Summer 1998 Volume III Issue 3

In October 1997, Sotherby's auction house offered for sale the finest single specimen ever found of the most fearsome of all dinosaurs, Tyranosaurus rex (the pre-sale estimate had been $1,000,000 plus). The skull alone was a colossal five feet long, with serrated edge teeth that resembled steak knives. The longest loose tooth measured almost twelve inches from root to tip. Yet the real attraction was that Sotheby's specimen, nicknamed Sue, after its discoverer, was not only in a wonderful state of preservation, it was also 90 percent complete. Most skeletons on display at natural history museums are little more than 50 percent complete, if that Often, half the bones of each skeleton are painted plaster casts.

The story of Sue has more twists and turns than a crime novel. It was originally discovered by representatives of the Black Hills Institute for Geological Research, the world's leading fossil dealers, based near the Badlands Of South Dakota. Peter Larsen, owner of Black Hills, is the fossil world's Bill Gates. In other words, he dominates tile trade. One day in 1990, Larsen got word that a member of his staff, Sue Hendrickson, had come across the exposed bones of a T-rex. She had been on a collecting expedition in Faith, South Dakota, on land that belonged to Maurice Williams, a Native American and member of the Chevenne River Sioux tribe. Larsen quickly secured the rights from the landowner to excavate the 65-million-year-old dinosaur. He paid Mr. Williams the grand sum of S5,000.

It was at this point that Peter Larsen's world began to unravel. Unbeknownst to Larsen, word of the find had reached the tribal council. Apparently they were outraged at the paltry sum that Mr. Williams had accepted. Through some legal maneuvering the council determined that, although Williams owned the land, he needed their permission to sell the excavation rights. The council decided to allow the crew from Black Hills to spend two months meticulously excavating the dinosaur. The council then called in the government. One thing led to another, and the FBI, along with the National Guard, paid a visit to the Black Hills Institute and confiscated Sue.

During the ensuing trial, it came to the court's attention that Larsen had collected on government lands before (even though Williams owned the land, the U.S. government was actually the land's trustee) and had also committed a customs violation by failing to report bringing in cash over the limit allowed while buying specimens overseas. A stunned Larsen drew 18 months in jail. The off-the-record story was that, had Larsen simply surrendered Sue without making a fuss, the U.S. government would have looked the other way at his other collecting activities and business practices. However, Larsen put up such a high-profile fight to avoid losing Sue, that the government had no choice but to prosecute him and send a message to other would-be violators of the Federal Antiquities Act.

The case and all the press it received served to highlight what others in the world of science already knew: natural history specimens had become big business. Perhaps as recently as 25 years ago, collecting exotic Goliath beetles and Stegosaurus femurs (leg bones) was dominated by amateurs and scientists. It was a hobby for some and a scientific pursuit for others. Most importantly, searching for great specimens was about the love of collecting and the learning that resulted. However, as with anything else deemed collectible (baseball cards, rock concert posters, old toys, etc.), there was potential money to be made.

Previously, scientists and amateurs operated under an uneasy truce. The crux of the matter was that scientists believed that every fossil removed from the ground was an irreplaceable loss in the fossil record of evolution. The study of paleontology (fossils) is all about context. The surrounding plant and animal fossils that are often found with a dinosaur go a long way toward determining the lifestyle of the dinosaur. If an amateur comes upon a site and just removes the valuable dinosaur bones without taking note of the surrounding specimens and geology, valuable pieces in the evolutionary puzzle are lost forever.

The amateur's argument is that thousands of fossils are continually weathering out of the ground and are being destroyed by the forces of nature. Better to collect them than allow them to be destroyed. As with most disputes like this, the truth lies somewhere between the two arguments....