1 00:00:01,920 --> 00:00:06,400 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of iHeart Radio, Hey 2 00:00:06,440 --> 00:00:11,480 Speaker 1: brain Stuff Lauren Vogelbaum. Here in June, the remains of 3 00:00:11,520 --> 00:00:14,280 Speaker 1: what was believed to be an Alisaurus were sold to 4 00:00:14,320 --> 00:00:17,200 Speaker 1: the highest bidder for over two million dollars at the 5 00:00:17,239 --> 00:00:21,239 Speaker 1: Augot auction house in Paris, France. Nearly thirty ft or 6 00:00:21,320 --> 00:00:25,439 Speaker 1: nine meters long and complete, it's valuable in more ways 7 00:00:25,440 --> 00:00:29,440 Speaker 1: than one. Like all fossils, these bones are ambassadors from 8 00:00:29,440 --> 00:00:32,519 Speaker 1: an earlier time. The creature they belonged to drew its 9 00:00:32,560 --> 00:00:35,680 Speaker 1: last breath in Wyoming a hundred and fifty million years ago. 10 00:00:36,200 --> 00:00:39,479 Speaker 1: It was a different world back then. Earth was considerably warmer, 11 00:00:39,520 --> 00:00:44,159 Speaker 1: and most mammals were rabbit sized or smaller. Auction houses no, 12 00:00:44,280 --> 00:00:46,520 Speaker 1: there are plenty of buyers who will pay top dollar 13 00:00:46,640 --> 00:00:50,200 Speaker 1: to own a rare and scientifically significant piece of prehistory. 14 00:00:51,040 --> 00:00:53,680 Speaker 1: Agot sold the skeleton of another meat eating dino for 15 00:00:53,760 --> 00:00:57,440 Speaker 1: three point two million dollars in and has fetched over 16 00:00:57,480 --> 00:01:00,320 Speaker 1: six hundred and forty thousand for a complete William Myth, 17 00:01:01,320 --> 00:01:03,680 Speaker 1: and those sums look like pocket change next to the 18 00:01:03,720 --> 00:01:07,000 Speaker 1: eight point three six million that the Chicago Field Museum 19 00:01:07,040 --> 00:01:10,920 Speaker 1: and several corporate partners paid back in for sue the 20 00:01:10,959 --> 00:01:15,759 Speaker 1: most complete Tyrrenosaurs rex ever found. But wait a minute, 21 00:01:16,120 --> 00:01:18,440 Speaker 1: how does one come to own a fossil that you 22 00:01:18,640 --> 00:01:22,000 Speaker 1: can sell to the highest bidder? We spoke with P. 23 00:01:22,319 --> 00:01:25,720 Speaker 1: David Pauli, a professor of geology at Indiana University and 24 00:01:25,800 --> 00:01:30,039 Speaker 1: past president of the International Society for Vertebrate Paleontology. He 25 00:01:30,200 --> 00:01:33,160 Speaker 1: explained that laws vary from country to country, but in 26 00:01:33,200 --> 00:01:36,360 Speaker 1: the United States, fossils that are discovered on federal land 27 00:01:36,440 --> 00:01:40,600 Speaker 1: are considered public property quote they're held in trust on 28 00:01:40,640 --> 00:01:44,480 Speaker 1: our behalf by the US federal government. The Paleontological Resources 29 00:01:44,520 --> 00:01:47,240 Speaker 1: Prevention Act, which was passed by Congress in two thousand nine, 30 00:01:47,560 --> 00:01:51,480 Speaker 1: stipulates that scientifically important fossils can only be collected with 31 00:01:51,520 --> 00:01:55,040 Speaker 1: a scientific permit and must be placed in an approved repository, 32 00:01:55,560 --> 00:01:58,520 Speaker 1: that is, a research collection of a museum or university, 33 00:01:58,760 --> 00:02:02,000 Speaker 1: where they will be available to scientists and other interested people. 34 00:02:03,400 --> 00:02:06,680 Speaker 1: Note here that Native American land is exempted according to 35 00:02:06,720 --> 00:02:09,679 Speaker 1: the Federal Register. Fossil collecting on this soil falls under 36 00:02:09,720 --> 00:02:14,160 Speaker 1: the jurisdiction of tribal authorities, and the Act is a 37 00:02:14,160 --> 00:02:16,560 Speaker 1: bit more lenient when it comes to common plant and 38 00:02:16,600 --> 00:02:20,720 Speaker 1: invertebrate fossils like trilobites. Private citizens are allowed to collect 39 00:02:20,760 --> 00:02:24,440 Speaker 1: those for personal use in reasonable quantities on federal land 40 00:02:24,440 --> 00:02:28,720 Speaker 1: without a permit. However, any fossils taken from federally owned 41 00:02:28,840 --> 00:02:32,520 Speaker 1: rock may not be bartered or sold later. Note that 42 00:02:32,560 --> 00:02:36,760 Speaker 1: special rules may apply to certain remains in locations. For example, 43 00:02:36,960 --> 00:02:40,399 Speaker 1: it's a misdemeanor to collect petrified wood in Arizona's Petrified 44 00:02:40,440 --> 00:02:43,959 Speaker 1: Forest National Park. If you've got any questions about the 45 00:02:44,040 --> 00:02:45,840 Speaker 1: rules in your area, you should get in touch with 46 00:02:45,840 --> 00:02:49,440 Speaker 1: the closest Bureau of Land Management office. Polly noted. Some 47 00:02:49,639 --> 00:02:52,880 Speaker 1: US states, such as Wyoming in California, have similar laws 48 00:02:52,919 --> 00:02:58,440 Speaker 1: protecting fossils on state lands, but across the country, fossils 49 00:02:58,520 --> 00:03:02,880 Speaker 1: discovered on private property belong to the landowner. This isn't 50 00:03:02,919 --> 00:03:06,480 Speaker 1: true around the world. In countries like Mongolia, dinosaur fossils 51 00:03:06,480 --> 00:03:09,480 Speaker 1: are considered to be part of the nation's shared cultural heritage, 52 00:03:09,680 --> 00:03:13,080 Speaker 1: regardless of where they're found. As such, they can't be 53 00:03:13,120 --> 00:03:16,359 Speaker 1: sold in private markets, and personal ownership of these remains 54 00:03:16,440 --> 00:03:20,120 Speaker 1: is against the law. Actor Nicholas Cage of all people 55 00:03:20,200 --> 00:03:23,200 Speaker 1: now knows a thing or two about Mongolia's strict fossil laws. 56 00:03:23,680 --> 00:03:26,640 Speaker 1: In two thousand seven, the skull of an Asian tyrannosaur 57 00:03:26,720 --> 00:03:29,440 Speaker 1: went up for auction. Cage bought it for two hundred 58 00:03:29,480 --> 00:03:33,840 Speaker 1: seventy six thousand dollars, outbidding fellow movie star Leonardo DiCaprio 59 00:03:34,120 --> 00:03:36,320 Speaker 1: when he learned that the fossil had been illegally poached 60 00:03:36,320 --> 00:03:39,440 Speaker 1: from Mongolia, though Cage agreed to repatriate it back to 61 00:03:39,480 --> 00:03:44,040 Speaker 1: its native land. But if you, as a resident of 62 00:03:44,040 --> 00:03:47,160 Speaker 1: the United States, find the remains of a dinosaur on 63 00:03:47,280 --> 00:03:51,320 Speaker 1: American real estate that you own, you can legally keep it, 64 00:03:51,600 --> 00:03:55,520 Speaker 1: sell it, or export it. The question is should you 65 00:03:57,520 --> 00:04:02,240 Speaker 1: that carnivorous dino that changed hands in Rris was excavated 66 00:04:02,240 --> 00:04:07,440 Speaker 1: from private land between Upon learning that a goot plan 67 00:04:07,560 --> 00:04:10,880 Speaker 1: to auction it off, the Society for Vertebrate Paleontology wrote 68 00:04:10,880 --> 00:04:13,960 Speaker 1: an open letter begging the organization to cancel the sale. 69 00:04:14,520 --> 00:04:18,240 Speaker 1: A goot sold it anyway. The buyer's identity wasn't made public, 70 00:04:18,440 --> 00:04:20,520 Speaker 1: but they stated that the bones would be loaned out 71 00:04:20,520 --> 00:04:23,159 Speaker 1: to a museum at some point so that researchers would 72 00:04:23,200 --> 00:04:26,080 Speaker 1: get the chance to study them, and they followed up 73 00:04:26,080 --> 00:04:29,880 Speaker 1: on that promise. As of May nineteen, the Royal Belgian 74 00:04:29,920 --> 00:04:33,400 Speaker 1: Institute of Natural Sciences and Brussels premiered the specimen, which 75 00:04:33,400 --> 00:04:36,320 Speaker 1: they studied and determined to be a new Alosaurus species 76 00:04:36,480 --> 00:04:41,719 Speaker 1: that they've named Arcane. That follow through is a huge relief. 77 00:04:42,440 --> 00:04:46,200 Speaker 1: Peer review is an important facet of paleontology. If one 78 00:04:46,200 --> 00:04:50,039 Speaker 1: dinosaur expert writes something about a particular fossil, their colleagues 79 00:04:50,120 --> 00:04:52,040 Speaker 1: need to be able to go back and inspect the 80 00:04:52,080 --> 00:04:56,920 Speaker 1: specimen for themselves. Doing so requires guaranteed access to the remains, 81 00:04:57,279 --> 00:05:01,960 Speaker 1: something private fossil owners may choose to with hold, and 82 00:05:02,320 --> 00:05:05,440 Speaker 1: geological context is another thing to consider. The rock in 83 00:05:05,480 --> 00:05:07,760 Speaker 1: which a fossil is found is just as important as 84 00:05:07,760 --> 00:05:10,880 Speaker 1: the fossil itself. To figure out how old a specimen 85 00:05:11,040 --> 00:05:13,479 Speaker 1: is or what its environment looked like, we need to 86 00:05:13,520 --> 00:05:17,200 Speaker 1: know exactly where it came from. Private fossil buyers might 87 00:05:17,200 --> 00:05:21,119 Speaker 1: be unable to provide this information. Then there's the small 88 00:05:21,160 --> 00:05:25,560 Speaker 1: matter of museum budgets. Universities and public museums frequently can't 89 00:05:25,600 --> 00:05:27,760 Speaker 1: afford to meet some of the high prices that have 90 00:05:27,800 --> 00:05:30,359 Speaker 1: been set by auctioneers and fossil dealers. In the wake 91 00:05:30,400 --> 00:05:35,640 Speaker 1: of Sue's blockbuster sale, Polly said almost everybody has gotten 92 00:05:35,640 --> 00:05:38,440 Speaker 1: excited at one time or another about the massive dinosaurs 93 00:05:38,480 --> 00:05:42,080 Speaker 1: that once walked the earth. That inspiration comes directly from 94 00:05:42,080 --> 00:05:45,280 Speaker 1: the fact that many of them were carefully excavated, placed 95 00:05:45,279 --> 00:05:50,680 Speaker 1: in public trust repositories, and become part of the scientific record. Unfortunately, 96 00:05:50,839 --> 00:05:53,480 Speaker 1: that same excitement can make people want to have one 97 00:05:53,520 --> 00:05:58,440 Speaker 1: of their own. It is true that fossil sales people 98 00:05:58,480 --> 00:06:02,280 Speaker 1: have made some major contributions to paleontology. Just look at 99 00:06:02,360 --> 00:06:05,440 Speaker 1: Mary Anning, an English seller of priest org treasures, who 100 00:06:05,440 --> 00:06:10,640 Speaker 1: discovered extinct marine reptiles like please a Saurus. Regardless, Polly 101 00:06:10,720 --> 00:06:13,680 Speaker 1: and many of his fellow scientists worry that countries that 102 00:06:13,800 --> 00:06:16,920 Speaker 1: don't commit to putting their important fossils in public trust 103 00:06:17,120 --> 00:06:20,359 Speaker 1: where anyone can study them are forfeiting a gold mine 104 00:06:20,400 --> 00:06:24,560 Speaker 1: of knowledge. He said, fossils are not like works of art. 105 00:06:24,800 --> 00:06:28,119 Speaker 1: They weren't created to be high priced collector's items. They're 106 00:06:28,240 --> 00:06:31,240 Speaker 1: rare remnants of our past that are important to us all. 107 00:06:36,440 --> 00:06:38,880 Speaker 1: Today's episode was written by Mark Mancini and produced by 108 00:06:38,920 --> 00:06:41,120 Speaker 1: Tyler Clang. For more on this and lots of other 109 00:06:41,160 --> 00:06:44,120 Speaker 1: topics that really dig in, visit how Stuff works dot Com. 110 00:06:44,160 --> 00:06:46,960 Speaker 1: Brain Stuff is production of iHeart Radio or more podcasts 111 00:06:47,080 --> 00:06:49,880 Speaker 1: my heart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple podcasts, 112 00:06:49,960 --> 00:06:51,680 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.