Earth Science Club of Northern Illinois - ESCONI

ESCONI Field Trip in September 2013 - Ordovician Paleonotology

ESCONI Field Trip: Irene Quarry near Belvidere, 9AM to 2PM This is the third visit by ESCONI to this site. The rock is Ordovician, Galena Group. This is a "hard-rock" quarry (limestone or dolostone), not shale like Vulcan. The site is owned by William Charles Construction. This is a good place to find Receptaculites and the gastropod Hormotoma, and last May a very nice Illaenus trilobite was found. The quarry has been busy this summer so there should be new rock exposed. Rules (you knew there had to be some) 1. MUST be an ESCONI member as of Sept 1, 2013. 2. MUST be at least 18 years of age. 3. Sign up by sending me an email with the number of members attending and their names. My email is fossil54@att.net No phone calls, please. 4. I will acknowledge by return email. If you don't get a reply in 24 hours, send it again. 5. Maximum attendance is 30. I will keep a signup list (up to 30) and a waiting list (about 10) in case of cancellations. 6. Have the appropriate clothing and equipment for being in a quarry. No sandals or tennis shoes, no claw hammers, etc. MSHA Part 46 training is not required. The address of the quarry is 4525 Irene Road, Belvidere, Illinois. A picture of the quarry can be found at http://www.williamcharlesconstruction.com/Materials/Portfolio-Irene.aspx I recommend you get a map and directions from the Internet. I can send a small map if you can't get one directly. There appears to be an exit from Interstate 90 at Irene Rd, but no entrance back onto the interstate. I will distribute the release form to those signed up by email just before the trip. Questions? Send me an email...

Events for September 2013

Fri 9/13	ESCONI General Meeting 8:00 p.m. College of Dupage,  - Tech Ed (TEC) Building, Room 1038B (Map) Topic: Karen Samond of Northern Illinois University will be speaking on"Waifs and Relics: The Origin and Evolution of Madagascar’s Modern Fauna and the Role of Transoceanic Dispersal"
9/14	ESCONI Field Trip: Irene Quarry near Belvidere, 9AM to 2PM This is the third visit by ESCONI to this site. The rock is Ordovician, Galena Group. This is a "hard-rock" quarry (limestone or dolostone), not shale like Vulcan. The site is owned by William Charles Construction. This is a good place to find Receptaculites and the gastropod Hormotoma, and last May a very nice Illaenus trilobite was found. The quarry has been busy this summer so there should be new rock exposed. Rules (you knew there had to be some) 1. MUST be an ESCONI member as of Sept 1, 2013. 2. MUST be at least 18 years of age. 3. Sign up by sending me an email with the number of members attending and their names. My email is fossil54@att.net No phone calls, please. 4. I will acknowledge by return email. If you don't get a reply in 24 hours, send it again. 5. Maximum attendance is 30. I will keep a signup list (up to 30) and a waiting list (about 10) in case of cancellations. 6. Have the appropriate clothing and equipment for being in a quarry. No sandals or tennis shoes, no claw hammers, etc. MSHA Part 46 training is not required. The address of the quarry is 4525 Irene Road, Belvidere, Illinois. A picture of the quarry can be found at http://www.williamcharlesconstruction.com/Materials/Portfolio-Irene.aspx I recommend you get a map and directions from the Internet. I can send a small map if you can't get one directly. There appears to be an exit from Interstate 90 at Irene Rd, but no entrance back onto the interstate. I will distribute the release form to those signed up by email just before the trip. Questions? Send me an email...
Sat 9/14	Rock & Mineral Swap Meet : 9:30am to 4:00pm, 6219 Forest Hills Road, Odd Fellows Hall, Rockford IL. Bring it Swap it Buy it Sell it - Public Admission Free. Rain or Shine. $20 space donation for 10' by 10'. Sponsored by Rock River Valley Gem & Mineral Society. Contact Bill Horschke at 815 544 2073. or email whorschke@yahoo.com
Sat 9/14	ESCONI Mineralogy Meeting 7:30 p.m. College of Dupage, - Tech Ed (TEC) Building, Room 1038B (Map) - Topic: Mineral video along with Show and Tell
Sat 9/21	ESCONI Paleontology Meeting 7:30 p.m. College of Dupage, - Tech Ed Building (TEC), Room 1038B (Map) Topic: Show and Tell
Fri 9/27	ESCONI Board Meeting. 7:30 p.m. College of Dupage, Tech Ed Build. TEC 1038B  (Map)
Sat 9/28	Archaeology Study Group Meeting. 7:30 p.m. College of Dupage, - Tech Ed Building (TEC), Room 1038B (Map) Topic: Show and Tell-Metal Detecting Finds"
Sat & Sun, 9/28 and 9/29	ESCONI Field Trip: Braceville—Mazon Creek Fossils Collecting Mazon Creek Fossils on private property. Meet at 8:00 A.M. Saturday at the BP Amoco in Coal City. No Age Limit.  Hard Hats not required.  Take I-55 to Exit 236 (Coal City).  Take a right onto Highway 113 (Division Street).  Go west to Broadway Street and Division in Coal City. We will be collecting Mazon Creek concretions from an old spoil pile on private property.  Hard hats are not required.  Boots are recommended. An Estwing rock hammer is the best tool.  A small shovel or pick is helpful.  Knee pads, backpacks, fanny packs, extra clothes (you will get wet and muddy) are also a plus.  Bring a bucket for the fossils. Also bring insect repellant. contact John Good at 1-630-483-2363 for reservations or e-mail at esconi@hotmail.com.  On day of field trip contact John Good at 630-303-2352

Game Tokens from 5,000 Years Ago

From BoingBoing:

Ege University's Haluk Sağlamtimur presented a remarkable find of 5,000-year-old gaming tokens found in a Bronze Age burial mound at Başur Höyük in Turkey. They take a variety of forms ("Some depict pigs, dogs and pyramids, others feature round and bullet shapes. We also found dice as well as three circular tokens made of white shell and topped with a black round stone") and suggest a game based in some way on the number four.   

Most Successful Mammal

From Science Daily:

The 160 million-year-old fossil of an extinct rodent-like creature from China is helping to explain how multituberculates -- the most evolutionarily successful and long-lived mammalian lineage in the fossil record -- achieved their dominance.

2nd to Last Weekend of August - Events

8/24 - 8/25

Gold and Treasure Expo, Winnebago County Fairgrounds, Pecatonica IL Contact: Moss Holl 815-239-1641

8/24 - 26

The Falls of the Ohio State Park in Clarksville, Indiana, is hosting a Life in the Silurian: A Fossil Symposium geared for serious amateurs on August 24 thru 26. It is an extension of the Earth Discovery Day on August 24. The cost is only $15 and includes a full day of presentations on Silurian fossils of the central U.S. The preliminary speaker list includes Chris Cozart, Carl Brett, Don Mikulic, Kenny Popp, Todd Hendricks and others. The field trip will be to a location where Silurian fossils can be collected. Reservations are necessary for symposium. Information about Earth Discovery Day is at: http://www.fallsoft heohio.org/ special_events. html.

Neanderthal News

The Atlantic:

New evidence suggests Neanderthals made sophisticated leather-working tools like ones we use today. It might mean that they were smarter than we thought....

 

Thinkers and Websites for Science News

Wired:

Junk science is everywhere, and today’s research is often discredited tomorrow. This mix of academics, writers, and thinkers will help guide you through the day-to-day discoveries about the world we live in.

These are the core nutrients of a good data diet.