Grace Marr (left) and Celina Suarez (right) trying to match up the specimens of Coelurus fragilis to the original publication from 1884.
By CD Eskilson / Photos by Scarlett Pinkey
The legacy of dinosaurs is often colored by their mass extinction, but it’s important to note they populated Earth for 164 million years.
“They’re probably one of the most successful organisms ever to live on Earth,” says Celina Suarez, associate professor in the Department of Geosciences at the U of A. “Dinosaurs and their avian descendants (birds) have occupied all different eco-spaces, from the air to the land, the sea. They swim, they walk, they run, they fly.”
Throughout her Signature Seminar course The Science, Politics and Culture of Dinosaurs, Suarez examined how we know so much about dinosaurs today, as well as the enduring scientific and cultural influences they have left on society. The seminar delved into both the scientific aspects of dinosaurs as well as topics related to dinosaur research, such as land-use policy, paleo-art, science communication and the business of fossil sales.
A few students in the course also had the unique opportunity to take a class trip to New Haven, Connecticut, to conduct research at Yale University’s Peabody Museum of Natural History. In visiting one of the oldest and largest collections of natural history specimens in the world, the group got to examine rare paleontology materials up close and in person to enrich their understandings of the field.
Bryles Tucker — an honors biology major from Bella Vista, Arkansas — searched the Yale collections for specimens and woodcuts of Jurassic mammals he had previously found images of through the Smithsonian Museum’s collection.
“I have an interest and background in anatomy, so professor Suarez put me in contact with Matthew Carrano, [research geologist and curator of Dinosauria] at the Smithsonian. [Dr. Carrano] mentioned he needed help finding woodcuts of these specimens [from the Peabody]. Overall, the trip was successful even with [our] limited time.”
Grace Marr — an honors history and psychology major from Tulsa, Oklahoma — studied the ways that paleoart has changed over time as researchers continue to learn more about dinosaur anatomy and behavior. She examined original works by early paleoartists, including Charles Knight and Arthur Lakes, as well as modern artists like Brian Engh and Karen Carr.
“The most amazing thing about going to the Peabody was being able to see and touch the real fossils that I have been learning about in class. It is amazing how much information we can get from analyzing the bones. This is still very limited though and scientists often reference modern animals with similar structures.”
Emma Ming — an honors anthropology and history major from Hernando, Mississippi — examined Yale’s woodcuts of dinosaur specimens corresponding to illustrations located at the Smithsonian Museum. She matched woodcuts to sketches, both the rough sketches and the published prints in paleontologist Othniel Charles Marsh’s papers.
“As a whole group, everyone has taken different facets of the same project to create the most well-rounded view we can, with the four of us taking different focuses to more broadly understand the connection between Marsh’s work and the artists who published for him.”
The Field Trip Continues…
Gearhart is going Mesozoic this fall! Students from Leverett Elementary will step back in time with Suarez and the Honors College as they learn about dinosaurs through an interactive lesson with honors students, an introduction to research and a visit to the new GeoLab. Through the power of dinosaurs, we hope our youngest scholars view themselves as researchers and future honors students.
The print (electronic scan) of the restoration of Brontosaurus excelsus and the woodcut from which it was made. From: Principal Characters of American Jurassic Dinosaurs, Part IV: Restoration of Brontosaurus, by O.C. Marsh 1878.
Bryles Tucker documenting the specimen number and fossil name of a woodcut.
Drawings on cloth of several Mesozoic birds and modern birds for comparison with emphasis on the brain case. Artist unknown.
Woodcuts, carved drawings used to make prints of scientific illustrations, of Jurassic-aged mammals from the Morrison Formation.