Feature

In the Field

Matrix washing at Lubbock Lake Landmark.

By
Jason Cannon

John Davis heads to the heart of one of the oldest continuously inhabited places in the New World to find somewhere to eat - only he's a few thousand years too late. Instead, he checks out a bison-kill site and sifts through some matrix to find remnants of the past.

Eileen Johnson, director of Lubbock Lake Landmark, shows us a bison-kill site where the indigenous Plainview people gathered for food. As they process the site, sections of the ground are dug out and bagged up to be sent to their matrix washing lab. Assistant Collections Manager Alyssa Magnone demonstrates how these chunks of earth are broken down and sifted through to find fossils and other relics of the past.

In the Field is a new research series produced by the Office of Research & Innovation at Texas Tech University. John Davis gets his hands dirty to show that science isn’t just test tubes and lab coats. New videos will be posted every Wednesday. Check out the series on YouTube and subscribe today!

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