Extinct Monsters Selected References
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The Hybrid Identities of Fossil Mounts Paleontological Society Benjamin H. Miller of Washington April 19, 2017 Introduction Left: Original Triceratops mount (United States National Museum, 1905) Bottom: Digital composite Triceratops and reconstructed mount (National Museum of Natural History, 1999) Introduction Barosaurus and Allosaurus (American Museum of Natural History, 1991) Introduction Barosaurus and Allosaurus (American Museum of Natural History, 1991) Introduction Why are fossil mounts interesting? They embody a challenging duality between scientific specimens and cultural objects “Specimen-objects” They’ve played a central role in scientific and public understanding of extinct animals for over 200 years They are intractably situated in historic and social contexts Road Map I. A brief history II. How mounts are made III. Fossil mounts as science IV. Fossil mounts as art V. Fossil mounts as culture I. History of Fossil Mounts 1795: Megatherium americanum is the first mounted fossil skeleton ever built Megatherium (National Museum of Natural Science, Madrid) I. History of Fossil Mounts 1802: Charles Peale’s mastodon Left: The Artist in His Museum (Peale, 1822) Bottom: The Exhumation of the Mastodon (Peale, 1808) I. History of Fossil Mounts 1802: Charles Peale’s mastodon Left: Tabloid advertisement for Peale’s museum Bottom: Peale’s mastodon on display at Hessisches Landesmuseum, Darmstadt, Germany I. History of Fossil Mounts Albert Koch’s chimeras: Missourium (1841) and Hydrarchos (1845) I. History of Fossil Mounts 1868: Leidy and Hawkins’ Hadrosaurus is the first mounted dinosaur skeleton I. History of Fossil Mounts 1890 – 1920: Golden Age of Fossil Mounts I. History of Fossil Mounts Why? Exploration of the western frontier (with federal money) Rise of big urban museums Dinosaurs are big, rare, and impressive No more Marsh and Cope The Players: Henry Osborn, Barnum Brown, and Adam Hermann (AMNH) Charles Gilmore and Norman Boss (USNM) William Holland and Arthur Coggeshall (CM) Elmer Riggs (FMNH) Top: Tyrannosaurus (AMNH 1915) Bottom: Norman Boss and Palaeosyops (NMNH, 1945) I. History of Fossil Mounts The Great American Sauropod Race 1905: AMNH “Brontosaurus” 1907: CMNH Diplodocus 1908: FMNH Apatosaurus I. History of Fossil Mounts “The prize fighter of antiquity…the absolute warlord of the Earth…the king of all kings in the domain of animal life…the most formidable fighting animal of which there is any record whatsoever.” New York Times, December 3, 1915 Tyrannosaurus (AMNH 1915) I. History of Fossil Mounts The midcentury quiet, for fossil exhibits and vertebrate paleontology in general I. History of Fossil Mounts “The only way to get a two-inch pipe through [the femur] was to break it all to pieces. The internal bone was discarded, and the surface pieces were put back together around the pipe. This procedure may not be proper, but it was justified in this case.” – Orville Gilpin, FMNH, 1959 I. History of Fossil Mounts 1970s to present: Dinosaur Renaissance • New discoveries show dinosaurs were active and socially sophisticated • Dynamic, boundary-pushing mounts soon follow I. History of Fossil Mounts Left: Gorgosaurus (AMNH 1914) Right: Edmontosaurus (PMNH 1901) “It is intended that this huge specimen should convey to the observer the impression of the rapid rush of a Mesozoic brute. The whole expression is one of action and the spectator with little effort may endow this creature with many of its living attributes.” - Beecher, 1901 I. History of Fossil Mounts Lightweight casts allow for an unforeseen level of dynamism Above: Mammuthus, Houston Museum of Nature and Science Right: Allosaurus and Stegosaurus, Denver Museum of Nature and Science I. History of Fossil Mounts Fossil mounts today: Some classics remain exactly as they were, others have been restored and reimagined Daspletosaurus, Field Museum of Natural History I. History of Fossil Mounts • Mount-making companies: Research Casting International, Triebold, Black Hills Institute, Gaston Design, etc. • More mounts than ever before II. How Mounts are Made Basic method hasn’t changed much since Adam Hermann wrote the definitive guide in 1909 Start with a steel rod supporting the verts (earlier mounts used bolts, later mounts drilled) Mount completed spine at appropriate height Build and attach individual limbs Wire ribs in place Attach the skull last (drilling through palate) Diplodocus (CM, 1907) Diplodocus (NMNH, 1932) II. How Mounts are Made Left: “Brontosaurus” and Tyrannosaurus, AMNH Right: Tyrannosaurus and Triceratops, NMNH II. How Mounts are Made Left: “Trachodon” (AMNH 1907) Right: Allosaurus (AMNH 1906) II. How Mounts are Made By midcentury, far less care was being taken to preserve fossils Drilling and skewering bone Plaster everywhere Painting bone and reconstruction to match Emphasis on aesthetics and permanence Images by Abby Telfer/Michelle Pinsdorf II. How Mounts are Made Modern techniques = happier fossils! Above: Triceratops, Houston Museum of Nature and Science Left: Close-up of Nation’s T. rex armature (Washington Post) II. How Mounts are Made Left: Gaston Design workshop Right: Eastern Utah Paleontological Museum II. How Mounts are Made 3D printing technology allows skeletons to be assembled from specimens stored hundreds of miles apart Left: Spinosaurus, National Geographic Museum Right: Alamosaurus, Perot Museum of Nature and Science Extra vertebrae to meet fire code Brachiosaurus, FMNH (1993) III. Fossil Mounts as Science Do scientists use fossil mounts? It depends… Above: Hoplophoneus, LACM Right: Platybelodon, HMNS “Some of the worst skeletal mounts are those in which the person doing the mounting tries to impose their preconceived notions into the pose…you can make dinosaurs do anything on paper!” – Ken Carpenter (pers. comm., 2013) Books and papers that have cited mounts in discussion of Triceratops posture: Bakker 1986 Chapman et al. 2012 Dodson 1996 Fujiwara 2009 Fujiwara and Hutchinson 2012 Makovicky 2012 Osborn 1933 Paul and Christiansen 2000 III. Fossil Mounts as Science Is the mount in question actually accessible? Above: Gorgosaurus and E. annectens holotype, NMNH Right: Gorgosaurus, AMNH III. Fossil Mounts as Science Left: Stegosaurus (NMNH) with Are they safe? armature bolted to leg bones Below: CT scan of Triceratops humerus showing pyrite build-up “We only get one chance with Images courtesy of Steve Jabo each specimen we recover and their care should take priority.” – David Hone, 2008 Do casting and printing technology make real mounts obsolete? III. Fossil Mounts as Science Are the mounts reliable? Do we know how much is real? If they’re wrong, it will be a long time before they’re fixed Left: Brontosaurus, PMNH Above: Thescelosaurus holotype, NMNH II. How Mounts are Made How much is original fossil material? Above: Dimetrodon “restoration” in early 1980s involved painting over reconstructed bits Left: How many Stegosaurus specimens make up this composite? No (living) person knows. III. Fossil Mounts as Science Are they at least informative to visitors? Good mounts are hypotheses …and also data? Above: Re-heading “Brontosaurus”, AMNH Left: Placerias and Smilosuchus, NMMNH IV. Fossil Mounts as Art IV. Fossil Mounts as Art “Almost nothing displayed in museums was made to be seen in them” (Vogel 1991) Fossil mounts are both the specimen and the exhibit context Models representing the “informed knowledge” of their creators How is a taxidermy piece different from a leather sofa? Left: Buettneria (AMNH) Right: Hyracotherium (NMNH) IV. Fossil Mounts as Art “Nature permits or invites experience, art is intentionally made for an experience” (Polliquin 2012) What makes it art? Tyrannosaurus, Royal Tyrell Museum of Paleontology IV. Fossil Mounts as Art The viewer plays a role in making the spectacle “real” Above: Australopithecus, Cleveland Museum of Natural History Left: Metaxytherium, Acrophoca, and Eurhinodelphis, NMNH IV. Fossil Mounts as Art Audience and specimens participate in a shared performance Meaning comes from relationship with viewer Left: Eremotherium, HMNS Right: Utahraptor, Eastern Utah Prehistoric Museum IV. Fossil Mounts as Art “Lost Objects” Allan McCollum, 1991 T-Rex 1000 (not actual title) Philippe Pasqua, 2013 V. Fossil Mounts as Culture “And here is my first dinosaur – makes me feel like a kid again every time I look at it.” New Yorker, 1939 “I don’t mind you boosting your home state, Conroy, but stop telling the children that’s a California jack rabbit!” Saturday Evening Post, 1940 V. Fossil Mounts as Culture Eremotherium (NMNH 1970) Fossil mounts are inextricably entwined with the public perception of both paleontology and museums. Visitors expect fossils to be displayed this way… V. Fossil Mounts as Culture …even when displaying a mount doesn’t make much sense. Left: C. megalodon, Calvert Marine Museum Below: Saurophaganax, New Mexico Museum of Natural History V. Fossil Mounts as Culture What is Sue? • Most complete Tyrannosaurus rex yet found • The one that got away • A big payday • Land • Harbinger of the fossil poaching crisis • Mascot • Chicago landmark • Source of puns Tyrannosaurus, FMNH 2000 V. Fossil Mounts as Culture • The Diplodocus seen ‘round the world • “The single most viewed skeleton of any animal in the world” (Taylor 2008) V. Fossil Mounts as Culture London Pittsburgh Berlin Paris Vienna Madrid St. Petersburg Buenos Aires Mexico City Vernal • No less than 14 versions of Dippy worldwide • An attempt to broker world peace with dinosaurs • A shared