DOCUMENTING FOSSILS FOR THE SMITHSONIAN NMNH PALEOBIOLOGY COLLECTION (Invited Presentation)

Invited Speaker

A foundational component to preserve fossil collections is a thorough written record on the chain of custody from the field to an institution’s collections. Museum registrars and collections managers rely on paleontologists and researchers to share their accumulated knowledge to link to new acquisitions of fossils. The fossil material type, collection locality and date, funding source, land managers or owners, field crew and more, are extremely meaningful details that show context and history about the fossil by the time it reaches a museum. These elements are all vital to include on the fossil’s permanent museum record for future reference, research and re-evaluation.

The Department of Paleobiology at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) developed a standard workflow to focus on the documentation and review process for acquisitions. It requires written permissions and terms about the fossils’ use and restrictions. It checks levels of compliance with international and domestic regulations, as well as internal museum policies. The practical application of the process continually expands based on the evolving social and legal understandings for fossils around the world.

Potential fossil acquisitions may exhibit a range of issues that require case by case assessment and supplemental investigative work. This presentation examines how to apply the NMNH Paleo workflow to three common scenarios: (1) field collections from federal, state or private lands, (2) donation of private purchases, and (3) fossils and digital assets.

These scenarios demonstrate the collaborative nature of the documentation process. The willingness to ask or be asked questions throughout the process leads to enhancement of the ethical and legal side of collections management stewardship. Each one stresses the importance for the paleobiology community to use both internal and external resources. Documentation and open communication encourages museum staff and paleontologists to coproduce, enhance, and utilize community resources that can tackle common issues for registering museum collections.