Tuesday 12 March 2024, 4pm
CHSTM Seminar Room: Simon 2.57 [maps and travel]
Zoom: https://zoom.us/j/92815835886

Dr Amelia Bonea, CHSTM

Archives of the Earth: Fossil Histories and the Global Entanglements of Indian Palaeontology, 1920s-1970s

Abstract

Natural history specimens like fossilized plants and animals have locally and globally relevant stories to tell. While North America has an established reputation as a fossil hotspot, particularly on account of its rich dinosaur finds, fossil localities in other parts of the world have not always enjoyed the same degree of visibility, notwithstanding their scientific significance. This paper draws attention to the Indian subcontinent’s rich fossil heritage and documents the global entanglements of palaeontology in colonial and post-colonial South Asia. It discusses in particular the contexts that framed efforts to collect, exchange, study and preserve fossils from the Indian subcontinent as well as the individual and institutional actors involved therein. The discussion draws on research conducted in the archives and fossil collections at the Yale Peabody Museum, the Palaeontological Collection at the University of Tübingen and the Tohoku University Museum. 

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Seminar Convenors: Professor Ian Burney and Dr Neil Pemberton

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