U. S. Government Returns Illegally Imported Fossils to China

Fossils and other ancient artefacts that entered the United States illegally have been returned to China by U.S. customs officials after a number of consignments of contraband were seized in the USA. American officials confirmed that the U.S. Government had returned fossils.

Returned Fossils

The fossils are part of what is believed to be a brisk, illegal trade in rare and ancient items from Asia and South America into the lucrative American market.  This particular hoard of contraband included the fossilised bones of a Sabre-toothed cat, as well as rare dinosaur eggs and fossils of a small ornithopod dinosaur (Psittacosaurus lujiatunsis), this 2 metre long dinosaur is only known from China and has been dated to approximately 120 million years ago.  The fossils of this particular dinosaur are extremely rare and it was only named and described in 2006.

Officials are aware that there is a large trade in illegally imported fossils and other ancient items from countries such as China into the West, with private collectors prepared to pay very large sums of money for rare pieces, particularly dinosaurs.  These items were seized by U.S. authorities in Chicago (Illinois) and Richmond (Virginia).  A number of dinosaur fossils and other pieces have been smuggled inside passenger luggage and found on inspection of cases and their contents.  Other fossils are discovered when containers and crates are subjected to x-rays and the images produced did not match up with the stated contents on the export or import documentation.

A Replica of a Smilodon Skull

Big-toothed predator – a replica of the skull and jaws of a Smilodon.  Fossilised bones from a sabre-toothed cat were some of the material returned to China.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

International Collaboration

It is pleasing to see this international collaboration in a bid to end illegal fossil smuggling.

An Assistant Secretary for Homeland Security, John Morton commented:

“The attempt to remove them [the fossils] from China ran up against a network of national and international customs laws that are in place to protect against the theft of cultural property.  We are pleased to return them to their rightful owners, the people of China”.

The confiscated remains including 24 fossilised dinosaur eggs which are believed to date from the Cretaceous were given back to Chinese Embassy officials at a Ceremony held in Washington D.C.

The Chinese Embassy’s Deputy Chief of Mission, Xie Feng, thanked the American authorities for their help in getting these rare and precious items back, commentating:

“In recent years, China and the U.S. have developed close co-operation in law enforcement and made steady progress and prominent achievements, particularly in the fields as counter-terrorism, drug enforcement as well as combating other transnational crimes”.

The confiscated fossils and other relics were handed over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency which investigated the imports and they are now awaiting the arrival of Chinese officials who will escort this cargo back to China.

To read a recent article about Psittacosaurus discoveries: New Species of Psittacosaurus Discovered.

If you want to purchase dinosaur and prehistoric animal models, such as the PNSO range of models and figures, have no fear, Everything Dinosaur have these excellent figures in stock: PNSO Age of Dinosaurs Models.

Ancient Hominid Remains Challenge Theory of Human Evolution

Homo sapiens, our species may have the cities, art and space travel but it could be argued that the most successful type of hominid was H. erectus.  Although their brains were very much smaller than ours, this particular species of human clocked up the greatest amount of time on Earth for a type of human.  H. erectus survived from approximately 1.9 million years ago until about 300,000 years ago.  Some anthropologists have suggested that H. erectus survived until much more recently, somewhere until 53,000 to 27,000 years ago in parts of S.E. Asia.  Now further evidence of the remarkable distribution of H. erectus has been uncovered from a cave in Georgia.

Homo erectus

The remains of five Homo erectus, three females and two males, have been found at a cave at the Dmanisi archaeological dig site, south-west of the Georgian capital Tbilisi.  The fossilised skeletons, including excellent skull material, have been dated to approximately 1.8 million years ago, providing further evidence that H. erectus became widespread quite quickly and moved out of Africa early on in their evolution.

This highly adaptable human species is known from other parts of Caucasus region of Georgia and it is certain that some populations of H. erectus must have migrated out of Africa very soon after the species originated.  This northward migration of this particular branch of the human family tree begs the question – what happened to those widespread H. erectus populations?  Did they just die out, or where they eventually out competed by more modern types of human migrating out of Africa?

The dig site has also revealed stone tools and animal bones showing cut marks, indicating that this species of human prepared meat for food.  It is known that H. erectus used fire but whether or not they were able to make fire is unknown.  Perhaps, they kept embers from natural forest fires and used these to provide a sustainable source of heat.

Partial Skeletons

These partial skeletons, represent some of the earliest hominid remains discovered outside Africa, they add credence to the idea of “multiregional hypothesis”, a concept whereby the development of modern humans took place independently in response to similar environmental stimuli leading to separate human populations across Europe.  This contrasts with the more widely accepted theory of human evolution which suggests that there was a later second phase of migrations with H. sapiens migrating out of Africa around 120,000 years ago – a sort of “Out of Africa part 2”.

The Director of the Georgian National Museum, David Lordkipanidze described these people as being short (approximately 1.5 metres tall with males bigger than females), with small brains but strongly developed legs.  These humans lived at a time when Sabre-toothed cats and other large predators roamed the land.

Professor Chris Stringer, the research leader in early human origins at the Natural History Museum in London commented:

“The fossils are extremely important in showing us a very primitive stage in the evolution of Homo erectus.  They raise important questions about where that species originated”.

It has been estimated that the brain size of H. erectus was little more than half the size of a modern human’s.  Although, the fossil record shows that the brain size of H. erectus increased over time, by approximately one million years ago the brain had reached a capacity of 1,000 millilitres, rising over the next 500,000 years or so to about 1,300 millilitres.  The brain capacity of a modern human is approximately 1,750 millilitres.

A Model of Homo erectus

Early hominid – a model of Homo erectus.  The Bullyland H. erectus figure.

To view the range of Bullyland models and figures in stock at Everything Dinosaur: Bullyland Prehistoric Figures.

The Dmanisi hominids were social, living in family groups and they possessed advanced tool making and hunting skills.  This would lead scientists to deduce that they were able to communicate effectively with each other and they had advanced cognitive skills.

The origins of our species and the evolutionary relationships between hominids remains a hotly debated area of science.  2009 marks the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin’s famous work “On the Origin of Species”, it seems our ancestry will remain a mystery for a while longer.

Muttaburrasaurus Skeleton used in Nude Calendar

An Aussie dinosaur skeleton is featured in a charity nude calendar.

It seems that after a group of WI ladies in Britain decided to raise money for charity by posing for a slightly risqué calendar a few years ago, the idea of a bit of local nudity in aid of a good cause has caught on.  Even a dinosaur, a Muttaburrasaurus to be precise, has got in on the act.

Aussie Dinosaur Skeleton

The locals in the tiny town of Muttaburra in Queensland (Australia), decided to produce their own nude calendar featuring the town residents.  This is a project developed by Muttaburra’s Community Development Association (CDA) with the aim of raising money for an ambulance defibrillator and for the local school.

Muttaburrasaurus

Muttaburra is famous for the Muttaburrasaurus dinosaur that was discovered in the area.  It is the most complete fossilised dinosaur found in Australia.  Muttaburrasaurus was an iguanodontid with an estimated length of 7 metres or more, it lived during the Early Cretaceous.

A Drawing of the Aussie Dinosaur Muttaburrasaurus

Muttaburrasaurus is featured in a nude calendar.  Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

Kerry Robinson, secretary of the CDA says that she had no problems persuading people to take their clothes off for the calendar and some interesting props were used, including the Muttaburrasaurus.

Ms Robinson commented:

“The man who found the dinosaur posed at the dinosaur with his wife.”

Dinosaurs and fossils generally do get used in some fascinating projects, and this was for a good cause.  At least the dinosaur is unlikely to complain as this particular type of ornithopod has been extinct for something like 100 million years.

CollectA produced a replica of Muttaburrasaurus, it features in the Age of Dinosaurs Popular range.

To view this range of not-to-scale prehistoric animal models: CollectA Prehistoric Life Models and Figures.

Cave in Georgia Reveals Evidence of Prehistoric Flax Fibres

An analysis of clay layers by scientists in a cave in Georgia revealed evidence of microscopic fibres of wild flax, signs of Homo sapiens use of flax to make clothing and ropes.

Earliest Known Man-made Fibres

A team of archaeologists have published research in the scientific journal “Science” indicating that 34,000 years ago our ancestors were using wild flax to make clothing and to weave rope and string.   A team funded by the United States found the flax fibres by chance as they microscopically studied clay sediments in the cave.  The fibres are the earliest known, the humans inhabiting the cave probably turned the fibres into linen and thread.  Warm clothing would have helped our ancestors cope with the cold environment and the ability to make rope and string would have added their ability to tie packs and break camp helping them to be more mobile in their quest for food.

Typical Early Stone Tools

A collection of typical Stone Age Tools. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

The researchers claim that these ancient fibres, some of which have been twisted, indicating that they were being used to make ropes or string, would have increased the survival chances of these ancient people.

Homo sapiens

Professor of Archaeology at Harvard University, Ofer Bar-Yosef and co-leader of the research team stated:

“We know that this is wild flax that grew in the vicinity of the cave and was exploited intensively or extensively by modern humans.  This was a critical invention for early humans.  They might have used this fibre to create parts of clothing, ropes, or baskets for items that were mainly used for domestic activities”.

Some of the tiny, microscopic fibres, show evidence of being dyed, these were perhaps part of clothing that has long since rotted away.  Once the fibres had been discovered the soil samples that contained them were dated using radio carbon techniques.  This study was undertaken by the Palaeobiology department of the National Museum of Georgia.  The fibre samples pre-date the previously earliest known fibres found by 6,000 years.  Prior to this new discovery, the oldest fibres known were recovered from a site in the Czech Republic, from an analysis of the remains of clay objects found inside a cave.

Exploring the Cave System

The American backed team have been exploring the cave system at the site in Georgia for more than 10 years returning for a few weeks each year so that they can build up a comprehensive database on the lives and habits of our ancestors.  The team hope to return to the caves next year in a bid to find evidence of even older fibres in the clay sediments.

Everything Dinosaur stocks a range of early hominid models and figures including Neanderthals and replicas of early Homo sapiens.

For instance, take a look at the: Wild Safari Prehistoric World model range.