Commercial Collection of Fossils

Written by Stefan Strandberg (stefan@cs.wisc.edu)

What is Commercial Collecting?

Commercial collecting of fossils is one of the most hotly debated subjects in vertebrate paleontology. Simply put, commercial collecting of fossils is the collecting of fossils in order to sell them to an interested party. The buyer can be just about anyone, from a rich collector with a private museum to a university or public museum. Some commercial collectors will sell to the top bidder, while other collectors will attempt to sell to a museum or scientific institute.


So Where do I Buy Me a Fossil?

One place that fossils are bought and sold are auctions. Perhaps the most famous recent case was the nearly complete Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton, dubbed Sue. Sue was bought at the auction house at Sotheby's by McDonalds and Disney for the exorbitant sum of over 8 million dollars and donated to the Field Museum in Chicago. (Padian)


Sue the Dinosaur Smiles at You(1)

Another place fossils can be bought is online. A variety of fossils are available on eBay and other web sites. There are other means of purchasing fossils as well. Often stores and museums will sell small keepsake fossils. The geology museum at the University of Wisconsin sells small fossils to interested buyers. However, fossils sold at museums are almost undoubtedly not new species and have been well studied. Often times they are not of "museum quality."


Two fossils for sale on ebay


Why are people upset about commercial collecting?

1. Important fossils might never be professionally studied

With an open market for fossils, many people who find a fossil on private land will sell to the highest bidder. Finding an important fossil has been compared to purchasing a winning lottery ticket. A farmer who finds a fossil on his land will be compelled to sell it to the highest bidder, as he has a family to feed and is at the mercy of the weather for his crops. Museums often cannot afford to pay what a private collector can. Not all commercial collectors are at odds with vertebrate paleontologists, and in fact many "amateur" collectors will sell specimens deemed important to museums for study. Specimens collected by professional collectors are less likely to be studied for public education. Many Europeans believe that this problem is limited to the United States, but it is also rampant in China, Argentina, Brazil, and other countries. (Padian)

2. Fossils are taken away from the public

In August of 2000, the oldest known fossil of an airborne vertebrate was sold at the Bufferfield & Butterfield auction house. The 7 inch lizard with a 10 inch wingspan is over 200 million years old, and it proved to scientists that vertebrates attempted flight 10 million years earlier than previously believed. (CNN)


The Winged Lizard(2)

While this specimen was adequately studied by paleontologists, its sale to a private individual upset people because it took the important fossil away from the public. The fossil was found by Alfred Siekfer when was 17 years old, and he sold it when he was 56 to make some quick cash. There was hope that the specimen would make it to a museum, as the buyer called himself a friend of the museum, but its future was still uncertain at the writing of the article on CNN. Commercial collectors defended the sale, pointing out that a number of privately collected specimens have eventually made it into a museum, but many paleontologists disagree, comparing the practice to big game hunting in Africa to put ivory tusks on the wall. One vertebrate paleontologist called the sale of the fossil a "highly unethical event that will only increase commercialization and encourage the theft of fossils from museums." (CNN) Public opinion is equally divided. An instant poll on cnn.com showed 34 percent of 3008 votes in favor of commercial collecting while the remaining 66 percent of voters were against commercial collecting of fossils. (CNN)


A Dinosaur and Dinosaur Eggs at the Butterfield Auction(3)

3. Misidentification of fossils

In April of 2000 a conference was held to publicize a new specimen of a coelurosaurian dinosaur called "Bambiraptor feinbergi." (Padian)


Possible Reconstruction of the Bambiraptor(4)

The conference was attended by a number of private collectors, and the atmosphere was that of a fossil sale without the price tags. The specimen was placed in a bulletproof case, and a number of its bones were reconstructed. As the skeleton was unavailable for examination, it was difficult to tell what was original bone and what was reconstructed. The skeleton was discovered by commercial collectors on private land, and excavation techniques were not up to par with professional standards. Paleontologists who attended the conference were puzzled, as the identification of the dinosaur was expected to be taken for granted with no opportunity for challenge. The specimen was put on exhibit at the Graves Museum, but it was never owned by the museum. As the excavation techniques were suspect and not documented, it is impossible to know if Bambiraptor is truly a new species or is just a work of imagination and misinterpretation of the find. (Padian)

4. Hoaxes

In November of 1999 National Geographic magazine published an article called "Feathers on T. Rex?" (Padian) One of the fossils discussed by the article was a new discovery termed Archaeoraptor. Archaeoraptor was unusual as it had an avian body with a long dromaeosaur-like tail. The fossil was found in China, in a region where fossils are often modified and combined to create specimens that will fetch more money. As it is such a popular practice, the locals have become quite good at creating forgeries that will stand up to most scientific examination. Archaeoraptor, as it turned out, was one of these forgeries. China has laws against the export of fossils, but much to the chagrin of Chinese paleontologists, illegal smuggling is widespread. Archaeoraptor is not the first fossil hoax, nor will it be the last. Perhaps the most famous hoax, while not directly related to dinosaur collecting, is the Piltdown Man, which appeared to be a missing link in human evolution. (Harter)


The Piltdown Man Skull(5)

The Piltdown Man was discovered in 1912 by Charles Dawson, and seemed to be a scientific anomaly. Finally in 1953 it was perpetuated to be a hoax, as a combination of a baboon jawbone with hippo and elephant teeth along with an old thick human skull. This hoax, along with most others, was likely perpetrated to fetch fame and fortune for its discoverer. If there were more regulations and ethics about commercial fossil collecting, the incentives to combine fossils to make more attractive ones would likely go away.(Harter)


Commercial Collecting Regulations

In the United States, the owner of the land on which a fossil is found can do nearly whatever he wants with it, as he owns the land. The debate about what can be done with fossils found on public land rages on. Fossils on public lands are regulated by a number of laws, including the following:

(Kuban)

One proposed law that would allow limited commercial collecting on public lands is HR 2943, also known as " The Fossil Preservation Act of 1996." Before the bill, fossil vertebrates found on federally managed lands were considered part of national heritage and belonged to the American people. Museums would not own these fossils, but would keep and maintain them in the interest of the American people. Opponents of the bill state that it would turn fossils found on federal lands into a commodity, similar to fossils found on privately owned lands. (Beard) The bill would issue permits to commercial collectors allowing them to sell the fossils that they find on federal land. According to the Library of Congress, the bill went to a House subcommittee in 1996, where it seems to have stalled as no further action has taken place on it. (Library of Congress)


A biped fossil in a cave, possibly on federal lands(6)

An interesting aside to the story is Peter Larsen, the commercial dealer who discovered "Sue." Sue was found on Indian reservation land owned by an Indian, so he believed it to be private property and therefore not requiring a permit. However, the United States government disagreed, stating that reservations were federally managed land. A federal court ruled in 1994 that the fossil belonged to the Indian who owned the land on which it was found, and Larsen was indicted on 39 charges mostly relating to illegal trafficking in fossils from federal land. The trial brought a lot of publicity, and Dr. Robert Bakker, a well known paleontologist testified on Larsen's behalf, deeming him a responsible paleontologist. Most charges were dismissed against Larsen, but he was convicted of two felonies related to failure to report money brought into and out of the country. He received two years in prison as a sentence. (Browne)


World Famous Paleontologist Robert Bakker with a big head he found(7)

Other Countries' Regulations

Other countries do not necessarily follow the US model on regulating collection. China prevents all exports of fossils from the country, as all fossils are deemed to belong to the government. (Padian)

Germany has a model that some suggest the US should mimic. All fossils that are collected must first be examined by a professional paleontologist. If the fossil is deemed to be important, the finder will be compensated with a "finder's fee" and the fossil will be turned over to the state. If the fossil is not deemed scientifically important, it is returned to the finder who may do what he wishes with it. This rule applies to all fossils. (Padian)


Text Sources

Padian, Kevin. 2000, "Feathers, Fakes, and Fossil Dealers: How the Commercial Sale of Fossils Erodes Science and Education." Palaeontologia Electronica, vol. 3, issue 2, editorial 2: 8pp., 131KB; http://www.palaeo-electronica.org

McDermott, Anne and Others. "Winged Dinosaur Auction Stirs Natural History Flap". August 2000. Available Online, http://archives.cnn.com/2000/NATURE/08/28/fossil.auction/

Harter, Richard "Piltdown Man - The Bogus Bones Caper." 1996-1997. Available Online, http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/piltdown.html

Kuban, Glen J. "Fossil Legislation and Ethics." Available Online, http://members.aol.com/fostrak/palelegi.htm

Browne, Malcolm W. "Peter Larsen Goes to Jail." Available Online, http://www.dinosauria.com/jdp/sue/jail.htm

Library of Congress. "Bill Status of H.R. 2943." Available Online, http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d104:HR.2943:

Beard, Chris. "Pending Legislation Threatens Fossil Collecting." Available Online, http://www.carnegiemuseums.org/cmag/bk_issue/1996/mayjun/dept6.htm


Image Sources

1. Used without permission, http://www.museumnetwork.com/entertainment/_cabinet_of_curiosities/sue_dinosaur/sue_dinosaur_home.asp

2. Used without permission, http://archives.cnn.com/2000/NATURE/08/28/fossil.auction/

3. Used without permission, http://archives.cnn.com/2000/NATURE/08/28/fossil.auction/

4. Used without permission, http://www.snowglobemonster.com/wdcc/bambi/products/owl.htm

5. Used without permission, http://www.rotten.com/library/hoaxes/piltdown-man/

6. Used without permission, http://www.geology.wisc.edu/~museum/cave-paleo04.html

7. Used without permission, http://www.childrensmuseum.org/dinosphere/enc/bakker_robert.html