Footprints in Stone: Script Context Clues

Audio Stop: A Path Preserved

1Welcome to the trackway exhibit. The label offers a tentative identification of the dinosaur that made these prints; researchers consider the identification possible, but not yet certain. A small speaker stands beneath the display. The recording lasts a few minutes, and a bench faces the stone slab.

2Start with the photograph beside the slab. Part of one footprint is obscured by loose sand, so its outline disappears beneath a pale patch. Farther left, several prints form a cluster, crowded together in one small area rather than spread across the photograph. Two other impressions remain distinct: a clear strip of smooth stone separates one from the other.

3Now follow the row of prints across the slab. The marks are intermittent, appearing for a short distance, disappearing, and then appearing again. Low rails flank the display, with one rail running along each side. Together, the rails channel visitors toward the viewing spot, directing their movement without blocking their view.

4The object below the photograph is a cast, a solid copy made by filling a mold rather than an original footprint-bearing rock. Look for a minute groove near its edge. This extremely small line is easy to miss unless you lean closer. The nearby model shows how wet sediment can receive an impression and later harden into rock.

5Researchers use tracks to infer how an animal moved: they work toward an explanation from evidence instead of watching the animal itself. You can trace the route with your eyes by following the prints from one end to the other. A footprint may be a trace of ancient activity, but it does not preserve every detail of what happened.

6Pause the recording while you examine the last pair of prints, then resume it to continue listening. This is a compact exhibit: its photograph, model, and slab fit into a small corner, leaving most of the hall open. Before moving on, compare the original stone with the copy. Notice which details appear in both and which are easier to see on one surface.