Sunday, October 5, 2014

THE JANE DIARIES, ENTRY #3

October 5, 2014

Today I completed adding the characters of the pectoral girdle and limb, and now I am working my way through the ilium. Six new pages have been written, which brings the total to 361. The fevered ordeal of measuring the bones that are fixed to the armature has paid off - I’ve been able to provide the measurements that are required to quantify several of the characters that I’ve included today.

It brings me a great deal of satisfaction to find I have the measurements to answer the literature; I’ve spent several afternoons in the gallery measuring the pelvis (fixed to the mount) and crus, at times balanced on a stool, and working against the clock in a sweat. It may not sound believable, but does take a great deal of time, focus, physical exertion, and stamina with two sets of digital calipers to fill about 250 cells in an Excel spreadsheet. Satisfaction also comes from knowing I’ve followed through on the trust and patience of the museum staff who have let me behind the gate, and scuff the platform during those rounds of data collection.

It’ll be another day between nights before I’m back at the museum to wrap up the cervical ribs…

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