3 aaa panda is born 6 mongolian mummies 8 lighthouse postcards

Smithsonian Institution

SCIENCE, HISTORY AND THE ARTS NUMBER 11 · WINTER 2006 smithsonian online

Electricity on film. Since the 1930s, the distinctive images disseminated by the Wash- ington, D.C.-based organization Science Service have captured the attention of newspa- per and magazine readers worldwide. These sci- ence-focused images and their concise captions helped forge a broader understanding and appreci- ation of the many scientific and technological number 11 · winter 2006 achievements made in the last 80 years. A new Web site from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Published quarterly by the Smithsonian Office of Public Affairs, Smithsonian Institution American History features an eye-grabbing selec- Building, Room 354, MRC 033, P.O. Box tion of Science Service images related to electricity 37012, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012, for and dating from the 1930s to the 1960s. Accompa- Smithsonian Contributing Members, scholars, nied by their original captions, the photos in this educators, museum personnel, libraries, online archives are presented exactly as they ap- journalists and others. To be added to the mailing list or to request this publication in peared in period publications. Organized under an accessible format, call (202) 633-5181 dozens of subject headings, such as batteries, ca- (voice) or (202) 357-1729 (TTY). bles, cameras, computer art, lighting, electron John Barrat, Editor tubes, fiber optics, fire alarms, lasers, recordings, stratovision and television, this Web site is a visual Colleen Perlman, Assistant Editor primer on the development and application of Evelyn S. Lieberman, Director of electronics in modern life. The laboratories of Communications and Public Affairs In this 1940s Science Service pho- Westinghouse and General Electric figure promi- Kathryn Lindeman, Publications Director tograph, a model lights a cigarette nently in this collection, which was donated with a Telephone: (202) 633-5181 with General Electric’s revolution- wealth of other materials in 1971 to the Smithso- E-mail: [email protected] ary new infrared lamp. nian by Science Service.—scienceservice.si.edu Internet: www.si.edu/insideresearch

Pochoir prints. Crisp lines, brilliant colors and a freshly painted “wet” appearance are Contributing Members who seek information characteristics of the pochoir print. This refined stencil-based printmaking technique about the Smithsonian or about their memberships may write to The Contributing was popular from the late 19th century through the 1930s and was used primarily for Membership, Smithsonian Institution, A&I fashion, pattern and architectural design 1130, MRC 410, P.O. Box 37012, Washington, prints. Paris was the center of pochoir activity, D.C. 20013-7012, or call 1 (800) 931-32CM or and the technique is strongly associated with (202) 357-1699. art nouveau and art deco. A new Web site from Smithsonian Institution Libraries features 35 vivid examples of pochoir prints from its On the cover: From left, National Zoo Chief Cooper-Hewitt Branch, along with a brief his- Veterinarian Suzan Murray, Assistant Curator tory and description of the pochoir process. To Lisa Stevens and Veterinarian Carlos Sanchez give cub a medical check create a pochoir print, stencils were cut from up on Nov. 10. Born July 9, the male bear was 4 celluloid, plastic and other material by a crafts- months old at the time this photo was taken. man using a straight-edged knife. Numerous (Photo by Jessie Cohen) stencils were used for a single print. Next, a col- orist applied pigments to a sheet of paper through the stencils using a variety of brushes and methods of paint application. Labor inten- sive, pochoir eventually came to be replaced by A pochoir print from “Boquets and such techniques as lithography and serigraphy. Frondaisons: 60 Motifs in Couleur,” by Smithsonian —www.sil.si.edu/ondisplay/pochoir E.A. Séguy. Institution

2 INSIDE SMITHSONIAN RESEARCH · WINTER 2006 REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY Decades of research and work result in birth of panda baby at the National Zoo

By Michael Lipske Special to Inside Smithsonian Research

on’t blink when it gets to 3:41,” warns Lisa Stevens, an assis- tant curator at the National Zoological Park. Stevens is Dscreening a grainy video of , the Zoo’s female giant panda, who is lying on her side and grunting in the final mo- ments of pregnancy. In a corner of the frame, numerals flash the time. Precisely at 3:41 a.m., July 9, 2005, there are two pandas in the video, one a squal- ling 4-ounce infant that has suddenly rocketed across the screen—a typically ballistic panda birth—and the other a seemingly mystified mother who, mo- ments later, picks up and begins cuddling her offspring. It was “a textbook pregnancy,” accord- Veterinarian Carlos Sanchez gives male panda cub Tai Shan a quick eye exam on Sept. 19 ing to Stevens, and Mei Xiang has become during the baby panda’s sixth medical exam.The 2-month, 10-day-old cub weighed 9.57 a “picture-perfect mom,” says Suzan Mur- pounds and was 22.51 inches long. (Photo by Jessie Cohen) ray, the Zoo’s chief veterinarian. But the birth of Tai Shan, the Zoo’s robust male conduct the insemination was a mystery. production labs went with us.” baby panda, also was a milestone in a long “We only knew about one female and The goal of the giant panda global road of scientific labor by National Zoo one male,” she says of the Zoo’s early ex- breeding program is to develop a self-sus- staff. It’s a road that reaches back more perience with pandas, “so it was hard to taining, genetically diverse population. As than 30 years to the Zoo’s first panda pair, learn anything. It was hard to develop a first step, a biomedical survey of captive Ling-Ling and Hsing-Hsing, and winds techniques for semen handling and for ar- giant pandas in was organized by around the globe to the panda breeding tificial insemination.” David Wildt, chair of the National Zoo’s centers of China. Department of Reproductive Sciences, JoGayle Howard, National Zoo repro- Studies in China and conducted from 1998 through 2000. ductive physiologist, has walked much of To craft those techniques and deepen Teams of scientists from the United that road. Arriving at the Zoo in 1980, she their understanding of giant panda repro- States and China worked hand-in-hand to recalls, “I lived through every spring ductive biology, Howard and other Na- assess the health, reproduction, behavior, when Ling-Ling would come into heat, tional Zoo scientists began traveling to genetics and nutrition of 61 animals. These Hsing-Hsing would again not quite get China several times a year, starting in the pandas were kept at major breeding and the knack of mating and then late in the late 1990s. research centers in China, including in the game, people panicked and thought, ‘Can “It was a huge effort,” Howard recalls. cities of Chengdu, Wolong and Beijing. you do artificial insemination?’ ” “Every time we went to China, we proba- The National Zoo could and did, but in bly had 20 trunks of equipment. Almost (continued) those early years, the optimum time to everything in the Zoo’s hospital and re-

INSIDE SMITHSONIAN RESEARCH · WINTER 2006 3 To learn about panda diseases, the sci- entists looked at healthy and unhealthy animals. They studied the reproduction of males and females and evaluated tech- niques for collecting, storing and using panda sperm. The Americans drew on China’s decades of experience in breeding pandas. In turn, they shared American expertise in such areas as the use of molecular ge- netics to establish proper pedigrees for China’s captive pandas, essential informa- tion for managing breeding programs. “We were able to do critically important research projects, one right after another,” Howard says of the China experience. “That’s where we learned about giant panda biology.” In December 2000, a female giant panda, Mei Xiang, now 7, and a male, Tian Tian, now 8, came to live at the Na- tional Zoo under a loan agreement with China.

Tracking ovulation Studying such a large number of animals Top: JoGayle Howard, left, watches an image of female giant panda Mei Xiang’s cervix on helped the Zoo come to grips with some a video monitor, transmitted electronically by the laparoscope she is holding.The instru- of the challenges that breeding giant pan- ment allowed her to position a catheter into the animal’s uterus during a March 11 artifi- das presents. One of the biggest problems cial insemination. Biotechnician Lena May Bush injects male giant panda Tian Tian’s se- is that adult female pandas ovulate only men into the catheter as Veterinarian Carlos Sanchez looks on. (Photo by Jessie Cohen) once a year and are fertile for about 24 to 48 hours. Bottom left:This Aug. 1 Web camera image shows 23-day-old Tai Shan in the protective To predict the timing of ovulation, Zoo grasp of his mother. Bottom right: A sturdy, healthy Tai Shan during his second health exam scientists used such methods as vaginal on Aug. 8. He weighed 2.6 pounds and was 14.25 inches long. (Photo by Jessie Cohen) cytology (the study of vaginal cells). Mei Xiang has been trained to cooperate in from Mei Xiang’s enclosure floor. The trus. The National Zoo wanted to show these exams without anesthesia. This urine was analyzed by Zoo endocrinolo- that, by using urinary hormones to deter- means Stevens can routinely reach into gists Steve Monfort and David Kersey to mine optimum timing, a single, well- the panda’s cage and use a sterile swab to monitor Mei Xiang’s rising estrogen lev- timed artificial insemination could im- take a vaginal sample. els, helping to pinpoint the hormone pregnate a panda, avoiding the stress of Staining the sample and looking at the surge that marks peak estrus. multiple anesthetizations. cells under a microscope reveals changes Howard’s approach involved putting in cell type and cell color that forecast Single insemination Tian Tian’s sperm directly into Mei Xi- peak estrus and ovulation. “The color Having a precise idea of Mei Xiang’s mo- ang’s uterus, “to make sure all of the shift that the cells go through gives us a ment of maximum fertility was necessary sperm would really get to where it needed prediction that we’re two weeks or two for Howard’s high-stakes approach to ar- to be.” On March 10, 2005, Mei Xiang days away from peak ovulation,” Howard tificial insemination. Female pandas must reached peak estrus and ovulated. Tian says. be anesthetized each time they are artifi- Tian was introduced and showed promis- The Zoo’s research also has enhanced its cially inseminated. Pandas at Chinese ing behavior but failed to mate. Early the use of hormonal monitoring. Every day breeding centers are anesthetized from following morning, fresh semen was col- this past year, Zoo staff collected urine three to as many as seven times during es- lected from Tian Tian, and Mei Xiang was

4 INSIDE SMITHSONIAN RESEARCH · WINTER 2006 anesthetized for a single artificial insemi- mal health and development in infant nation. pandas. His first health check up came 25 For the procedure, Howard used a la- days after he was born. Since then, at fre- paroscope—a thin telescope with an at- quent intervals, Zoo staff have weighed Care of the baby tached fiber-optic light—that had a sec- the cub and measured his foot length and ondary channel for the insemination the distance from his nose to the tip of his panda poses catheter, an instrument designed for in- tail. They have palpated his abdomen, seminating large dogs. Such a laparoscope recorded heart and respiration rates and as many new “had never been used in wildlife before, taken his temperature. They recorded and especially not on a panda,” Howard when his eyes opened (day 47) and when says. his first needlelike teeth erupted (day 96). questions as were The reproductive physiologist inserted “Then we talk to institutions like San the laparoscope into the vagina to visual- Diego [the , whose panda, answered in the ize the cervix, then threaded a long , has borne three cubs since catheter through the secondary channel 1999],” Murray says. This lets them com- years of study that on the laparoscope and continued passing pare Tai Shan’s weight gain with that of it through the cervix and into the uterus. other cubs born in captivity. “Our guy Howard then was able to deliver Tian seems to be right at the head of the curve went into Tian’s sperm through the catheter into there; he seems big.” Mei Xiang’s reproductive tract. The in- producing the semination was timed to take place ap- Essential fieldwork proximately 12 to 24 hours after peak es- All of these investigations into panda offspring. trus and ovulation. health and the effort to breed the animals “The goal was to see if one insemina- are taking place because giant pandas are tion works,” Howard says, noting that she one of the most endangered species on received skeptical e-mails and phone calls Earth. Zoos want to breed more pandas from other zoos in the and so that someday, animals can be put into China. “You only did one?” they wanted the wild to augment dwindling popula- to know. “And that’s when I got nervous,” tions. Tai Shan himself will eventually be says Howard, who responded, “Yes, we sent to a Chinese breeding center. only did one, but we think we really got it Meanwhile, National Zoo scientists are right.” deeply engaged in fieldwork in China, such as mapping panda forests through With birth, new questions the use of satellite imagery and conduct- And the rest is panda-cub history. Except ing wildlife surveys in the 44 remote re- that Tai Shan’s birth really only extends serves that make up the giant pandas’ the Zoo’s research road. Care of the baby highly fragmented habitat. In fact, more panda—and its parents—poses as many than half of the Zoo’s overall effort to help new questions as were answered in the pandas is devoted to field research. years of study that went into producing “The fieldwork is absolutely essential,” the offspring. Howard insists. “A lot of fuss is happening “A lot of panda medicine is a matter of because of this one baby, but the moment establishing ‘normals,’” Murray says. of truth is in the habitat, whether pandas “There’s not much known about pandas can survive in some of these habitats.” in the wild or in captivity, so if you have Through their continued research and an animal get ill or you’re just trying to training of Chinese conservation biolo- make an assessment, you need to have an gists, scientists at the National Zoo are Endocrinologist David Kersey uses Mei Xi- idea of what normal is, so you can com- helping to give giant pandas better odds ang’s urine to monitor her estrogen levels pare.” of survival, both in the wild and in zoos on March 9, two days before she was artifi- For Tai Shan, every routine exam adds and breeding centers around the world. ❖ cially inseminated. (Photo by Jessie Cohen) to the database of what constitutes nor-

INSIDE SMITHSONIAN RESEARCH · WINTER 2006 5 PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY Evidence of violent death adds mystery to mummies found in remote Mongolian cave

By John Ross Special to Inside Smithsonian Research

tuft of brunette hair still clings Mongolian Academy of Sciences in Ulan Local herders first told Mongolian offi- to the head of the slight, 20- Bator, Mongolia. cials in 1974 about the mummies inside something woman. Dead for In part by using data from the CT scan- the Hets Mountain Cave, three miles 600 years, her flesh has turned ner, a technology that uses sophisticated north of Mongolia’s border with China. Aa creamy tan. She is patchy and frayed, computer software to generate 3-D im- The herders in this treeless and largely but irrefutably human. ages from two-dimensional X-rays, roadless desertscape believed that the “We know she died violently,” says Frohlich and his team concluded that the bodies represented the family of a local Physical Anthropologist Bruno Frohlich, woman was lying on her stomach when Buddhist Lama who went on a rampage standing beside the mummy, which lies in her murderer placed a blunt object on her and killed them in the late 1930s. Several the bed of a gleaming white Siemens So- neck, jerked her head back and dislocated Mongolian anthropologists, however, pos- matom CT scanner on the third floor of the vertebrae in her neck. So violent was tulated that the bodies were much older. the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the action that her teeth clamped down, Increased visitation to this area and Natural History. severing the tip of her tongue. concern about vandalism prompted The woman and eight other mummies, The remaining soft tissue of the other Naran Bazarsad and Natsag Batbold of pulled from a remote Mongolian cave in mummies—three infants, four adult the Institute of Archaeology at the Mon- the southern Gobi Desert, are on loan to males and a child—also bear marks of a golian Academy of Sciences to contact the museum as part of an ambitious col- violent end. A coil of rope winds around Frohlich. Together, they organized a joint laboration with anthropologists at the the neck of one of the children. excursion with the Institute and the

Left: After removing the mummified re- mains of nine people from an under- ground cave in Mongolia, Bruno Frohlich, at right, and colleagues from the Mongo- lian Academy of Sciences examine one of the bodies before preparing it for trans- port to the United States. (Photo by Bruno Frohlich)

Opposite: At the National Museum of Nat- ural History, David Hunt, left, and Bruno Frohlich prepare a mummy for its entry into the museum’s CT scanner. (Photo by Don Hurlbert)

6 INSIDE SMITHSONIAN RESEARCH · WINTER 2006 Smithsonian to retrieve the mummies. In the spring of 2004, Frohlich and his Mongolian colleagues drove 559 miles south from the capital city of Ulan Bator along unpaved tracks, carefully coordi- nating their movements with the Mongo- lian army, which oversees a highly milita- rized border with China. The scientists located the cave entrance—a hole the size of a manhole cover—then descended 30 feet with the aid of a rope into a cave with two rooms, each the size of a small living room. Although looters had disturbed some of the bodies—some skulls had been taken— from Beijing. By 1368 A.D., popular up- more digital autopsies using the CT im- six of the nine bodies lay stacked in a heap risings among the Chinese would help ages, consult a forensic expert on hanging in the front room largely undisturbed. The end the Yuan Dynasty and the Great and bring in a forensic pathologist to ex- position of the bodies, Frohlich says, sug- Mongolian Empire. amine the preserved skin. DNA samples gests that they were killed quickly, without “It was a difficult and transitional time sent to the Henry C. Lee Institute in New ritual. in Mongolia,” Frohlich explains. “We’re Haven, Conn., will help establish ethnic- The dry and sterile cave conditions re- hoping that the mummies can tell us ity and determine whether the people in sulted in a “rapid process of natural more about it.” the cave were related. mummification,” Frohlich notes. This led The historical record suggests that the As for the details surrounding the grim to preservation of up to 80 percent of the Mongolian population suffered profound fate of these nine people, it’s too early to soft tissue in some of the bodies, includ- malnutrition during the Yuan Dynasty, as know much yet. “We’ll sort through this ing muscle, skin, intestinal tissue, nails Mongolian leaders diverted resources to enormous amount of material and see and hair. Whereas a skeleton alone can re- China. Frohlich and Smithsonian Physical what it tells us,” Frohlich says. veal a wealth of information, finding pre- Anthropologist David Hunt will examine In the meantime, these long-dead peo- served soft tissue is “like opening a trea- the skeletons for clues to the long-term ple have sparked a lively dialogue among sure box,” Frohlich explains. nutrition of the people whose remains Mongolian scientists and Smithsonian After spending some time in the Insti- were found in the cave. experts. The Mongolian Academy of Sci- tute of Archaeology, the crated mummies CT scanning will enable the scientists to ences, the Smithsonian and the Univer- traveled via Korean Air in 2005 to Wash- examine the contents of the mummies’ sity of Ulan Bator—where an anthropol- ington, D.C. Radiocarbon dating by stomachs, small intestines and colons. ogy and biological anthropology master’s Frohlich established that the Mongolians Food trapped between their teeth and degree program has just been estab- died about 1300 A.D. This was during the dental wear patterns may provide addi- lished— are working to start an exchange Yuan Dynasty, when descendants of Mon- tional clues to dietary habits. program of students and scientists. ❖ gol leader Genghis Khan ruled Mongolia Frohlich and colleagues plan to conduct

INSIDE SMITHSONIAN RESEARCH · WINTER 2006 7 AMERICAN HISTORY Lighthouse postcards find a harbor on the Internet

By Michael Lipske Special to Inside Smithsonian Research

resident Thomas Jefferson signed Each postcard has its own page, with a the order to build the lighthouse front and back view of the card, along with at West Quoddy Head in Lubec, such information as height, year built and, Maine, in 1806. Rebuilt in 1858, for active lighthouses, the beacon’s flash se- Pand still standing on the easternmost quence. West Quoddy Head’s light, for ex- point of mainland United States, the ample, flashes around the clock in the se- lighthouse’s beacon, now automated, can quence two seconds on, two seconds off, be seen some 18 miles out to sea. Painted two seconds on, nine seconds off. in alternating 25-inch-wide red-and- white stripes, this colorful 49-foot-high Nautical charts brick building has long been a popular A former avocational sailor who once pi- subject for calendars and postcards sold loted his 30-foot sloop around the Chesa- along Maine’s northern coast. peake Bay and sailed chartered sailboats In fact, just such a Kodachrome post- in the Caribbean, Goldman knows light- card from the 1950s, titled “West Quoddy houses as aids to navigation, not just as Light,” can be found tucked away in an subjects for seaside vistas. In creating the archival box at the Smithsonian’s National Web site, he worked closely with the Na- Museum of American History, Behring tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Admin- Center, along with a large selection of istration, which contributed customized other lighthouse postcards. Donated to nautical charts that pinpoint the location the Smithsonian decades ago by a hobby- This Photochrome-era postcard published of each lighthouse and its surroundings. ist collector, the postcards depict light- for Bromely and Co. Inc. shows Maine’s “My purpose was to give the landlubber houses in 25 states and Canada. West Quoddy Head lighthouse. a view of how lighthouses were used by The collection is maintained as a re- sailors, in conjunction with charts, to find search tool by the museum’s Division of out where they were and where they Engineering, says Jeffrey Stine, chair of struction? How did lighthouse architec- needed to go,” Goldman explains. the Division of Work and Industry. “Doc- ture vary from region to region?” Goldman’s work for the postcard Web umenting large engineering projects, such site required months of research into the as dams, bridges, tunnels and lighthouses, Going online history of the 272 lighthouses it features. is a special challenge for a museum cura- Today, thanks to the work and dedication “There are lots of lighthouse books that tor. We cannot go out and collect these of volunteer curator Morton Goldman, have small errors that get perpetuated,” objects, so we collect models, drawings, this unusual collection has been liberated says Stine, the project’s director. “Mort’s photographs, postcards and other items from its cardboard storage box and made cross-referencing and use of data were re- that tell their histories.” accessible to all at the Web site american ally quite sophisticated and detailed.” Studying the cards, Stine says, “can lend history.si.edu/collections/lighthouses. Goldman frequently sought help— insight to such questions as: What did To navigate the site, visitors can click e-mailing questions along with pictures of these lighthouses and their seascapes and lighthouse icons on coastal maps, browse postcards—from the large community of harbors look like 50 to 100 years ago? regional or state lists of lighthouses or lighthouse history buffs and preservation- What materials were used in their con- scroll down a list of lighthouse names. ists around the country. He also scoured

8 INSIDE SMITHSONIAN RESEARCH · WINTER 2006 the Internet for Web pages and books to add to the site that offered additional de- tails, photographs and histories of specific lighthouses. In addition, the Web site holds the po- tential of expanding to include images and information about the many other lighthouse artifacts in the Smithsonian’s collection. These include Fresnel lenses (invented in 1822 by Frenchman Augustin Fresnel, the lens produced a much brighter light than the reflectors then be- ing used), old lighthouse lamps and the tools used to maintain them, and even uniforms worn by lighthouse keepers.

Postcard dating For a historian, handwritten dates and postmarks on a postcard can help deter- mine when the photograph on its front was taken. Yet only a handful of the cards in the Smithsonian lighthouse postcard collection were ever used for correspon- dence, making dating them a challenge. To assign periods to the undated cards in the collection, Goldman had to ac- quaint himself with a dating system long used by deltiologists, or postcard collec- tors. Cards with divided backs, for exam- ple—the left side devoted to correspon- dence and the right to stamp and address—belong to the Divided Back Era, which began in 1907. Photochrome post- cards, using new color printing technol- ogy, first first appeared in 1939. “This online exhibit testifies to the criti- cal role played by volunteers in the work of the Smithsonian,” Stine says. “The depth of research that Mort put into this project is extraordinary.” Having spent a great deal of time in New England as a student and researcher— “everywhere you looked, there were light- houses”—it came as a surprise to Gold- man that the state containing the most lighthouses is neither Maine nor Massa- chusetts. Bordered by three of the Great Top:A white border dates this Early Modern Era postcard from 1915 to 1930. Lakes, Michigan has the most light- Middle:This early 1900s postcard shows the harbor of Duluth, Minn. houses. ❖ Bottom:The Hudson, N.Y., lighthouse appears on this Early Modern Era card. All of the lighthouses shown here are still active aids to navigation.

INSIDE SMITHSONIAN RESEARCH · WINTER 2006 9 ART CONSERVATION Stone sculptures yield clues to Cambodia’s ancient Khmer culture

By Virginia Myers Kelly Special to Inside Smithsonian Research

ith cracks in his smooth turies. There is Vishnu, preserver and sus- beginning to understand.” stone belly and his tainer of life, his legs and torso intact but Douglas, of the Smithsonian’s Freer plump arms severed at arms and head missing; Buddha, still Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler the elbows, the statue of highly revered despite this particular Gallery, is conducting petrographic detec- Wthe god Shiva from Cambodia’s Angkor statue’s head-only state; and King Jayavar- tive work on 29 samples of stone obtained Wat region is not the imposing figure he man VII, his benign visage perched atop from Khmer sculptures, such as the one once was. Shiva’s regal head, crowned in a an armless torso. of Jayavarman. Bertrand Porte, the École conical diadem, still towers above the Jayavarman VII, one of the most no- Française d’Extrême-Orient conservator faithful who arrive to place offerings of table rulers of Angkor, reigned when that who sent Douglas the samples, is pain- flowers where his feet—long lost in the kingdom’s elaborate temples were the stakingly piecing the statues together. countryside of Cambodia—should be. center of a complex civilization. “Angkor Before Douglas began her investigation, At the National Museum of Cambodia was the most extensive preindustrial city art historians weren’t sure exactly what in Phnom Penh, art conservators are in the world,” explains Conservation Sci- types of stone the ancient carvers used and slowly resurrecting Siva—the Hindu god entist Janet Douglas, who is working where it was quarried. In her laboratory, of restoration and destruction—and hard to discover more about Jayavar- she has begun to unlock these secrets. other stone sculptures dating man’s past. “It was a huge This general lack of knowledge of from the sixth to 13th cen- civilization that we’re just Ankor’s statues has been aggravated by a

Left: In her laboratory, Janet Douglas uses a microscope to study a stone sample from a statue of King Jayavarman VII. (Photo by Michael Bryant)

Inset at left:This micrograph of a thin sec- tion of sandstone from the King Jayavar- man VII statue shows it is made up of large quartz and feldspar grains (gray and white) in a finer matrix of feldspar laths and iron hydroxide minerals.

Opposite top:The National Museum of Cambodia in Phnom Penh. Opposite bot- tom: National Museum of Cambodia staff pose with a sculpture of King Jayavarman VII dating to the 12th to 13th century.This photo was taken shortly after the statue’s conservation. (Photos by Bertrand Porte)

10 INSIDE SMITHSONIAN RESEARCH · WINTER 2006 number of factors. Tangled in jungle tem- to bombard a sandstone sample until it ples long buried by time, the statues were emits light to produce an image resem- made inaccessible by years of war and po- bling brilliantly colored abstract art. litical instability in Cambodia, land These images are then analyzed to charac- mines, unpaved or nonexistent roads, and terize the color, size and texture of the a population that only recently has begun mineral grains. to appreciate the significance of its na- Using these analytical tools, Douglas tional treasures. can see past the gray sandstone and begin Douglas’ work is limited by a dearth of to consider its unique characteristics that samples of reliable provenance. “By re- are hidden on a microscopic level. Dis- moving minute stone fragments from se- tinctions among the sandstones are based lect spots on the statues, Porte has pro- on relative amounts of various rock vided a rare opportunity to analyze the grains, such as quartz, feldspar, igneous, stone used by the Khmer,” with minimal limestone and basalt, as well as natural ce- harm to the artworks, Douglas says. Nor- menting materials, weathering and geo- mally, “taking samples from sculpture is logic origins of certain grains. to be avoided, because we do not want to In her examinations, Douglas has dis- cause further damage to these historically covered that five of the samples are com- important works of art.” posed of grains weathered from igneous In a lab at the Freer and Sackler gal- rock sources. This leads her to conclude leries, the precious Khmer stone samples that an important group of sculptures are stored near other artifacts under Dou- carved in the Bayon style and dated to the glas’ purview—among them fifth-cen- 12th to 13th century most likely origi- tury Korean gold earrings, an ancient jade nated from a common source, such as ax and a dagger crusted with decayed Cambodia’s Kulen Mountains. cloth. The stone fragments look dull be- At the National Museum of Cambodia, side these treasures until she looks at Porte continues to restore the sculptures them using a petrographic microscope. as they become available. Although The Khmer sculpture samples are all Porte’s efforts are dwarfed by the vast composed of various types of sandstone. challenges of his location, Douglas is rein- Sliced into translucent slivers and at- forcing his work in her laboratory on the tached to microscope slides, the tiny National Mall. She expects that her re- brown stone samples, when magnified, search will someday help art historians lift become dazzling mosaics of jagged shapes the veil of mystery surrounding Angkor’s fitted together like an ancient puzzle. long-obscured past and its remarkable Douglas is using petrographic mi- Khmer artisans. ❖ croscopy to categorize the sandstone frag- ments based on their grain types, using color, shape, texture and other rock char- acteristics, such as porosity and cement- Using analytical tools, ing materials. Douglas conducts higher magnification studies on a scanning elec- Douglas can see past the gray tron microscope, where chemical compo- sitional information can be collected on sandstone and begin to consider the grains within the sandstone. Cathodoluminescence microscopy is another tool being applied with the help its unique characteristics that are of Sorena Sorensen, a geochemist in the Department of Mineral Sciences at the hidden on a microscopic level. Smithsonian’s National Museum of Nat- ural History. This method uses electrons

INSIDE SMITHSONIAN RESEARCH · WINTER 2006 11 news and notes

Coal Age fossil. A 16.5-ton fossil of a National Portrait Gallery giant scale tree (Lepidodendron)—the and the Smithsonian largest ever collected—was donated re- American Art Museum. cently to the Smithsonian’s National Mu- This gift, combined with seum of Natural History. Found in the the $30 million contri- late 1970s in Pella, Iowa, the fossil shows bution from the founda- the intricate pattern of “scales” that give tion in 2001 for the ac- the tree its name. Fossil scale tree bases quisition and display of are well-known, but this complete speci- the Gilbert Stuart “Lans- men reveals the elegant branching pattern downe” portrait of characteristic of this group of plants and, George Washington, as a result, is exceptionally rare. makes the Reynolds Foundation the second- The F Street entrance to the Donald W. Reynolds Center African art donation. A magnificent largest donor to the Insti- for American Art and Portraiture, opening July 2006 525-piece collection of traditional African tution. In recognition of art was donated by the Walt Disney World these gifts totalling $75 million, the two an extensive array of manuscripts, pho- Co. to the Smithsonian’s National Mu- museums located in the historic Patent tographs, watercolors, sketches, maps, seum of African Art. Known as the Walt Office Building in downtown Washing- newspaper clippings, artifacts and other Disney-Tishman African Art ton, D.C., will be known as the Donald W. ephemera related to early British and Collection, it includes most Reynolds Center for American Art and American explorers in Africa. The Russell major styles of African art, Portraiture. E. Train Africana Collection consists of ranging from a highly ab- first-person accounts of expeditions to stract Cameroon mask to New director. Camille Giraud Akeju, Africa, ranging from those of French sci- a naturalistic carved former president and chief executive offi- entist and traveler Francois le Vaillant in wooden male figure from cer of the Harlem School of the Arts Inc. the 1780s to a safari undertaken by Ernest Madagascar. The variety in New York City, has been named direc- Hemingway in the 1950s. of materials, types of ob- tor of the Smithsonian’s Anacostia Mu- jects and styles in this seum. As director, Akeju will oversee the Roberts elected chancellor. John G. collection make it one museum’s many innovative exhibitions, Roberts, Chief Justice of the United of the world’s finest. educational programs and publications States, was elected chancellor of the that focus on a variety of Smithsonian by the Reynolds Center. African American topics. Board of Regents, the The Donald W. The collections of the Institution’s governing Reynolds Founda- Anacostia Museum fea- body, on Nov. 9. As tion recently gave a ture significant holdings chancellor, Roberts is $45 million gift to in African American art, the presiding officer of the Smithsonian religion and photogra- the board. Since the for the renovation of phy, with a focus on Smithsonian’s establish- and for exhibitions community and family ment in 1858, the Insti- in the Smithsonian’s history. tution has had 15 chan- cellors—12 were chief Ivory figure carved Africana Collection. “The Last Trek” (detail) a draw- justices and three were by Nigeria’s Edo Smithsonian Institution ing by J.E. Millais in the Russell vice presidents of the people, from the Libraries has acquired a E.Train Africana Collection United States. Disney-Tishman collection of approxi- Collection mately 2,000 books and

12 INSIDE SMITHSONIAN RESEARCH · WINTER 2006 Study shows soil microbes could become major source of atmospheric CO2

n a modest greenhouse at the Smithsonian Environmental Re- carbon, a phenomenon some have come to regard as a critical I search Center on the Chesapeake Bay, a dozen clumps hedge against swift global warming. of marsh grass sprout from pots made from inex- Yet, increased plant growth means more decaying pensive plastic PVC pipe. After subjecting the vegetation. As fungi, bacteria and other commu- plants to a carbon-dioxide (CO2) rich at- nities of soil microbes attack this decaying mosphere, scientists covered each pot with material, they also attack the soil, seeking an airtight cap. They then sampled the nutrients, such as nitrogen, that dead gas released, or “exhaled,” inside the caps. plants don’t provide in abundance. In the Smithsonian biologists Patrick Megoni- process, “older, stable carbon in the soil is gal, Amelia Wolf and Bert Drake found released into the atmosphere,” Megonigal high levels of CO2 inside the caps that had says. In the experiment, microbe respiration been emitted by both the grass and microbes of this old soil detritus increased by 157 percent in the soil in which the grass was growing. Sur- in pots exposed to elevated CO2. prisingly, the researchers found, the soil microbes were The use of old soil detritus by microbes is of concern be- consuming not only freshly dead plant detritus but also large cause vast amounts of carbon reside in the soil. “Twice as much amounts of very old soil detritus.” carbon resides in the soils as stable detritus as is found in the at- “High levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide stimulate microbial mosphere as CO2,” Megonigal explains. Thus, increased use of activity in soil,” Megonigal explains. “It has a priming effect that soil detritus by microbes could mean more CO2 will be emitted accelerates the decomposition of older, more stable carbon in the into the atmosphere where it will contribute to global warming. soil and releases it into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide gas.” “The equation is a bit more complicated than just the impact The findings represent a new twist for scientists trying to predict that humans will have on the atmosphere,” Megonigal points the impact rising levels of CO2 will have in coming decades as in- out. “The soil and oceans are going to have a lot to say.” dustrialization increases. Previous studies have shown that plants —John Barrat respond to increased CO2 by growing faster and absorbing more Above: Patrick Megonigal examines marsh grass in a greenhouse.

Painter LeRoy Neiman donates his papers to Archives of American Art

paint-splattered jumpsuit, sketch- the pages of Playboy magazine, to which certain ‘project,’ which might be an event Abooks, newspaper clippings, memo- Neiman contributed sketches and paint- or specific work or series.” rabilia and thousands of letters are some ings for the column “Man at His Leisure.” The Archives of American Art provides of the items inside 90 boxes of archival “LeRoy has been a highly visible figure researchers with access to the largest col- material recently donated by renowned in American culture,” says Liz Gill Neil- lection of documents on the history of the American painter LeRoy son, Neiman’s personal visual arts in the United States. The col- Neiman to the Smithso- archivist. “If something lection totals more than 13 million items, nian’s Archives of Ameri- big was going on, he was consisting of the papers of artists, dealers, can Art. there.” critics, art historians, curators and ad- “The collection is most Neilson produced a de- ministrators and the records of art deal- notable for its sheer vol- tailed index of Neiman’s ers, museums and other art-related busi- ume and Neiman’s enor- archives to help re- nesses, institutions and organizations. mous reach into popular searchers navigate the Neiman, 84, is still hard at work, and culture—the magnitude LeRoy Neiman huge collection. “Looking his expectations for his archives are mod- of the people he’s painted into these files really gives est. “I will be pleased if my work succeeds and his means of distribution,” Archives you a sense of LeRoy’s works in the con- in reaching the maximum number of of American Art Curator Liza Kirwin text in which they were created,” Neilson eyes,” he says. “Meanwhile, my responsi- says. Those “means” have included explains. “One can view several types of bility is to continue in my art, maintain- Wheaties cereal box covers, souvenir materials—such as letters, artifacts and ing the highest level of quality possible.” posters distributed by Burger King and catalogs—all together in the context of a —Barbara Wells

INSIDE SMITHSONIAN RESEARCH · WINTER 2006 13 books and recordings

Extreme Nature, by Mark Carwardine hibition that explores Latin American art The Mighty Sparrow First Flight: (Collins, 2005, $34.95). An informative and history through portraiture. Early Calypsos From the Emory and lavishly illustrated guide to the weird- Cook Collection (Smithsonian Folk- est and most remarkable living organisms Aviators: A Photographic History of ways Recordings, 2005, $15). Eighteen on our planet—from the hungriest ani- Flight, by Michael J.H. Taylor (Collins, tracks recorded between 1956 and 1959 mal to the deadliest plant. 2005, $24.95). Historic photographs se- by the unrivaled Calypso king of the lected from the archives of the London world, Sling Francisco, aka, the Mighty More Than Words: Illustrated Letters Times vividly tell the compelling story of Sparrow. From the Smithsonian’s Archives of a century of powered flight—from Kitty American Art, by Liza Kirwin (Prince- Hawk to the jet age. Snooks Eaglin: New Orleans Street ton Architectural Press, 2005, $24.95). A Singer (Smithsonian Folkways Record- compilation of personal letters by some of A Revision of the New World ings, 2005, $15). This 1959 acoustic blues America’s most revered artists. Each letter Species of the Shore-Fly Genus album by Snooks Eaglin showcases his is adorned with an illustration. Nostima Coquillett (Diptera: Ephy- idiosyncratic and passionate singing and dridae), by James F. Edmiston and guitar-playing. On CD for the first time, Smithsonian Intimate Guide to Hu- Wayne N. Mathis (Smithsonian Contri- with seven previously unreleased tracks. man Origins, by Carl Zimmer (Collins, butions to Zoology 623). Thirty-eight 2005, $29.95). A journey from the savan- New World species of shore flies are re- Books listed on Pages 14 and 15 can be or- nahs of Africa to modern-day laboratories vised, with 21 new species named and de- dered through online book vendors or pur- of biomechanical analysis and biomolecu- scribed. chased in many bookstores nationwide. The lar genetics, revealing how anthropolo- Smithsonian Contributions publication gists are swiftly revising the human family War at Sea in the Age of Sail, 1650- listed here can be requested by sending an tree. 1850, by Andrew Lambert (Collins, 2005, e-mail to [email protected]. $29.95). A comprehensive look at key Retratos: 2,000 Years of Latin Ameri- naval conflicts, from the highest strategic Recordings can be ordered from Smithso- can Portraits, by Elizabeth P. Benson [et level to the experiences of the ordinary nian Folkways Mail Order, Smithsonian al.] (Yale University Press, 2004, $65). sailor. Fully illustrated. From the Smith- Folkways Recordings Dept. 0607, Washing- This richly illustrated book is the catalog sonian History of Warfare series. ton, D.C. 20073-0607. To order by phone, accompaniment to a groundbreaking ex- call (800) 410-9815 or (202) 275-1143.

14 INSIDE SMITHSONIAN RESEARCH · WINTER 2006 off the shelf

Washington’s Secret War: The Hidden History of Valley Forge

By Thomas Fleming (Collins, $27.95, 2005)

ecember 1777. Gen. George Wash- in his introduction to Washington’s Secret Fleming offers a fresh look at every as- Dington has retreated from British- War. pect of Valley Forge, including thoughtful occupied Philadelphia with his starving, The book offers new insight into the characterizations of such notable figures half-naked Continental Army. bitter, unseen struggles that define Valley as Martha Washington, a revised assess- The pain of the defeat is punctuated by Forge as a pivotal moment in the Revolu- ment of the profile of the Valley Forge sol- thoughts of King George III’s soldiers tionary War and, most important, as a diers, and an in-depth examination of the feasting and drinking in the taverns and turning point for George Washington as ideological and societal forces that set sleeping in warm beds back in the City of an American leader. civilian against military, rich against poor Brotherly Love. In the dead of winter and “Washington never lost sight of his goal, and general against general. with no chance of victory in sight, Amer- which was not a petty personal triumph The result is an inspiring David-and- ica’s declaration of independence from Goliath tale of a beleaguered army that England on July 4, 1776, seems an empty defeated one of the world’s strongest mili- gesture to Washington’s troops. tary powers. They’ve been kicked out of the largest Fleming’s 350-page book contains 27 il- city in America. To make matters worse, lustrations, including maps and portraits certain members of the Continental Con- of some of the primary characters of the gress now are publicly questioning Wash- American Revolution, such as the wealthy ington’s resolve and ability to lead the Marquis de Lafayette, a major general in army. the Continental Army at 19 and a key Washington’s eventual triumph over his player in the defeat of Washington’s ene- own congress, misguided political zealots mies during the Valley Forge winter. A and even former friends is chronicled in second portrait is of Quartermaster Gen- Washington’s Secret War: The Hidden His- eral Thomas Mifflin of Pennsylvania, who tory of Valley Forge, a new book by cele- was called the “pivot” of a plot to force brated historian and writer Thomas General Washington to resign. Fleming. With Washington’s Secret War, Fleming For three decades, Fleming has capti- peels away the layers of illusion and myth vated critics, readers and historians with surrounding the father of our country to his provocative insight into American his- reveal a leader with tenacity, vision and tory. Now, the award-winning author of inspiring humanity. Liberty! The American Revolution and Washington’s Secret War masterfully tells Duel: Alexander Hamilton, Aaron Burr over his adversaries but the rescue of his the story of the man who would become and the Future of America returns to the army, which he rightly saw as America’s America’s first president, outmaneuvering American Revolution with startling reve- sole hope of victory in a long, bloody his political enemies, holding his army to- lations about Washington’s private battles war,” Fleming writes. “To achieve that gether and rescuing the revolution from within the public war, conflicts that pitted aim, he had to out-think the conspirators extremism. It is a spellbinding account of him against his own government. who sought to destroy him and persuade George Washington’s political will to win. “George Washington’s political perfor- others to out-vote the congressional ideo- —Daniel Friend mance at Valley Forge is nothing less than logues whose wrongheaded policies were a tour de force that adds a new dimension the source of the Continental Army’s to his historical portrait,” Fleming writes woes.”

INSIDE SMITHSONIAN RESEARCH · WINTER 2006 15 new to the collections

CIGNA firefighting collection given to National Museum of American History

eorge Washington did it. So did Ben- golden age of volunteer fire- G jamin Franklin. In fact, many promi- fighting, about 1825 to 1875. nent early Americans dropped what they The collection also includes were doing when they heard alarm bells objects from as early as 1750, ringing and rushed to fight the fires that when firefighting efforts in young periodically broke out in their communi- Colonial communities were less coordi- ties. In an age when distinctions of class nated but no less earnest. Artifacts range and economic status were as rigorously from pressed-felt parade hats and metal observed as they ever have been in the hose nozzles to paintings of historic fires, tory of firefighting United States, bluebloods and the merely firefighting helmets crested with Ameri- in America, Yeingst points out. rich stood shoulder-to-shoulder with can eagles, a full-size horse-drawn ladder “Before the first water lines were laid, shopkeepers and laborers against the truck and a steam pumper. citizens were asked to keep these buckets common enemy of flame. “It’s an extraordinary collection,” says in their homes. When a fire broke out, Recently, the Smithsonian’s National Bill Yeingst, chair of the American His- people would fill the buckets from bar- Museum of American History acquired a tory Museum’s Division of Home and rels, cisterns or other nearby water treasure trove of nearly 4,000 historical Community Life. “It charts the changes in sources. Until the late 18th century, fight- artifacts and works of art representing firefighting history from voluntary, com- ing fires was a shared responsibility of two divergent aspects of this country’s munity-based organizations to munici- every citizen.” —Donald Smith past: its maritime traditions and its in- pally funded professional units.” volvement in firefighting. The collection Leather water buckets—some decorated was donated by the insurance company with eagles and other symbols of liberty This colorful felt parade hat from the CIGNA Corp. and vigilance, along with initials and Schuylkill Hose Company of Pennsylvania Many of the artifacts date from the dates—occupy a special place in the his- dates to 1833. (Photo by Richard Strauss)

SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION Presorted Standard MRC 033 PO Box 37012 Washington DC 20013-7012 U.S. Postage Paid Official Business Smithsonian Institution Penalty for Private Use $300 G-94

number 11 · winter 2006