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Mary Anning Can Be Effectively Introduced in Biology Teenth Century )--4 DI She'sMore Than "Seller of Sea Shellsat the Seashore" Downloaded from http://online.ucpress.edu/abt/article-pdf/68/3/153/53554/4451954.pdf by guest on 25 September 2021 0 ,- 1 RENEE M. CLARY JAMES H. WANDERSEE 0 "..1 es, that famous nursery rhyme is about her! Mary and science of collecting fossils, or "curiosities,"from Anning is now gaining in popularity, as evidenced by her father,Richard Anning. He collected fossils, cut and the number of new books recently written about her polished them, and sold them to the tourists who visit- life and work (Table 1). However, most students have ed the area.Upon his untimely death, young Mary,her never heard of Anning and her contributions to the mother, and her brother,Joseph, continued the fossil field of paleontology. As a field of study claimed by sev- business. It was Mary,however, who excelled at finding eral disciplines, paleontology offers teachers a unique fossils in the crumbling cliffs and recoveringthem. opportunity to integrate the sciences, particularlythe Soon she became very knowledgeable about the subjects of biology and geology. Jurassic marine fossils of her area, and people within In the past, contributions by women have been the United Kingdom, as well as across Europe, sought largely overlooked in U.S. science instruction. her fossils and her opinions. Marywas in contact with However, the move toward standards-based integra- the leading scientists of the day, and provided many tion of appropriate history of science topics supports specimens to the major museums of the country. Her bringing female scientists' viewpoints to the classroom visibility in the sciences was quite unusual, since at -offering a range of perspectives on scientific that time, women and those of low social standing advances. Our own historical researchin U.S. and U.K. were barred from participation in scientific societies. archives uncovered primary and secondary sources Woodward (1907) identified her as "the most notable that inspired this article. The life and contributions of collector [of fossils] during the early part of the nine- Mary Anning can be effectively introduced in biology teenth century"(p. 115). Mary'scorrespondence indi- and earth science classrooms via the interactivehistor- cates she succeeded in spite of her gender, social sta- ical vignette (IHV) technique. Classroom study can tus, and lack of formal education. then be extended in a variety of ways, including inves- One of her friends was Henry De la Beche, a tigation of the use of fossils in the 21st century through prominent geologist of the 19th century. He moved to an Anning poster contest. Lyme Regis as a boy, and it is suspected that the Anning familyintroduced him to the fossils of the area. Background De la Beche eventually made geology his life and career. He became the first Director General of the Mary Anning lived in a seaside town called Lyme British Geological Survey, and he later founded the Regis, England, in the early 1800s. She learned the art Museum of PracticalGeology and the School of Mines. De la Beche maintained contact with Mary throughout RENEEM. CLARYis Instructor in the Departmentof Geoscience her life: He even drew a scene of ancient life that was at Mississippi State University,Mississippi State, MS 39762- lithographed and sold to raise money for Anning when 5448; e-mail: [email protected]. JAMES H. her fortunes deteriorated.De la Beche, as President of WANDERSEEis Endowed Professor in the Department of the Geological Society of London, also wrote the only Curriculum & Instruction at Louisiana State University, obituary ever published by the Society for a non-mem- Baton Rouge, LA 70803: e-mail: [email protected]. ber upon Mary'sdeath (Lang, 1939). MARYANNING 153 The Interactive Historical Vignette argue that Anning was the first female paleontologist-or studier of fossils-since as a woman of low social status, it The IHV technique can entice students in the class- would have been difficult for her to officially publish and room with histories of interesting people and events. It participatein the scientific community of her time. a "slice"of scientific history and facilitatesstu- administers In 1826, MaryAnning made a discovery about one of of science dents' understanding of the nature (Wandersee the fossils she collected. Has anyone heard of a belemnite & Roach, 1998). The following vignette can be adapted for (ba'Jm-nlte')? (Check for student response.) Belemnites in biology or earth science classroom at any grade use the used to be called "thunder stones," but the fossil is the level to introduce students to Anning and De la Beche, the remains of the interior part of a squid-like animal. At the history of paleontology, and the nature of science. The IHV moment we meet Mary Anning, she is talking with her is to be brief, and consume less than technique designed friend, the famous geologist Henry De la Beche, about her 10 minutes of classroom time. Teachers can choose to most recent discovery. dress in period costume, or make and use masks mounted on foam board (Figure 1). The prototype portraits of Mary Anning and Henry De la Beche are provided in Figure 2. The first part of the following vignette describes a paleon- ENs tological discovery, and it is designed to promote thinking Recentbooks written on the life of MaryAnning. and initiate questions from the students. Downloaded from http://online.ucpress.edu/abt/article-pdf/68/3/153/53554/4451954.pdf by guest on 25 September 2021 Anholt,L. (1999).Stone 6irl, Bone Girl: The Story ofMaryAnning. IHV Script OrchardBooks. When we think back to the 19th century-the 1800s- Atkins,J.(1999).MaryAnning andthe Sea Dragon. Farrar, Straus, and what names in science do we remember?(This is a good Giroux. opportunityto determineif students correctlyplace historical C. TheFossil Girl:MaryAnning's Dinosaur Discovery. figures in the appropriateperiod. Pasteur,Watt, and Edison Brighton,(1999). are acceptable answers, while Benjamin Franklin, Galileo, MillbrookPress. and Einsteinare not.) What about women in science?Do we Brown,D. (1999). Rare Treasure: Mary Anning and Her Remarkable know of any women who made scientificcontributions in the Discoveries.Houghten Mifflen. (2002 Giverny Award Winner) 1800s? (Chances are, most students do not.) Day,M. (1995). Dragon in the Rocks:A StoryBasedon the Childhood of In the 1800s, most women were barred from actively the MaryAnning.Owl Communications. participating in the scientific community because of their EaryPaleontologist, gender. However,there were a few women who did manage Fradin,D. (2003).MaryAnning: Fossil Hunter. Lerner Classroom. to contribute to the sciences in spite of the barriersthat sur- andthe Birth of Paleontology. rounded them. Has anyone heard of MaryAnning? (Check Goodhue,T.(2002).MartyAnning for student response.) You have probably been exposed to - MorganReynolds. Mary Anning even if you do not remember her. Do you Hartzog,B.(1999). Ichthyosaurs and Little Mary Anning. New York: remember learning, "She sells sea shells by the seashore?" PowerKidsPress. (Check for student response.) Well, that tongue twister refers to MaryAnning! Mary Anning collected fossils from Newsom,T. (1997). Mary Anning: The Fossil Hunter. Silver Burdett the cliffs near her home in Lyme Regis, England, and sold Press. them to tourists, scientists, and museums. While some peo- Walker,S.(2000).MaryAnning: Fossil Hunter. Carolrhoda Books. ple might say that MaryAnning was only a collector,others Theauthors enacting the IHV ofAnning and Prototypesketches used in the Anning/De laBeche IHV. Dela Beche, aspresented atthe 2002 AnnualConvention ofNABT. 154 THEAMERICAN BIOLOGY TEACHER, VOLUME 68, NO.3, MARCH 2006 Anning: Henry, last week I decidedto cut one of the De la Beche: Mary,that is great! We can use this fos- belemnitesin half,just the way Papa taughtmle how to silized ink to draw pictures of the very aniials- cut the anmnionitesin half to show their internalstruc- ichthyosaur-sand plesiosaur-s-thlatwcere alive wh1en1it ture.No one had everdone thatwith a beleninitebefore, and I was cur-iousto see what mightbe insideof it. De la Beche: Good idea, Maiy! And what did you find? links for MaryAnning resources. Anning: Actually,there was sonmethingvery interesting PhilpotMuseum in LymeRegis: inside:a tiny chambei;filled with what appearedto be a dried-upsubstance. I renmenmberedthat the nmodern http://www.lymeregismuseum.co.uk/fossils.htm sea-haresenmit purple ink when they are scared,so I TheDorset Page: thought,just perhaps,the dried-upsubstance nmight be http://www.thedorsetpage.com/people/MaryAnning.htm old ink! StrangeScience:Women in Paleontology: STOP.Ask students to analyze this situation. Was this http://www.strangescience.net/women.htm discovery important? Does the discovery help to relate ancient animals to modern animals?Did MaryAnning know LymeRegis Page: Downloaded from http://online.ucpress.edu/abt/article-pdf/68/3/153/53554/4451954.pdf by guest on 25 September 2021 what the dried substance was? How did she inferwhat the http://www.lymeregis.net/pages/maryann.html dried substance was? How can MaryAnning useor applyher discovery? Students should be encouraged to discuss how DinosaurTime Machine:Princess of Paleontology: Mary Anning approached her discovery, and the possible http://www.dinosaur.org/dinotimemachine.htm applicationsof her findings. Articleby Goodhue,Angli(an Journal: De la Beche: Hnini. That is interesting.Maybe we http://www.anglicaniournal.com/1 24/07/opedO6.html couldactually niake use of that old ink! Universityof Californiaat Berkeley: Anning: That is what I wondered!So nmy friend, http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/history/anning.html ElizabethPhilpot, scraped out some of the dried sub- stance and added a little water to it to nmakeit into a San Diego Super ComputerCenter: paste. Then she and I drew a picture of an ichthyo- http://www.sksc.edu/ScienceWomen/anning.html saur with it.
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