateurs and…
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Writeup About the June Archaeology Field Trip
Archaeology June Field Trip On June 2nd and 3rd, we had an Archaeology field trip to see Cahokia Mounds, the Museum of Westward Expansion, the Saint Louis Arch, and the Lewis and Clark Memorial State Park. Cahokia Mounds offers a World-Class Interpretive Center with museum exhibit galleries, an orientation show theater, a museum shop and…
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Letter from Member about Upcoming Field Trip, 2012
Keith wrote about the upcoming field trip to the quarry in Belvidere, IL – Hello All, I just got back from Irene through the Lizadro Museum. It is a Dolminite limstone quarry. The majority of the fossils found were Gastropods not many complete and mostly 1.5 Inch or less in size (Trochonema, Lophospira, Hormotoma…). …
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Cultural Ecology of the Atlantic Coast
Cultural Ecology of the Atlantic Coast: Shell Middens and Ancient Tidal Forests By Mary Fairchild (Dungeness ; Cumberland Island.) It was just a year ago that I had first stumbled across some ancient scattered shells by the Carnegie Ruins on Cumberland Island and couldn’t stop thinking about them… Cultural ecology is a map of relationships between living…
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Book Review: Stories in Stone
Written by Joseph D. Kubal: Recently, I came across a book that may be of interest to all you earth science enthusiasts. It is entitled, “Stories in Stone: Travels through Urban Geology” written by David B. Williams. The book contains a myriad of tales concerning a little researched facet of traditional geology and focuses on…
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ESCONI Newsletters 1949 – 2011
By Andy Jansen, ESCONI Librarian – The Earth Science Club of Northern Illinois has a long and distinguished history that began with its first meeting in November 1949. Fortunately for the Club, one of their first decisions was to document their activities with a newsletter. The first newsletter was issued January 1950, which was five…
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Interview With Rob Sula on Paleo Artwork for Lizzadro Museum
Rob Sula wears many hats – paleontologist, teacher and artist (and ESCONI Vice President). I recently caught up with him to talk about his latest art installation at the Lizzadro Museum. Dianna Lord: How did your project get started? Rob Sula: In September I was approached by Dorothy Asher, the Director of the Lizzadro Museum…
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Fishing 42,000 Years Ago
Humans Were Catching Tuna 42K Years Ago Humans were expert deep-sea fishermen as far back as 42,000 years ago, hauling in tuna, sharks and barracudas, new research suggests. Fish appeared in the human diet about 1.9 million years ago. Early catchers waded into freshwater lakes and streams without the need for boats or complex tools.…
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Mazon Creek Fossils: Dinner With Dr. Frederick R. Schram by Mary Fairchild
Rob Sula, Dr. Frederick R. Schram, Jack Wittry, Jim Fairchild.–August, 2011. The Mazon Creek site is very significant because of the diversity of life compared to other Lagerstatten. Frederick R. Schram (2) In August, ESCONI members Rob and Sondra Sula, Jack and Charlene Wittry, and Jim and I met with Dr. Frederick Schram at the Two Brothers…
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GSA Annual Meeting, 2011, Opportunities for Students
I still am thinking about the great opportunities that the Geological Society of America Annual Meeting offers to undergrad and graduate geoscience students: In the next few days, I’ll share brief notes from two presentations I attended on Mineral Resources and Rare Earth Minerals. If you want to read some other’s notes and thoughts on…
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GSA Annual Meeting, 2011, Field Trip Notes
The Geological Society of America’s annual conference is being held in Minneapolis this week. In addition to many interesting lectures and presentations, the conference offers various field trips, including a full-day field trip that we attended: Flaming meteors, dark caves, and raging waters – Geological curiosities of western Wisconsin. What follows are a few notes and…
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Old Copper Culture: A Visit With Pete Stark of Oconto’s Historical Society By Mary Fairchild
This is a picture of Pete Stark with our family’s ancient Indian artifact–an authentic copper celt. Pete, Vice President of the Oconto Historical Society, is an expert on the Old Copper Culture. The Old Copper Culture refers to the items made by early inhabitants of the Great Lakes region. We met Pete Stark at the…
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Missing 3 Newsletters from 1950, 1952 and 1990
Andy Jansen, our ESCONI librarian, is looking for 3 newsletters – May, 1950; February 1952; and April 1990. Do you have one of these newsletters? Please contact Andy at (630) 739-7721. Andy has been scanning all of the SCONI Newsletters so that you can buy a CD with all of ESCONI’s newsletters!
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Dinosaur Bone Hunting: Excavating Fossils With Paleo Prospectors
By Mary Fairchild (2011, private ranch near New Castle, Wyoming.) To collect, conserve, curate and display extraordinary geological and natural history specimens that have the power to educate, enlighten, and excite people about the wonders of the natural world.–The Black Hills Museum of Natural History’s mission statement When dinosaurs walked the earth, a vast inland…
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Do It Yourself Trilobite
Andrew Young [ESCONI member] writes: “Thank you all, again, for the wonderful field trips this spring: Braceville, the St. Paul quarry and environs. I’m sure that some of you will endeavor to collect over the summer, but for those who must wait to search for our beloved trilobites – rolled or in matrix – attached…
