Técnicas de reintegración para la preparación de fósiles en el 61st SVPCA de Edimburgo

Durante estos días (27 de agosto-30 de agosto) se está celebrando en Edimburgo (Escocia) el 61st Symposium for Vertebrate Palaeontology and Comparative Anatomy / 22nd Symposium for Palaeontological Preparation and Conservation Geological Curators’ Group, al que ha asistido el Grupo de Biología Evolutiva de la UNED representado por Fátima Marcos. Junto a Vicen Carrió (National Museums Scotland), ha presentado el poster titulado "Pros and Cons of Restoration", en el que se muestran, entre otras, algunas técnicas de reintegración aplicadas recientemente a un pequeño ornitópodo del Jurásico Superior de la Cuenca Lusitánica en Portugal y a restos de saurópodos del Cretácico Superior de Lo Hueco (Fuentes, Cuenca).

El resumen es el siguiente:

The criteria for conservation and restoration of a specimen have always been problematic. Restoration has been an issue that has generated controversy: should we restore missing parts at all? How far should we intervene and interpret? What should we use? Do we have the proper training to do so? In palaeontological preparation the issue is even more complex. In most cases, the restoration is not for aesthetics, but to give stability to the specimen. We are rediscovering animals and plants that lived in the past, and in many cases, we do not know their anatomy. The collaboration between the researchers and the preparators' will dictate the way in which the restoration will be undertaken, according to the scientific use of the piece.

Common to all the criteria used is that the restoration must be reversible and recognizable, so that we can always return the piece to its original condition. Furthermore, all conservation materials used should be compatible with the original fossils. The characteristics of the added parts must be similar and not cause further damage or deterioration to the specimen.

Currently, in conservation and restoration, we use a number of acrylic resins which have been proven to be inert and reversible. Resins are used both in restoration for structural reinforcement, and for aesthetic restoration.

These resins are miscible with various types of fillers that will modify their colour, texture or hardness. Different situations call for different mixtures of solvent, fillers and resins to be used.

Depending on the amount of product to be mixed and the percentage of the resin with respect to the solvent, the “characteristic” result product will be different, allowing us to apply it as the piece requires.

Más información:

• En la imagen, Vicen Carrió posa junto al poster presentado en el SVPCA/SPPCGC (Foto cortesía de Penélope Cruzado, ¡gracias!).
• Referencia: Carrió, V. & Marcos, F. (2013) "Pros and Cons of Restoration" 22nd Symposium for Palaeontological Preparation and Conservation Geological Curators’ Group.