11-12 August (Part 1): We Struck "Goo"!
With the distal bones of Mikey's front limbs safely on the table, we needed to open up the pit by removing more of the topsoil/clay that was over what we believed to be Mikey's shoulders and cervical-thoracic junction. Seeing as I am the "Project Boss", I delegated this fun job to my assistant Tiffany Tarbox.
Using gloved hands, I cleaned around the radius and humerus bones and started to notice that the consistency of the surrounding clay was changing. It became wetter, stickier and seemed to contain elements of organic matter (red). As I got closer to the humeroradial joint (shoulder) I found larger "chunks" of organic material still attached by very strong fibers to places on the bones.
Yes, the smell became quite noticeable.Tiffany declared the slimy, icky substrate as "goo" and frankly, I wasn't liking what I was feeling, seeing and smelling!
I persevered long enough to pull the radius and humerus of both limbs out of the "goo" but I was (am) concerned as to what we will find when we get to the thoracic region. The material attached to the greater and lesser trochanters of the right humerus may, in fact, be partially decomposed deep pectoral muscle. I did take a photo but refrain from posting it here as it is rather graphic. If any reader is interested, just comment below or send an email.
