Bones tell us a lot—but they only tell us so much. Paleontology is a quite a unique historical science. Unlike modern biological fields like botany or zoology where living subjects are the focus, paleontology is based on circumstantial evidence of dead animals. The rest of the story, like dinosaur habitats, or social behavior must be inferred. An inference is a nice word for an educated guess. For that reason, some biologists would say paleontology is not a true science at all.

Guessing isn’t all that bad or unscientific, because most biologists do agree that the past is the key to the present. It turns out paleontology is a science and we support that claim because scientists, whether in the lab or in the field, ask questions, make observations, rule out possibilities and settle on a decision. A more sophisticated version of that process is called the scientific method. You even do this when you look at the weather report to determine if you need a coat for the day!
Unfortunately, this is a contentious science—fraught with opinions, imagination, and ‘hot buttons’. Put a group of paleontologists in one room—push a hot button like a friendly discussion on extinction theories or fossil collection laws and watch those same dinosaur experts choose sides as if a chasm just split the room in half!

We dedicate this page to those ‘hot buttons’—those controversial issues that keep this field fresh and exciting. As staff, we’ve discussed these topics. We’ve polled the “guesses” of dig team members, students and scientists. The various articles we post are a synthesis of our research and labor of love. We invite you to explore these hot topics, in hopes of fostering some further ‘digging’ of your own.
In no other science is imagination as important as facts! As long as dinosaurs are discovered, there will be no end to the questions we can test. BUT—paleontology will remain an uncertain, inconclusive, tentative and contradictory science. Because of this, even amateurs can experience new discoveries, open-ended debate, and the endless excitement of this dynamic and changing science!
 

Bone War I 

Not all battles are fought on a battlefield and not all involve bloodshed. Some battles, fueled by competitive egos, are fought in quiet places like classrooms and laboratories. Words are exchanged for swords but wielded just as mightily. Most casual readers of paleontology are familiar with an epic battle between two American scientists; Edward Drinker Cope (1840-1897) and Othniel Charles Marsh (1831-1899). The Cope-Marsh melodrama was legendary and embarrassing. Their enmity led to unparalleled scientific discoveries but it clearly revealed if paleontology were to be a called a science, new ethical rules of the game must be made.

It began simply enough. E.D. Cope and O.C. Marsh started began a friendship after the Civil War. Both were passionate about fossils and both held well-respected positions. Marsh was the nephew of a millionaire banker, George Peabody. Peabody endowed Yale with funds for a new museum with the stipulation that his nephew was made a professor of paleontology there. Cope, for a short time, was a zoologist for the University of Pennsylvania, but left to work independently. He funded his expeditions through his father’s estate and mining stocks (1).

The first skirmish began around 1870. Cope had shown his friend Marsh some rich fossil beds in New Jersey. Later he returned to the site, but found Marsh already had a field crew working there and he could no longer collect fossils at the site. This was a violation of fundamental paleontology rule #1-- Thou shalt not steal a colleague’s site. More might have been excavated if cooperation had been realized.

During a visit to Philadelphia, Cope proudly showed Marsh his newly mounted marine reptile Elasmosaurus. Marsh informed him the head was on the wrong end. Cope’s pride got hurt and the friendship came to a screeching halt. This was a violation of paleontology rule number 2: Thou should not insult a colleague’s discovery. Instead gently show them how articulations fit together!

In 1877, two different schoolteachers discovered fossil bones on their land in Colorado and sent news East. Cope and Marsh both dispatched field crews. Discoveries were made each year and as more quarries were opened a feeding frenzy for old bones ensued. Bone War I was declared privately because both scientists forgot paleontology rule # 3. Thou shalt not covet your neighbor’s fossils.

So it goes that Bone War I became a public scandal. Cope and Marsh became extremely protective of their quarries. However, both scientists were curious of each other’s quarries even to the point of spying. In one war story, the following account was told:

“Cope spent hours each day on a hilltop spying on the Marsh dig. This encouraged Marsh’s crew to assemble a skull from the jawbones, teeth, eye sockets and horns of a dozen species. They buried Old-what you-may-call it just before Cope showed up for his daily spell at the telescope. When he did arrive, they put on an elaborate pantomime of arduous shoveling and great excitement. Cope sneaked over that dusk, dug up What-you-may-call-it and wrote a paper about its significance.” (2)

Cope was profoundly embarrassed. He had violated rule 4—“Thou shalt have no other dino gods before you”. He retreated and tried to buy back all the journals that printed his mistake. Slanderous accusations went to press. Scientific papers by each man alleged lies, theft, mental instability and unethical reporting violating rule 5 “Thou shalt not testify falsely against a fellow digger”. Many scientists took sides; others distanced themselves from the fray. One humorous war story is that Marsh named coprolites (fossilized dino feces) after Cope, but we could not find literature to substantiate that claim (4).

To their credit, both scientists stimulated the greatest discovery boom in history. Cope named Apatosaurus and published about 1400 papers, which described a host of other dinosaurs spanning nine genera. Marsh described 19 genera and named Stegosaurus, Diplodocus, Allosaurus and Ceratosaurus (4). Cope and Marsh raised American interest in dinosaurs to new levels. Their contributions are found in many famous museums across the globe. Marsh’s collection today is housed at the Peabody Museum. Cope’s personal collection was purchased by the American Museum of Natural History for $32,000 after his inheritance was exhausted (4). Marsh, in later years, resigned from the Peabody Museum when funds were cut. Both men left the American public an incredible legacy and they trained a new generation of dinosaur hunters soon to make important discoveries of their own.

Two ambitious young men set a precedent of mistrust among scientists. Competition and the drive to publish is one thing, but spying, stealing, and slandering are not in keeping with the rules of science. These ‘scientists’ left behind some shoddy work where accurate reporting was replaced with personal vendettas. They tarnished America’s scientific reputation especially in the eyes of their European counterparts for a generation. True, Cope is a more popularized hero in paleontology than Marsh (maybe that’s why his skeleton is preserved at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archeology and Anthropology). No real winners emerged from Bone War I. Within the heart of paleontology circles today, similar, but less dramatic sentiments and rights to possession of fossils still exist.

Literature Cited:

1. Bone Wars: The Marsh Cope Rivalry. Hosted by The Academy of Natural Sciences Museum.
URL: http://www.acnatsci.org/museum/leidy/paleo/bone_wars.html
2. Howard, R.W. The Dawnseekers: The First History of American Paleontology. Harcourt Publishers, 1975.
3. Martin, A. Introduction to the Study of Dinosaurs. Blackwell Science, 2001.
4. Spalding, D. Dinosaur Hunters. Key Porter Books, 1993.
 

Bone War II—How Much Is that Fossil in the Basement?

The Cope and Marsh melodrama (dubbed Bone War I in our previous posted article) was a race to discover the most dinosaur fossils and be the first scientist to name them. Dinosaur enthusiasts may not be aware of a more recent Bone War II waged over the right to possess a fossil. The debate over who may own a fossil has created a huge ethical chasm within paleontology. The academic camp maintains fossils belong to states or state-sanctioned museums. Generally it is government officials and academics that maintain the right to excavate, prepare, and display fossils for the benefit of the public. Directly across the chasm sits the amateur/commercial groups. Their equally valid argument holds that fossils are part of Earth’s natural history. They are abundant enough so everyone has the right to own one (within reason). Either way, collection permits are always required if the land is public, but not always needed if the land is privately owned (human remains are another story).

Peter Larson’s book Rex Appeal details the legal war fought over a T. rex specimen dubbed “Sue” after Sue Hendrickson, its discoverer. Bone War II began officially on August 12, 1990 when the commercial collecting team of the Black Hills Institute (BHI) out of Hill City, South Dakota discovered “Sue”. At the time Larson was unsure of how complete this specimen was. From what I’ve seen in the field, it is common even among experienced paleontologists, not to recognize how complete a fossil might be under layers of sediment. Larson gambled this would be worth excavating and two days later offered the landowner $5000 for it. The landowner accepted the check (and cashed it), all of which is quite legal IF land is privately owned.

BHI has a history of finding rex specimens and this one was by far the best they had seen. As excitement in the quarry increased, so did whispered hints to the landowner; he didn’t receive enough compensation for his dinosaur. The landowner (private land), the Cheyenne River Sioux (private land within reservation land), and the federal government (because of reservation land) all claimed ownership to Sue. The FBI seized their prized booty in 1992 and Sue was crated and stored in a basement at the South Dakota School of Mines.

The rest of the decade was spent in a horrific and expensive legal battle to determine who really had a right to this fossil. The federal government spent millions on the investigation racking up 39 counts and 153 potential charges against Larson—“government overkill” as one juror put it. None of the over 100 counts of illegal fossil collecting charged proved valid. Rather, BHI and Larson were charged for reporting technicalities and misdemeanors.

Larson, meanwhile, went to a federal prison for nearly two years. Sue was later uncrated and sold at an auction for $8.36 million dollars. She later made her debut at the Chicago Field Museum in 2000--and she is a sight to behold! Incidentally, Maurice Williams the landowner, received 7.6 million dollars tax free from the sale of Sue. Not long after the sale, Williams later ran into Larson in Faith, SD, physically attacked and threatened to kill him.

The fossil ownership debate, as summarized by Peter Larson is as follows:

The Academic (Establishment) View:

Fossils are state/national treasures and should be curated by state-sanctioned officials.

The number of fossils is finite and rare. Each should be protected.

Fossils should not be sold, as they are lost to the public.

Selling fossils in the open market causes soaring prices that few public institutions can afford.

Landowners should not expect payment for fossils.

Only government officials should have access to fossils on public lands ensuring the safety of public resources.

Commercial collectors sometimes destroy important specimens. They are more concerned with profit than science.

Stiffer penalties are needed for unauthorized collection in off-limit areas.

 The Commercial Collector View:

Fossils are part of Earth’s history. Scientific specimens should be donated to museums, but common fossils can be owned by anyone.

Fossils are plentiful. Weathering constantly exposes new ones and they should be harvested.

Fossils are like art or other resources which are commonly sold.

With rising costs of excavation and preparation, it is cost effective for public institutions to purchase and display fossils.

Landowners should be paid for fossils (like any other resource) discovered on their lands.

The government has over a half-billion acres of public land with not enough resources or staff to collect and curate fossils found there. Commercial and amateur collectors help to save fossils from environmental degradation.

Legitimate commercial collectors are trained and often more careful in collecting techniques than academic crews. They are bound by the same laws and ethics as research institutions.

Legislation/permits allowing both researchers and private parties to collect will save the most fossils for posterity.

In the aftermath of this war, the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology (SVP) has established a code of ethics in their bylaws regarding collection and curation of fossils. Any member of this scientific society violating this code is reprimanded professionally and membership is revoked. Most commercial collectors are excluded from this scientific organization, unless grandfathered.

What is  neglected in this argument is the viewpoint of amateur rock hounds and other fossil enthusiasts. They are like the forgetten children in a nasty divorce battle when in truth they have the most to lose.  Enthusiastic amateurs are responsible for finding around 90% of the important discoveries out there. Without them, no one in either camp has the time or resources to find, excavate and prepare great specimens. Amateur finds have advanced the science of paleontology in quantum leaps because without those many eyes combing the hills and badlands, paleontology wouldn't be where it is today.  Taking away their rights to collect is hardly thanks.

SVP’s code of ethics has done nothing to establish any logical middle ground and so this debate is still heated and highly polarized. Unfortunately, this academic tug of war provides fuel for future bone wars. In our next article, we will evaluate and provide some survey results answering the question who should own a fossil. Stay tuned…

Elena Victory, PhD
Revised: 4/2010

Adapted from: Larson, P. and K. Donnan. Rex Appeal. Invisible Cities Press, 2002.