Blade and Bone The Discovery of Antiquity Exhibition Opening March 29,2012 An Interview with Donald Johanson President's Message * j^H Dear Friends, Paleoanthropologist Donald Johanson gained worldwide fame in 1974 with his discovery of a 3.2-million-year-old As the Linda Hall Library concludes its species of at the Hadar excavation site 65th anniversary year, all that remains is to thank you for making The Year of in . He named his discovery, a partial skeleton Innovation a success. Our talented staff of an adult female, . Johanson classified Lucy assembled imaginative and thought- afarensis, a new species in the hominid provoking events emphasizing the breadth and depth family tree that forever changed our understanding of of the Library's holdings and the historical impact that human origins. science and technology has had during the past 500 years. These events conveyed the belief that an understanding Johanson will speak at the Linda Hall Library on April of science and its history is a useful commodity in today s 24 at 7 p.m. as part of the Relatively Human lecture complex world. Your attendance and enthusiam for the series. In early January, he spoke with Eric Ward, Director subject matter was overwhelming. of Public Programming, about Lucy and the field of . Our anniversary year concluded with the Library's Annual Fund campaign. Each campaign gift reminded Eric Ward: What was Lucy's significance in 1974, and us that the Linda Hall Library is surrounded by a what's been her most lasting contribution to the field community of supporters who share the Library's of paleoanthropology? goal of collecting, maintaining, and making available for research and scholarship one of the world's finest Donald Johanson: Lucy, Australopithecus aferensis, drew collections devoted to science, engineering, technology, the two major lines of evolution together on the human and their histories. Equally important, your gifts helped family tree. The one line that led to a sort of ape-men raise public awareness of the impact that science has called Australopithicus... to earliest homo... It means upon our lives and the world we inhabit. Your generosity that this was a species that was generalized enough to this year was exceptional. The Annual Fund campaign be a common ancestor to all the later hominids... [Also], was our most successful ever. a large part of the diagnosis and understanding of the most recent species that have been announced, such The Library's 66th year begins with intriguing new as Ardipithecus ramidus, which I will talk about a little bit programs that will examine the origins of humankind, in my lecture, came through comparative anatomical retrace the route of the Transcontinental Railroad, and studies with Lucy's species. So afarensis has become a explore the concept of time. We will also welcome our benchmark for judging the more recent fossils that have first class of resident fellows under our revised fellowship been discovered in that early time range. I think that is program. Fellowship recipients will spend from one to her enduring importance. nine months in residence, using the Library's holdings to support advanced research projects. Each fellow will offer a public program discussing some aspect of his or There is nothing that surpasses the moment her research projects. of discovery.. .The great reward for me was that I was the guy, the individual, who As the year begins, we re-dedicate ourselves to looked down at the ground and saw the maintaining the Library's stature as a premiere research center for science, engineering and technology, and as first bone of Lucy and said, "there it is." a destination for vibrant programs that advance our Donald Johanson understanding of these subjects. Please join us. EW: What do we know today about the afarensis Sincerely, species? Lisa Browar President DJ: We know an enormous amount about the anatomy of the species because we have bones from virtually every part of the skeleton: hands, feet, arms, legs, pelvis, thorax, skull. We know there is significant fact that extinction, the Grim Reaper of evolution, comes difference in body size between males and females. along and does begin to winnow out species, and that is We know that the foot was very much designed something that we all have to be aware and cognizant of as like our own foot. It had a strong longitudinal and we look at ourselves as a species. transverse arch to the foot, and these arches are very important in maintaining the integrity of the foot and EW: You're off to Ethiopia next week. How do recent also in providing some propulsive force for our bipedal advances in laboratory research complement the work walking. that you're doing in the field?

EW: You mentioned the recent announcement of DJ: We tend to be discovery-centric. We think that the the discovery of Ardipithecus ramidus. How does field is discovery driven, that we're going to find a Rosetta this species fit into the family tree? stone that is going to reveal everything. But, as we make these discoveries, we're beginning tofind ou t with modern DJ: There is a great deal of discussion right now as to techniques and technology...that it's new analytical whether or not A ramidus was an ancestor to later techniques, both on the genetic side as well as in the area of Australopithicus. There are some scholars, including scanning and understanding function and biomechanics, myself, who have some doubt that this was a direct that are revealing to us a host of new information about our ancestor to Australopithicus. It may ancestors and about those creatures very well have been one of those that went extinct... So, I thinkthat there quite interesting evolutionary is a very important balance between sidelines that suggest that perhaps field work and lab work. early human ancestors adapted in several different ways—only one of EW: The potential for making the big which ultimately led to us. find has to be incredibly motivating.

EW: Much like the Hobbits, Homo DJ: There is nothing that surpasses floresiensis, that were discovered in the moment of discovery. Most Flores, Indonesia in 2003. anthropologists who are involved in this field are working on discoveries made DJ: Exactly. The Hobbits certainly by other people, which is fine. They are not an ancestor to us because are sometimes called the consumers, they existed alongsideofusfora very and we're called the producers. Very long time in isolation in Southeast rarely does someone in the field make Asia. So stepping back and looking the big discovery themselves. The great at the family tree, we see that it had reward for me was that I was the guy, many more branches than we had anticipated when I the individual, who looked down at the ground and saw the first announced Lucy way back in the early . There first bone of Lucy and said,"there it is." And that's something weren't a lot of species on the human family tree (I will that has really stuck with me over the years. show an illustration of this during my lecture), yet today there are many, many more. EW: And you were just out of graduate school, right?

EW: What does that mean for ? DJ: I was 31 years old and I didn't know what hit me. It was one of those things: don't wish for something, it might DJ: There are some people who still look at human come true. And here it was, and all of a sudden I had an evolution as a straight line, that there are ancestors enormous responsibility to make sure whatever was done and descendants, and the descendants are all on the with this was done correctly, and that I would assemble way to us. And what the Hobbits and Neanderthals and a team that would work closely on it and bear the specialized robust Australopithicus creatures show us responsibility of dealing with it. So, it was a huge reward. is that just because you can walk upright, just because At the same time, an enormous amount of responsibility. you can make tools, just because you have big brains, doesn't mean that you are necessarily an ancestor EW: Thank you for your time. We're looking forward to to modern . It tells us something about the your lecture. curated the Library's spring exhibition. In it he documents Spring Programs the discovery and acceptance of human antiquity by displaying the books and journals in which major revelations were announced. Thursday, February 23,7 p.m. "Several discoveries in the 1830s and 1840s suggested 10th Annual Paul D. Bartlett, Sr. Lecture to some that humans were ancient, although many such Primate Psychology and Monkeynomics claims were almost universally rejected. It wasn't until Laurie Santos, Director, Comparative Cognition 1859," Ashworth says, "that the scientific world did a rapid Laboratory, Yale University about-face." Can the collapse of the world The discovery that year of human tools, found alongside financial markets be explained in extinct animal remains in a cave at Brixham, England, part by human evolutionary history? caused archaeologists to take another look at previous Are human economic decisions, evidence for human antiquity. By 1870, the discoveries both rational and irrational, of Neanderthal (1856) and Engis (1833) had been re- determined as much by nature as by evaluated and accepted as genuine, and new finds had Hintellect? Psychology professor Laurie Santos delves been made at Cro-Magnon cave (1868) in southern into questions about human economic behavior and France. By the end of the century, even popular literature decision-making through her behavioral studies of was displaying restoration scenes showing cave men capuchin monkeys. fighting saber-toothed tigers, and human antiquity was a commonly accepted concept. The Linda Hall Library Bartlett Lecture is presented in association with The Yale Club of Kansas City, "The Library has nearly all of the important documents," The Harvard/Radcliffe Club of Kansas City, and the notes Ashworth. "We will have on display thefirst image s Princeton Alumni Association of Greater Kansas of the fossil remains of Neanderthal, Cro-Magnon, Homo City. Made possible through generous support from erectus, and Australopithecus, as well as stone tools, Marilyn and Jim Hebenstreit and Mr. and Mrs. Paul D. excavations, and cave art. An added visual touch will be Bartlett, Jr. the display of reconstructions of ancient human skulls, which are quite remarkable." Thursday, March 15,7 p.m. The exhibition opens Thursday, March 29, at 6 p.m., Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of followed by a lecture by Brian M. Fagan, of the University Remembering Everything of California, Santa Barbara, at 7 p.m. Exhibition galleries Joshua Foer, 2006 US. Memory Champion and best-selling are open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and author the second Saturday of each month from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Admission is free with free parking available in Library lots. At a time when electronic devices have all but rendered our individual memories obsolete, Joshua Foer's unlikely journey from chronically forgetful science journalist to U.S. Memory Champion is a revelatory exploration of the vast, hidden impact of memory on every aspect of our lives.

Thursday, March 29,6 p.m. Exhibition Opening Blade and Bone: The Discovery of Human Antiquity

Until the mid-19th century, it was generally believed that humans were a recent addition to the earth, perhaps Made possible by a generous grant from the Victor E. 6,000 years old, according to William Ashworth, who Speas Foundation, Bank of America, Trustee. RELATIVELY HUMAN genomes. This compelling evidence that modern A Linda Hall Library Lecture Series humans interbred with Neanderthals shortly after migrating out of Africa gives scientists an insight into Thursday, March 29,7 p.m. what makes humans genetically human. Cro-Magnon: How the Ice Age Gave Birth to the First Modern Humans Thursday, May 10,7 p.m. Brian M. Fagan, Professor Emeritus of Archaeology, The Pleistocene Meets Middle Earth: The Significance University of California, Santa Barbara of the Indonesian Hobbits (Homo floresiensis) for Interpreting Human Evolution Cro-Magnons were the first Matthew Tocheri, National Museum of Natural History, fully modern Europeans. Not Washington, D.C. only were they the creators of the stunning cave paintings at Over half of all the bones in the Lascaux and elsewhere, but they human skeleton are in the hands were the most adaptable and and feet, and Matt Tocheri believes technologically inventive people that had yet lived these bones tell a significant on earth. Archaeologist and best-selling author Brian portion of our evolutionary story. Fagan explores the world of the Cro-Magnons, the His work on the wrist bones of mysterious, little-known race that survived the Ice Homo floresiensis, the so-called Hobbits of human Age and became the ancestors of today's humans. evolution, received considerable attention worldwide after it was published in 2007 in the journal, Science. Tuesday, April 24,7 p.m. His findings dramatically changed our understanding Lucy's Legacy: The Quest for Human Origins of human evolution. Donald Johanson, Institute of Human Origins, Arizona Spring lectures are made possible through generous State University support from Dr. Richard Gentile, Tuck and Susan Spaulding, Bob and Sally West and the Linda Hall Few contemporary scientists have Library Annual Fund. created the kind of excitement and controversy that Donald Lectures are free and open to the public; Johanson has brought to the field however, seating is limited and e-tickets are of paleoanthropology. His 1974 required. The e-ticket registration form is discovery of the world's best-known available at www.lindahall.org/events. If you have fossil, the 3.2-million-year-old Lucy, made Johanson's questions, please email [email protected] or name synonymous with a new understanding of our call (816) 926-8772 to leave a message. human origins.Thirty-eight years after Lucy, Johanson continues to probe the origins of our species and what it means to be human. Matinee Movie Series Please join us in the Library's auditorium for free Thursday, May 3,7 p.m. screenings of any or all of these fascinating films. Neanderthal Genome Project: Tuesday, January 31,2 p.m. - Earth New Insights into Human Evolution Richard Edward Green, University of California, Santa Cruz Tuesday, February 28,2 p.m. - What Darwin Never Knew Tuesday, March 27,2 p.m. - Becoming Human: After extracting ancient DNA Unearthing Our Earliest Ancestors from the 40,000-year-old bones of Saturday, April 14,11 a.m. - Babies Neanderthals, Ed Green discovered that non-Africans throughout the Tuesday, April 24,2 p.m. - Babies world carry between one and four Saturday, May 12,11 a.m. - Digital Nation percent Neanderthal DNA in their Tuesday, May 22,2 p.m. - Digital Nation Linda Hall Library Launches New Online Catalog vast collection and beyond. A single search will also produce results about related research resources In response to escalating user expectations, a rapidly located in libraries all over the world making expanding information universe, and the need an astounding amount of accurate information for increased operational efficiencies, the Library immediately available to Linda Hall Library patrons. launched its new online catalog (catalog.lindahall. org) on January 1,2012. The Library built its information-handling infrastructure on a platform powered by ExLibris, an With its significantly improved searching capabilities, industry leader in Library automation. Replacing one the new catalog is designed to meet the ever-evolving online catalog with another took almost two years needs of contemporary library users, and makes the and involved nearly every Library department, as Linda Hall Library's collections more discoverable well as a large team of dedicated staff members led than ever before. by project manager, Erik Lewis. To the entire team's credit, this project adhered closely to a well-defined Through a single search box, users can now search schedule and delivered the finished product on time across the full breadth of content in the Library's — precisely at the stroke of midnight January 1,2012!

Encouraging Young Scientists Each spring, several participants from the Greater Kansas City Science and Engineering Fair, sponsored by Science Pioneers, are invited to display their work in the Library's Main Reading Room. Library staff choose projects from fourth graders to high school students based on scientific content, unique approaches to problem solving, and visual composition. Winners are then honored with a reception during which the President of the Library presents the Shipman Award, in memory of the Library's first director, Joseph C. Shipman. The Shipman Award is given for mastery of scientific writing Science Fair winner, Sarina Farb demonstrated in either a project or paper. Last year's winner was home-schooled high school junior Sarina Farb of LeCompton, Kansas. Her winning topic was "The Effects of BPA — an Endocrine Disrupter Extracted from Thermal Receipt Paper — on the Proliferation of Cancer Cells." It was Sarina's sixth year participating in the Greater Kansas City Science Fair and the third time she was recognized by the Linda Hall Library. In a thank-you letter to Library staff, Sarina wrote that the awards over the years made her feel that all of her hard work had paid off, and gave her "a wonderful opportunity to see other projects and meet and talk with people who also appreciate science." Sarina's parents, JoAnn and Joe Farb, said that their daughter's Science Fair projects were often the focus of her curriculum because the work involved covered all subject areas. The 2012 Linda Hall Library Blue Ribbon Exhibition and Reception will be held on May 15, following the 61st Greater Kansas City Science and Engineering Fair, March 21-23 at Union Station. Check www.lindahall.org later this spring for details. Digital versions of the materials reduce handling All Aboard the New History of and help conserve the paper collection. The railroad Railroad Technology Website periodicals were digitized by Library staff using a camera stand with a V-shaped cradle to minimize In the first half of the 19th century, travel from the damage to the fragile materials. As the text was eastern to the western frontier was slow, arduous, digitized, it was processed through OCR (Optical and dangerous. Civil War General William Tecumseh Character Recognition) software to make the words Sherman predicted that the task of building a searchable online. railroad to unite the continent would be "the work of giants." However, the seemingly impossible feat was The Library staff designed the website, and produced accomplished in the 1860s with the building of the it in consultation with web development company Transcontinental Railroad which revolutionized travel 305 Spin (www.305spin.com). and trade, and completely changed life in America.

Though a number of websites devoted to railroad history exist, none contain the breadth and depth HIGHLIGHTS of the collection available at the Linda Hall Library. railroad.lindahall.org Now, thanks to the generous support of the BNSF Foundation (of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe • An interactive timeline of events Railway), the Library's extensive collection of 19th • General information on 19th century century railroad periodicals is available online. railroad technology • Digitized railroad periodicals • How the steam engine was invented and how it operated • The historical development of rail cars • Remarkable engineering feats • How the railroads affected the way we tell time today

Locomotive America built by the Grant Locomotive Works of Paterson, N. J.f for the 1867 Paris Exposition. An example of a standard American locomotive of the mid-19th century.

Visitors to the new History of Railroad Technology website, railroad.lindahall.org, will learn about an Linda Hall Library Online extraordinary period in America's history through the digitized periodicals and other elements, like an View our current exhibitions and lectures, interactive timeline that chronicles the creation of the and browse our online catalog at Transcontinental Railroad. lindahall.org Find us on Facebook at By making approximately 150,000 pages of 19th facebook.com/Linda.Hall.Library, century railroad literature searchable and available via and follow us on Twitter the web, this digital project is unique and provides @LindaHall_org a significant resource devoted to the historical importance of railroad technology in the United States. The Library is delighted to offer this exciting research opportunity to scholars and members of the general public who are interested in learning more about the history and technology of the 19th century. Linda Hall Library SCIENCE, ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY—INFORMATION FOR THE WORLD 5109 Cherry Street Kansas City, MO 64110-2498 USA

HEDGEHOG Hanscom Air Force Base Collection Comes to the Library Number 50•Spring 2012 The U. S. Air Force Geophysics Research Library at Hanscom Air Force Base in Bedford, Massachusetts recently extended an opportunity to fortify the Linda Hall Library's holdings in the history of science. The Hanscom Collection contains many notable and scarcely-held items currently lacking in the Library's own extensive history of science collection, and was the product of personal contacts with antiquarian book dealers To mark the occasion of the 50th issue of worldwide. Hedgehog, the image of the publication's namesake was selected from Histoire Naturelle (Paris, 1760) by Georges Buffon, one of the library's most popular natural The Hanscom gift arrived last summer historians. This illustration can be found containing treasures dating from the in the LHL Digital Collections as part of 17th century through the mid-1990s. The Grandeur of Life collection. Many of the volumes retain their The cover image depicts a cave man fighting a cave bear, by artist L. Dalliance, original and carefully preserved leather published in Henri Du Cleuziou's Creation bindings. The collection includes de I'Homme (Paris, 1887), one of the books presented in the exhibition Blade and an impressive range of subjects- Bone: The Discovery of Human Antiquity. natural history, geology, geophysics, HEDGEHOG meterology, climatology, volcanology, is published twice a year by seismology, and arctic science- as well as a significant number of publications The Linda Hall Library of Science, Engineering & Technology emanating from institutes, societies, museums, universities, and observatories 5109 Cherry Street throughout Europe, Eastern Europe, and the former Soviet Union. Of special Kansas City, Missouri 64110 interest are the materials pertaining to scientific voyages and expeditions. 816-926-8792 fax 816-926-8790 www.lindahall.org