tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9107291904794625632.post4921106887360219291..comments2023-10-29T06:50:22.166-04:00Comments on Love in the Time of Chasmosaurs: The Tarbosaurus Saga ContinuesUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9107291904794625632.post-55750000043056838982012-08-09T14:03:23.539-04:002012-08-09T14:03:23.539-04:00Of course this whole thing has larger repercussion...Of course this whole thing has larger repercussions, and the issue of fossil repatriation from times when fossil hunting was a more swashbuckling affair (Roy Chapman Andrews) fascinates me. Many of the old-guard museums are filled with fossils obtained in other parts of the world during murkier political climates. I wonder, how do present-day political boundaries affect claims of ownership/stewardship of fossils/minerals collected in times before those boundaries or states even existed?Paul Heastonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13361025829815286466noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9107291904794625632.post-23181115991433747642012-08-09T01:12:14.387-04:002012-08-09T01:12:14.387-04:00Haha, love the comparison with Walter White, altho...Haha, love the comparison with Walter White, altho' I'm pulling for White in "Breaking Bad" but not Prokopi in smuggling bones.<br /><br />Prokopi's statements above ('can't be certain of the specimen's origin' and 'just supporting his family') are not even specious - they are disingenuous. He's been caught out engaging in deceptive behaviour (even if his actual importation was not illegal according to US law) and should have been aware of the potential consequences of his actions, and now he's crying foul.<br /><br />If he succeeds in having the specimen returned to him, or is partially compensated for his loss, it will just send a message to the other black-market dealers that it's ok to keep on trading in illegally obtained specimens.<br /><br />@palaeosam - nice simile. I was going to go with comparing it to illegally exporting protected wildlife but that will do.Mark Robinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05197384873600545231noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9107291904794625632.post-58010806625936233072012-08-08T12:31:53.086-04:002012-08-08T12:31:53.086-04:00Surely a tiny detail like where something came fro...Surely a tiny detail like where something came from is worth its weight in gold to the buyer - especially if that information meant that the buyer was the proud owner of the world's _first_ non-Mongolian Tarbosaurus! The argument that the provenance can only be pinned down by the diggers is a bit like saying "never mind what the art historian's say. Even though the observed brush strokes of the painting I'm auctioning are exactly the same as those of the Mona Lisa, 15th/16th century pigments can be found anywhere. Only the guy who acquired the painting for me can possibly tell whether it is the Mona Lisa".Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com