(CNN) – Crystal Palace Park in South London continues to house the world’s first dinosaur sculptures. They were created in the 1850s from what, at the time, were very recent scientific discoveries: fossils, unearthed in England just a few decades earlier.
Scientists struggled to make sense of the creatures, and the sculptures were the first attempt to visualize them in life size. They were represented as giant, mammal-like, large, four-legged beasts, an idea already revolutionary compared to previous ones, which imagined dinosaurs essentially as huge lizards. But it was just as wrong.
View of the Crystal Palace exhibit with Richard Owen’s fantastic dinosaur reconstructions in the foreground, by London-based printer George Baxter. Credit: Wellcome Collection
Today we know that dinosaurs looked nothing like the scaly versions of the Crystal Palace. Yet for decades, the sculptures, as well as many other later depictions, inaccurately influenced the public’s view of these extinct giants. However, renowned paleontologist Michael Benton’s new book, “Dinosaurs: New Visions of a Lost World,” offers the latest interpretation.
“This is the first book on dinosaurs in which dinosaurs really look the way they did,” says the author, who has worked with paleoartist Bob Nicholls to bring the creatures to life. “Every detail, as far as possible, is justified by evidence. We tried to pick species that were fairly well documented, so that in the text it can indicate what we know and why we know it.”
Paleoartist Bob Nicholls brought the creatures from Benton’s book to life, including on the cover shown here. Credit: Thames & Hudson
Much of the evidence comes from the latest fossil discoveries in China, which beginning in the 1990s changed the way dinosaurs were interpreted. The 1996 discovery in the country’s Liaoning Province of a feathered fossil, for example, created a direct connection between dinosaurs and birds.
“I think we can say that feathers originated much earlier than we thought, at least 100 million years earlier, so right at the origin of the dinosaurs,” Benton said.
Restoration of the Hadrosaurus foulkii skeleton based on the original from the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences, the first museum montage of a dinosaur that was also correctly upright. Credit: Smithsonian Institution Archives
The idea that dinosaurs had feathers has not appealed to everyone. The “Jurassic Park” franchise that debuted in 1993, before the feathered dinosaur fossils were discovered, has steadfastly refused to include them in its most recent films.
“They characterize it by saying they don’t want the T-Rex to look like a giant chicken. But it’s a shame,” Benton said.
More recently, Benton and his team at the University of Bristol, UK, have pioneered finding pigment structures embedded deep within fossilized feathers, to identify a dinosaur’s color patterns from the fossils. “We were the first to apply this method in 2010, so the book primarily documents studies over the last 10 years in which fossil skin, scales and feathers were looked at … to get the color.”
The result is shown through the illustrations of 15 creatures that appear in the book, not only of dinosaurs, but also of prehistoric birds, mammals and reptiles, adorned with vibrant skin patterns, abundant multi-colored feathers and some with striking iridescent heads.
Reconstruction of a Psittacosaurus, illustration that appears in the book “Dinosaurs: New Visions of a Lost World”. A fossil find of this creature contained preserved soft tissues, including skin and a series of reed-like feathers on top of the tail.
Observing these creatures shows how much our knowledge of dinosaurs has improved, and how much it can improve even further. “A few years ago, I thought we would never have known the color of a dinosaur, but now we do,” Benton said.
“You don’t have to set limits, because sooner or later, a smart young man is going to say, ‘Hey guys, we can figure this out.’
“Dinosaurs: New Visions of a Lost World” is published by Thames & Hudson.
Add to list: Dinomania
Lee: “The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs”, (2018)
For the full history of dinosaurs, look no further than this “dinosaur biography” from one of the world’s leading paleontologists, Steve Brusatte. The book tells the 200 million year history of dinosaurs, from the Triassic through the Jurassic and up to the Cretaceous, when their dominance ended by a mass extinction caused by a comet or asteroid. Narrated as an epic saga illustrating the modern workings of paleontology, it is based on very recent research.
See: “Walking with Dinosaurs”, (2000)
This classic documentary series, produced by the venerable BBC Natural History Unit and broadcast by Discovery in the United States, had the honor of being the most expensive documentary ever made when it was released in 1999. It won three Emmys, spawned two sequels. and he portrayed dinosaurs in their natural habitat, in true documentary style, using a mix of computer graphics and animatronics. It was an avant-garde film for its time and continues to have great educational and entertainment value, although some of the science is now out of date.
See: “Dinosaur 13”, (2014)
This mix of paleontology and political drama is woven throughout the history of Sue, the largest and most complete skeleton of T. rex ever found. After being unearthed in South Dakota in 1990, the fossil became the center of a years-long legal battle over its ownership, illustrating the disagreements that can arise between paleontologists, fossil collectors and land-owning governments in the United States. that are found. Spoiler alert: Sue is now on display at Chicago’s Field Museum of Natural History.
Listen: “I know Dino”, (2016-)
The go-to podcast for dinosaur lovers, “I Know Dino” is directed by Garret Kruger and Sabrina Ricci, a marriage of dinosaur enthusiasts. Each hour-long episode focuses on one species, which is analyzed and explored in detail with the help of guests. The podcast, which started in 2016, is already close to 400 episodes.
See: “Jurassic Park”, (1993)
This Steven Spielberg classic continues to be the landmark of popular culture about dinosaurs. It was the first film to portray them as intelligent, dynamic, and fast-moving creatures. (Who could forget the famous scene of the T. rex fighting velociraptors?) Although shot nearly 30 years ago, the film’s CGI still stands up to scrutiny. The scientific precision has waned over the years, but it is still an entertaining movie to watch, with performances by Laura Dern, Sam Neill and Jeff Goldblum, which are a landmark.
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The body of Ugandan Olympic athlete Rebecca Cheptegei — who died after being set on fire by her partner in Kenya — was received Friday by family and anti-femicide crusaders, ahead of her burial a day later.
Cheptegei’s family met with dozens of activists Friday who had marched to the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital’s morgue in the western city of Eldoret while chanting anti-femicide slogans.
She is the fourth female athlete to have been killed by her partner in Kenya in yet another case of gender-based violence in recent years.
Viola Cheptoo, the founder of Tirop Angels – an organization that was formed in honor of athlete Agnes Tirop, who was stabbed to death in 2021, said stakeholders need to ensure this is the last death of an athlete due to gender-based violence.
“We are here to say that enough is enough, we are tired of burying our sisters due to GBV,” she said.
It was a somber mood at the morgue as athletes and family members viewed Cheptegei’s body which sustained 80% of burns after she was doused with gasoline by her partner Dickson Ndiema. Ndiema sustained 30% burns on his body and later succumbed.
Ndiema and Cheptegei were said to have quarreled over a piece of land that the athlete bought in Kenya, according to a report filed by the local chief.
Cheptegei competed in the women’s marathon at the Paris Olympics less than a month before the attack. She finished in 44th place.
Cheptegei’s father, Joseph, said that the body will make a brief stop at their home in the Endebess area before proceeding to Bukwo in eastern Uganda for a night vigil and burial on Saturday.
“We are in the final part of giving my daughter the last respect,” a visibly distraught Joseph said.
He told reporters last week that Ndiema was stalking and threatening Cheptegei and the family had informed police.
Four in 10 women or an estimated 41% of dating or married Kenyan women have experienced physical or sexual violence perpetrated by their current or most recent partner, according to the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey 2022.
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — A rare Bronze-Era jar accidentally smashed by a 4-year-old visiting a museum was back on display Wednesday after restoration experts were able to carefully piece the artifact back together.
Last month, a family from northern Israel was visiting the museum when their youngest son tipped over the jar, which smashed into pieces.
Alex Geller, the boy’s father, said his son — the youngest of three — is exceptionally curious, and that the moment he heard the crash, “please let that not be my child” was the first thought that raced through his head.
The jar has been on display at the Hecht Museum in Haifa for 35 years. It was one of the only containers of its size and from that period still complete when it was discovered.
The Bronze Age jar is one of many artifacts exhibited out in the open, part of the Hecht Museum’s vision of letting visitors explore history without glass barriers, said Inbal Rivlin, the director of the museum, which is associated with Haifa University in northern Israel.
It was likely used to hold wine or oil, and dates back to between 2200 and 1500 B.C.
Rivlin and the museum decided to turn the moment, which captured international attention, into a teaching moment, inviting the Geller family back for a special visit and hands-on activity to illustrate the restoration process.
Rivlin added that the incident provided a welcome distraction from the ongoing war in Gaza. “Well, he’s just a kid. So I think that somehow it touches the heart of the people in Israel and around the world,“ said Rivlin.
Roee Shafir, a restoration expert at the museum, said the repairs would be fairly simple, as the pieces were from a single, complete jar. Archaeologists often face the more daunting task of sifting through piles of shards from multiple objects and trying to piece them together.
Experts used 3D technology, hi-resolution videos, and special glue to painstakingly reconstruct the large jar.
Less than two weeks after it broke, the jar went back on display at the museum. The gluing process left small hairline cracks, and a few pieces are missing, but the jar’s impressive size remains.
The only noticeable difference in the exhibit was a new sign reading “please don’t touch.”
VICTORIA – The British Columbia government is partnering with a bear welfare group to reduce the number of bears being euthanized in the province.
Nicholas Scapillati, executive director of Grizzly Bear Foundation, said Monday that it comes after months-long discussions with the province on how to protect bears, with the goal to give the animals a “better and second chance at life in the wild.”
Scapillati said what’s exciting about the project is that the government is open to working with outside experts and the public.
“So, they’ll be working through Indigenous knowledge and scientific understanding, bringing in the latest techniques and training expertise from leading experts,” he said in an interview.
B.C. government data show conservation officers destroyed 603 black bears and 23 grizzly bears in 2023, while 154 black bears were killed by officers in the first six months of this year.
Scapillati said the group will publish a report with recommendations by next spring, while an independent oversight committee will be set up to review all bear encounters with conservation officers to provide advice to the government.
Environment Minister George Heyman said in a statement that they are looking for new ways to ensure conservation officers “have the trust of the communities they serve,” and the panel will make recommendations to enhance officer training and improve policies.
Lesley Fox, with the wildlife protection group The Fur-Bearers, said they’ve been calling for such a committee for decades.
“This move demonstrates the government is listening,” said Fox. “I suspect, because of the impending election, their listening skills are potentially a little sharper than they normally are.”
Fox said the partnership came from “a place of long frustration” as provincial conservation officers kill more than 500 black bears every year on average, and the public is “no longer tolerating this kind of approach.”
“I think that the conservation officer service and the B.C. government are aware they need to change, and certainly the public has been asking for it,” said Fox.
Fox said there’s a lot of optimism about the new partnership, but, as with any government, there will likely be a lot of red tape to get through.
“I think speed is going to be important, whether or not the committee has the ability to make change and make change relatively quickly without having to study an issue to death, ” said Fox.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 9, 2024.
