Excavation means digging up something that is buried. Fossils are excavated from the ground for study and display in museums. Digging a bone out of the dirt may seem simple, but paleontologists (people who study fossils) are careful to preserve the fossil and learn from it as they excavate.

 

	When fossils come in from field sites, they are still encased in matrix (dirt and rock) and a plaster field jacket. The fossils need to be opened, cleaned, assembled, molded, cast and cataloged prior to study.