Cretaceous capitalism sounds like a somewhat preposterous combination of words, but trade in fossils, particularly massive ones, is making that word-combination more real. In 2020, Christie’s Auction House sold “Stan”, one of the most complete Tyrannosaurus Rex specimens ever discovered: It fetched a record-breaking $31.8 million. Since then, six “Dino-lots” sales worldwide have each passed the $6 million mark. The typical buyers are rich individuals, who have the money to outbid most museums.
Palaeontologists are collectively horrified at this practice because, they claim those specimens will disappear from public view forever or, at least, until they come up for auction again. They complain that scientific research is being robbed of unique data and that our understanding of earth’s history will be unnecessarily compromised.
I should add that this process of artifacts disappearing into private hands has plagued the art and antiquities worlds for years. It appears that dinosaur skeletons, and other fossils are destined to follow suit.
However, an article in the Economist suggests that, in the case of fossils, that process may not be as bad as it sounds. The article postulates that, since there are many fossils of the same type – how many “Stans” are there actually out there waiting to be dug up – then the private collectors’ market may drive the search for more, and thus help science. Skeletons are more often found by amateurs, prospectors, and private individuals, than they are by museums or scientific expeditions. It is simply a matter of numbers and resources.
One of the pioneers of palaeontology, Mary Anning, attained celebrity status in Victorian England after she discovered the first fossil specimens of ichthyosaurs and plesiosaurs (marine dinosaurs). She found them slowly appearing out of the chalk cliffs along what is now known as the Jurassic Coast in Dorset, Southern England. Erosion was slowly revealing them, and still is today. She sold many of her finds as souvenirs to tourists. Almost no-one in Mary’s time had any idea that monsters, which we now call dinosaurs, existed at all, and it took many years for the scientific community to acknowledge the importance of her discoveries. They simply didn’t believe that dinosaurs could have existed.
It is interesting to note, in this context, that, despite how ubiquitous the knowledge of dinosaurs has become today, no-one knew they had ever existed until a little over a hundred years ago.
Today, most fossils sold at auction come from the United States. This is mainly because, when they are found, by law they belong to the landowner where they are found. In many other countries, such finds are property of the state, also by law.
Most fossils are found as a result of erosion; the chalk cliffs of the Jurassic Coast and the river banks and cliffs in Montana, Wyoming and the Dakotas are continually eroding, revealing fossils. Once revealed, they quickly become victims of wind, rain and tide. Scientists do not have the manpower nor the resources to save most these revealed specimens. So, encouraging the private sector prospectors to identify and collect them can help considerably.
Appropriate regulations are definitely needed to prevent wholesale looting, just like the trade in Egyptian, Inca, Mayan and many other ancient artifacts. However, a properly controlled market for fossils can definitely help science and the public’s understanding of life on earth in the past. It is tempting to think that passing restrictive property laws will solve the problem, but experience tells us that this approach will only drive the market underground, and into the hands of smugglers. This often results in handling damage and unscrupulous black market activities, none of which contribute to science or public understanding, or to the effective preservation of the artifacts.
The article in the Economist ends with recommendations, which seem eminently sensible. However, they will require a worldwide consensus, and that, unfortunately is unlikely.
The Economist recommendations are as follows: “There are ways to preserve the value to the public of privately owned fossils. Governments could write rules insisting that the discovery of fossils and who owns them is catalogued. They could require specimens to be made available for study, or ensure that museums can make casts. And – although auction houses already demand assurances regarding the provenance of fossils – they could set in stone minimum standards for excavation and handling, to allay fears that prospecting might become a Wild West. It is better to regulate the market and let it thrive than force it towards extinction.”
As I said, that seems like a very sensible approach, before the fossil market becomes the same sort of destructive Wild West scenario that other aspects of our collective past have suffered from, to the detriment of our history.
