Earth Science Club of Northern Illinois

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A Historic Discovery: Archaeologists Uncover Oldest Known Projectile Points in the Americas

SciTechDaily has a story about some Oregon State University archaeologists that have found the oldest projectile points in North America. The researchers were working at a site known as Cooper’s Ferry. The points have been dated to about 15,700 years, which is about 3,000 years older than Clovis points found throughout North America. The research was published in the journal Science Advances. “From a scientific point of view, these discoveries add very important details about what the archaeological record of the earliest peoples of the Americas looks like,” said Loren Davis, an anthropology professor at OSU and head of the…
Read more: A Historic Discovery: Archaeologists Uncover Oldest Known Projectile Points in the Americas
Calendar of Events, ESCONI Gem, Mineral & Fossil Show

2023 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #5!

This is the preview post #5 for the 2023 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show Live Auction. The ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show for 2023 will be held on March 18th and 19th at the DuPage Fairgrounds in Wheaton, IL, which is the same location as last year. All details can be found here. Time for another preview for the 2023 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show. Expect quite a few more! Back to the minerals… This is a chunk Colemanite from Death Valley. Colemanite is a borate mineral found in evaporite deposits. This particular specimen comes from the…
Read more: 2023 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #5!
Mazon Creek, Mazon Monday

Mazon Monday #151: PBS Eons, History’s Most Powerful Plants

This is Mazon Monday post #151. What’s your favorite Mazon Creek fossil? Tell us at email:esconi.info@gmail.com. PBS Eons has another interesting Mazon Creek related video. This one was also on Facebook, but everyone can enjoy it with the link below.
Read more: Mazon Monday #151: PBS Eons, History’s Most Powerful Plants
Calendar of Events

Happy Darwin Day 2023!

Happy Darwin Day 2023! Today is Charles Darwin’s 213th birthday. Head on over to the International Darwin Day website. Here is what it’s about.. International Darwin Day on February 12th will inspire people throughout the globe to reflect and act on the principles of intellectual bravery, perpetual curiosity, scientific thinking, and hunger for truth as embodied in Charles Darwin. It will be a day of celebration, activism, and international cooperation for the advancement of science, education, and human well-being. Local and state governments will close in commemoration of the Day, and organizations and businesses will celebrate by engaging in community…
Read more: Happy Darwin Day 2023!
Around the Web

NPR: The do’s and don’ts of amateur fossil hunting

WAMU 88.5 American Univerity Radio has an interesting program about fossil hunting. It features a discussion with paleontologist Steven Brusatte and science writer Riley Black. The audio can be found here. Fossil hunting has been popular for ages. Maybe you’ve stumbled upon ancient remains yourself, whether on a walk on the beach or on a guided fossil-hunting tour. And amateur fossil hunters contribute to scientific discoveries all the time. Back in the gold rush in the 19th century, countless fossils and mummified prehistoric remains were discovered in Alaska. And a more recent “bone rush” speaks to how fossil hunting continues to be commercialized, something…
Read more: NPR: The do’s and don’ts of amateur fossil hunting
Fossil Friday, Mazon Creek

Fossil Friday #147: Annularia from Danville

This is the “Fossil Friday” post #147. Expect this to be a somewhat regular feature of the website. We will post any fossil pictures you send in to esconi.info@gmail.com. Please include a short description or story. Check the #FossilFriday Twitter hash tag for contributions from around the world! Had a large Annularia from Danville open up this past weekend. The concretion is about 4 inches across. It has a fern (Crenulopteris?) and a ghostly Lepidostrobophyllum on the outside. On the inside is a beautiful Annularia. The Danville fossils are a few million years younger than Mazon Creek, but many of…
Read more: Fossil Friday #147: Annularia from Danville
Throwback Thursday

Throwback Thursday #148: Johnny Cash and Dinosaurs?!? Yes!

This is Throwback Thursday #148. In these, we look back into the past at ESCONI specifically and Earth Science in general. If you have any contributions, (science, pictures, stories, etc …), please send them to esconi.info@gmail.com. Thanks! OK, so who knew that Johnny Cash had a dinosaur song? Written by Johnny and his wife June, the “Dinosaur Song” was recorded between January 1972 and October 1973. It was released by Columbia Records in 1975 on “The Johnny Cash Children’s Album”. It was later reissued in 2006 through Legacy Recordings. Enjoy! “Dinosaur Song” Dinosaurs lived a long time agoThey were terrible…
Read more: Throwback Thursday #148: Johnny Cash and Dinosaurs?!? Yes!
Calendar of Events

ESCONI February 2023 General Meeting – February 10th, 2023 at 8:00 PM via Zoom – “Baby Dinosaurs of the Arctic: Discovery and Research of a Dinosaur Nursery North of the Artic Circle”

At our General Meeting (via Zoom) on February 10th, the program “Baby Dinosaurs of the Arctic: Discovery and Research of a Dinosaur Nursery north of the Arctic Circle” will be presented by Dr. Patrick Druckenmiller. Dr. Druckenmiller is Professor of Geology and Director of the University of Alaska Museum of the North. He is a vertebrate paleontologist who research encompasses Mesozoic marine reptiles and Alaskan dinosaurs. He has conducted extensive fieldwork in North America and the Arctic, including northern Alaska where he directs excavation of the northernmost dinosaurs to ever walk the Earth. He became the Earth Sciences Curator in…
Read more: ESCONI February 2023 General Meeting – February 10th, 2023 at 8:00 PM via Zoom – “Baby Dinosaurs of the Arctic: Discovery and Research of a Dinosaur Nursery North of the Artic Circle”
Calendar of Events, ESCONI Gem, Mineral & Fossil Show, Mazon Creek

2023 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #4!

This is the preview post #4 for the 2023 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show Live Auction. The ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show for 2023 will be held on March 18th and 19th at the DuPage Fairgrounds in Wheaton, IL, which is the same location as last year. All details can be found here. Time for another preview for the 2023 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show. Expect quite a few more! For this week, we have a beautiful Crenulopteris acadica (see Mazon Monday #115) from Mazon Creek. It’s very detailed and has been mounted to a piece of…
Read more: 2023 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #4!
Mazon Creek, Mazon Monday

Mazon Monday #150: Fossundecima konecniorum

This is Mazon Monday post #150. What’s your favorite Mazon Creek fossil? Tell us at email:esconi.info@gmail.com. Fossundecima konecniorum was a medium sized polychaete worm that made up part of the fauna of Mazon Creek. It had two triangular jaws in its proboscis, which is probably evidence of a predatory lifestyle. It had short setae that extended from its body segments. It is the second most common “worm” found in the Mazon Creek biota, most commonly in Pit 11. Its informal name is the “Simple Jaw Worm”. F. konecniorum was named for Jim and Sylvia Konecny, who were both prolific fossil…
Read more: Mazon Monday #150: Fossundecima konecniorum
Around the Web

A Unique Discovery: Researchers Have Uncovered an Ultra-Rare Piece of Evidence That Dinosaurs Ate Mammals

SciTechDaily has a story about the diet of dinosaurs. Microraptor zhaoianus was a small bird like dinosaur that lived between 120 and 125 million years ago in the early Cretaceous Period in what is now northeastern China. A particular specimen, described in a recent study in the journal Vertebrate Paleontology, was found to have eaten a small mammal just before its death. Previous Microraptor specimens from this area have been found with gut contents of a fish, bird, and lizard, indicating that these small dinosaurs had diverse diets. However, it remains unclear whether Microraptor consumed the contents in a predator-prey relationship or by scavenging. Researchers…
Read more: A Unique Discovery: Researchers Have Uncovered an Ultra-Rare Piece of Evidence That Dinosaurs Ate Mammals
Around the Web

PBS Eons: What If Neandertals Buried Their Dead?

PBS Eons has a new episode. This one is about the Neanderthals and how they lived… and died. They cared for their sick and disabled, so I feel its not ridiculous to think that they very much buried their dead. They had compassion, surely they wanted to say goodbye to their loved ones and probably wanted to stop carnivores from eating the bodies of their family members.
Read more: PBS Eons: What If Neandertals Buried Their Dead?
Fossil Friday, Mazon Creek

Fossil Friday #146: Kottixerxes gloriosus

This is the “Fossil Friday” post #146. Expect this to be a somewhat regular feature of the website. We will post any fossil pictures you send in to esconi.info@gmail.com. Please include a short description or story. Check the #FossilFriday Twitter hash tag for contributions from around the world! As stated back in Mazon Monday #141, Kottixerxes gloriosus is a very rare animal… maybe the rarest. An article in the “Richardson’s Guide to the Fossil Fauna of Mazon Creek” found only two specimens out of a sample of 229,979 concretions. K. gloriosus was described in Frederick Schram in 1971. It is…
Read more: Fossil Friday #146: Kottixerxes gloriosus
Calendar of Events

ESCONI Events February 2023

Field trips require membership, but visitors are welcome at all meetings! Fri, Feb 10th ESCONI General Meeting 8:00 PM Zoom – Topic: “Baby Dinosaurs of the Arctic: Discovery and Research of a Dinosaur Nursery North of the Arctic Circle” by Dr. P. Druckenmiller. Zoom link Sat, Feb 11th ESCONI Junior Meeting – 7:00 PM at College of DuPage – Topic: Rock Displays Specifics of this meeting are available from Scott Galloway, 630-670-2591, gallowayscottf@gmail.com. The meeting will be in person at the College of DuPage Tech Ed (TEC) Building, Room 1038A (Map). Sat, Feb 18th ESCONI Paleontology Meeting – 7:30 PM…
Read more: ESCONI Events February 2023
Throwback Thursday

Throwback Thursday #147: Looking Back at ESCONI for February 2023

This is Throwback Thursday #147. In these, we look back into the past at ESCONI specifically and Earth Science in general. If you have any contributions, (science, pictures, stories, etc …), please send them to esconi.info@gmail.com. Thanks! 25 Years Ago – February 1998 50 Years Ago – February 1973 70 Years Ago – February 1953
Read more: Throwback Thursday #147: Looking Back at ESCONI for February 2023
Around the Web

Fossils reveal prehistoric Patagonian dinosaurs

Phys.org has a story about fossils from Chile. Much like western North American, Patagonia, in South America, has a rich dinosaur history. Now, a new study led by researchers at the University of Texas at Austin is providing a deeper look. The research, published in the Journal of South American Earth Sciences, looked at the earliest record of theropods from the Chilean portion of Patagonia. Since 2017, members of the Clarke lab, including graduate and undergraduate students, have joined scientific collaborators from Chile in Patagonia to collect fossils and build a record of ancient life from the region. Over the…
Read more: Fossils reveal prehistoric Patagonian dinosaurs
Calendar of Events, ESCONI Gem, Mineral & Fossil Show, Mazon Creek

2023 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #3!

This is the preview post #3 for the 2023 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show Live Auction. The ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show for 2023 will be held on March 18th and 19th at the DuPage Fairgrounds in Wheaton, IL, which is the same location as last year. All details can be found here. Time for another preview for the 2023 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show. Expect quite a few more! This is a beautiful crinoid fossil from the Pennington Formation near Skyline, Alabama, which dates to the Upper Chesterian of the Mississippian Period. The species is Scytalocrinus…
Read more: 2023 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #3!
Mazon Creek, Mazon Monday

Mazon Monday #149: Pennsylvanian Flora of Northern Illinois

This is Mazon Monday post #149. What’s your favorite Mazon Creek fossil? Tell us at email:esconi.info@gmail.com. Dr. Adolf Carl Noé (1873-1939) was a pioneer in North American coal-ball studies. Noé worked at the University of Chicago. And, was contacted by George Langford when he began seriously collecting Mazon Creek in the 1930’s. At the time, Noe’ was considered one of the top paleobotanists in the country. Biographical Note from the University of Chicago Library where his papers are stored. Adolf Carl von Noé, paleobotanist, was born October 28, 1873 in Graz, Austria. He attended the University of Graz and the…
Read more: Mazon Monday #149: Pennsylvanian Flora of Northern Illinois
Around the Web

MetalBallStudios: Ocean DEPTH Comparison 🌊 (3D Animation)

MetalBallStudios has a fascinating video on Youtube that shows the depth of various lake, seas, and the oceans. Here is shown the depth of different lakes and seas and other things of interest under the water. From the beach to the deepest part of the Mariana Trench
Read more: MetalBallStudios: Ocean DEPTH Comparison 🌊 (3D Animation)
Calendar of Events

Chicago Rocks 72nd Annual Silent Auction – Saturday, March 11, 2023 from 6 to 9 PM

The Chicago Rocks & Minerals Society is holding our 72nd annual silent auction on Saturday, March 11, 2023, from 6 to 9 p.m., plus a special live auction of high-end items at the end. Our selection is fantastic this year due to some very generous donors. Chicago Rocks & Minerals Society Hosts 72nd Annual Silent Auction, Plus Special Live Auction of High-end Specimens During the Last Half-Hour! Saturday, March 11, 2023 6 to 9 p.m.St. Peter’s United Church of Christ 8013 Laramie Ave., Skokie, IL (Across the street from the public library on Oakton) The first table closes at 6:30 p.m. Bid on minerals,…
Read more: Chicago Rocks 72nd Annual Silent Auction – Saturday, March 11, 2023 from 6 to 9 PM

Friday, April 10th	General Meeting – 8:00 PM via Zoom. Jessica Hull will present “Life in the Devonian Period, The Age of Fishes.”
Saturday, April 11th	Junior Study Group Meeting – 2:00 PM, in person at the College of DuPage Technical Education Center (TEC) Building – Room 1038A (Map). Katherine Howard will present on Sand and Sediment Collecting. Specifics of this meeting are available from Scott Galloway, 630-670-2591, gallowayscottf@gmail.com.
Saturday, April 18th	Paleontology Study Group – 7:30 PM via Zoom and in person at the College of DuPage, TEC, Room 1038B (Map). Keith Robitschek will present “Digging the Marl of the Lance Formation.”
Friday, April 24th	MAPS Expo XLVII – Springfield, IL.
Saturday, April 25th	MAPS Expo XLVII – Springfield, IL.
Sunday, April 26th	MAPS Expo XLVII – Springfield, IL.
No meeting this month	Mineralogy Study Group

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