Oldest Matter Ever Collected

Specimen Type: Meteorite
Estimated Age: 4,568,200,000 years old

We might call this item the stuff that the universe is made of. After all, Carbonaceous Chondrites are the oldest matter humans have collected so far!

Carbonaceous Chondrites comprise a class of meteorites containing the earliest, most primitive matter ever found.  Carbonaceous chondrites are rare and primitive. Less than 5% of all meteorites recovered are carbonaceous chondrites, which is not too surprising when you consider that they formed billions of years ago before our sun was even a twinkle in its nebular cloud.

There are many types of carbonaceous chondrites. The specimen in the mini museum is a mixed sample of several carbonacious chondrites, including the Murchinson and Tagish Lake meteorites, NWA 2364, and the famous Allende meteorite.  This particular specimen is a mixed sampling of several meteorites, containing pre-solar nebular grains, amino acids, and other extraterrestrial matter not otherwise found on earth. The Allende meteorite is rich in calcium-aluminum inclusions, also known as CAIs. CAIs are artifacts from the nebula phase of our solar system. They formed in a swirling and violent environment and provide clues to understanding the formation of the Sun.

SOURCES: The specimens in the mini museum were obtained from professional meteorite hunters and dealers, including Adam Hupé, Robert Haag, Gary Fujihara, and John and Dawn Birdsell.
Raab, H. Raab. Allende Image. Wikimedia Commons.
Bouvier, Audrey, and Meenakshi Wadhwa. “The age of the Solar System rede ned by the oldest Pb–Pb age of a meteoritic inclusion.” Nature Geoscience 3.9 (2010): 637-641.

Lunar Rock
(Meteorite from the Moon)

Specimen Type: Meteorite
Estimated Age: 4,450,000 years old

When asteroids or meteoroids impact the moon, bits of material are ejected into space. They often spend millions of years orbiting in space until finally landing on earth, when they become known as lunar meteorites. Currently, the Meteoritical Society only recognizes 69 meteorites as officially “lunar” or containing rocks from the moon.

Our lunar meteorites were supplied by Moritz Karl, and Adam Hupe.  The specimens come from a pair meteorites retrieved by professional meteorite hunters: Dar Al Gani 400 from Moritz Karl and NWA 5000 from Adam Hupé. Both meteorites were found in Africa.

SOURCES: The specimens in the mini museum come from a pair meteorites retrieved by professional meteorite hunters: Dar Al Gani 400 from Moritz Karl and NWA 5000 from Adam Hupé. Both meteorites were found in Africa.
Canup, Robin M., and Erik Asphaug. “Origin of the Moon in a giant impact near the end of the Earth’s formation.” Nature 412.6848 (2001): 708-712. Pahlevan, Kaveh, and David J. Stevenson. “Equilibration in the aftermath of the lunar-forming giant impact.” Earth and Planetary Science Letters 262.3 (2007): 438-449. Herwartz, Daniel, et al. “Identifcation of the giant impactor Theia in lunar rocks.” Science 344.6188 (2014): 1146-1150.

Martian Rock
(Meteorite from Mars)

Specimen Type: Meteorite
Estimated Age: 4,000,000,000 years old

Martian rocks arrive on earth as a result of ancient asteroid and comet strikes on our red solar neighbor. The impact of something several kilometers in diameter is so powerful that it drives all manner of material into the atmosphere and even into space. So far, roughly 240 lb or 108 kg of Martian rocks have been found here on earth.

The specimen here comes from shergottite NWA 7397, which was recovered in Morocco. It was purchased from Gary Fujihara, O cer of Public Outreach for the University of Hawaii Institute for Astronomy.

SOURCES: The specimen in the mini museum comes from shergottite NWA 7397, which was recovered in Morocco. It was purchased from Gary Fujihara, O cer of Public Outreach for the University of Hawaii Institute for Astronomy.
Maha y, Paul R., et al. “Abundance and isotopic composition of gases in the martian atmosphere from the Curiosity rover.” Science 341.6143 (2013): 263-266. Werner, Stephanie C., Anouck Ody, and François Poulet. “The Source Crater of Martian Shergottite Meteorites.” Science 343.6177 (2014): 1343-1346.

Chelyabinsk Meteorite

Specimen Type: Meteorite
Estimated Age: TBD

On February 15th, 2013, an asteroid traveling approximately sixty times the speed of sound punched into Earth’s atmosphere. The asteroid decelerated quickly due to friction and became a superbolide meteor. The asteroid exploded several times at a height of about 19 miles, creating a massive strewn eld in Chelyabinsk, Russia.

The shock waves from the explosion damaged over 7000 regional buildings and sent over 1000 people to the hospital mostly suffering with lacerations from flying glass. The event was so powerful it created a dust belt in the stratosphere that circled the entire planet and lingered for months.

This event occurred at 9:20 a.m. local time and was captured by dozens of dashboard cameras. Videos quickly appeared on the Internet where millions around the world viewed the event soon after it occurred.

Many satellites also recorded the event, and a signi cant body of research is developing based on this data. One piece of evidence is not well known. It turns out that just hours after Chely- abinsk, a much larger body passed within 27,000 kilometers of Earth. Scientists estimate a colli- sion with this second object might have equaled the destructive force of the 1908 Tunguska event.

The Chelyabinsk meteorite entered our atmosphere at approximately 60 times the speed of sound. It created an enormous fireball that lit up the morning sky before exploding with the force of 30 Hiroshima bombs (1.8 peta joules, or 500 kilotons of TNT). The event was so powerful it created a dust belt in the stratosphere that circled the entire planet and lingered for months.

Our authentic Chelyabinsk meteorite fragment was gathered within 24 hours after it fell from the sky. They were not gathered by scientists or meteorite experts. They were gathered by local Chelyabinsk residents who were at home when the event took place and simply went out to their snow-covered yard and started collecting by looking for holes in the snow.

SOURCES: The Chelyabinsk meteorite fragments in the mini museum were acquired from professional meteorite dealers. Like many specimens, they were gathered by local Chelyabinsk residents who were at home when the event took place and simply went out to their snow-covered yards and started looking for holes in the snow.
Miller, Steven D., et al. “Earth-viewing satellite perspectives on the Chelyabinsk meteor event.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 110.45 (2013): 18092-18097.
Ozawa, Shin, et al. “Jadeite in Chelyabinsk meteorite and the nature of an impact event on its parent body.” Scientifc reports 4 (2014).

Alleged Cow Killer

Specimen Type: Meteorite
Estimated Age: TBD

On October 15th, 1972 in Trujillo, Venezuela, a meteor entered our atmosphere and killed a cow. Yes, it struck a cow and nearly cut it in half!

The owner of the farm, a physician by the name of Argimiro Gonzalez, wasn’t particularly concerned or surprised. He rationalized that this sort of thing must happen from time to time and he ended up using the meteor fragment as a doorstop.

Many years later an astronomer, Dr. Ignacio Ferrin, heard about the story and approached the heirs of Dr. Gonzalez. After verifying the story with several witnesses, Dr. Ferrin purchased the Valera meteorite which has the distinction of being one of the only documented fatal meteorite impacts.

SOURCES: The Valera specimen in the mini museum was pur- chased from Bonham’s British Auction House in 2007.
Hutchison, Robert. Meteorites: A petrologic, chemical and isotopic synthesis. No. 2. Cambridge University Press, 2004.
McCall, Gerald Joseph Home, Alan John Bowden, and Richard John Howarth, eds. The History of Meteoritics and Key Meteorite Collections: Fireballs, Falls and Finds. Geological Society of London, 2006.

Earliest Life

Specimen Type: Fossil
Estimated Age: 3,430,000,000 year old

Stromatolites (sometimes called stromatoliths) are the result of a natural process that laminates sediments and mats of microorganisms into a layered structure. They are one of the most well-studied microbial phenomena.

The fossilized specimen in the mini museum comes from the Pilbara Strelley Pool stromat- olites in Australia. Current research indicates that this source contains the earliest cellular life discovered so far. As the nal remains of something that lived over three billion years ago, this little fossil is hugely inspirational.

It’s always interesting to consider how we got here. Imagine your ancestry as a single line of beings. First, you’d see your parents, and then behind them would be their parents, and so forth. Now imagine walking along that line and stopping at each person. When you’d walked 20 generations, that person probably wouldn’t look much like you. When you walked back 100,000 generations, that being is going to look very di erent in many ways.

And you keep walking further and further back? Eventually when you’ve walked back 4 billion years, you’re going to have to pull out your mi- croscope to greet a cell, perhaps one very much like the fossilized specimen in the mini museum.

SOURCES: Pelbara Strelley Pool Stromatolite acquired from Crystal World in Mebourne, Australia in accordance with the Australian Heritage Commission Act and the Australian Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act. (This important legislation is used by Australia to manage access to important cultural and environmental relics such as the Pilbara Strelley Pool stromatolites.) Kalkowsky, Ernst. “Oolith und Stromatolith im norddeutschen Buntsandstein.” Zeitschrift der deutschen geologischen Gesellschaft (1908): 68-125. Sugitani, Kenichiro, et al. “Microfossil assemblage from the 3400Ma Strelley Pool Formation in the Pilbara Craton, Western Australia: Results form a new locality.” Precambrian Research 226 (2013): 59-74.

Palm Tree from Antarctica

Specimen Type: Fossil
Estimated Age: 55,000,000

During the early Eocene period (55 million years ago), Antarctica was home to a very different world. Instead of ice, Antarctica had a sub-tropical climate, inland forests thick with beech trees and conifers, and coastal areas lined with palm trees!  Carbon dioxide levels were roughly two and a half times higher than they are today, and, instead of ice, thick forests of beech trees and conifers dominated the interior of the continent while coastal areas were lined with palm trees.

SOURCES: The mini museum includes a sample gathered from the coal-bearing band in Mac. Robertson Land by one of the last Soviet research expeditions in 1986. While heading back to the mainland on a boat, the research team threw overboard several redundant and unnecessary specimens. These specimens were salvaged from that purge. Becquey, Sabine, and Rainer Gersonde. “A 0.55–Ma paleotemperature record from the Subantarctic zone: Implications for Antarctic Circumpolar Current development.” Paleoceanography 18.1 (2003). Holbourn, Ann, et al. “Impacts of orbital forcing and atmospheric carbon dioxide on Miocene ice-sheet expansion.” Nature 438.7067 (2005): 483-487.

Dinosaur Egg Shell

Specimen Type: Fossil
Estimated Age: TBD

The eggs in the mini museum were recovered in Patagonia and are believed to come from a Saltasaurus.  The original egg size was just 11–12 CM (4–5 IN) in diameter.  The Saltasaurus was a sauropod from the Late Cretaceous Period, roughly 39 ft. or 12 m in length and weighing 8 tons. Saltasaurus was one of the rest sauropods to sport body armor, and yet, like every dinosaur, the Saltasaurus began its life inside an egg.

SOURCES: Acquired from Trevor George of British Jurassic Fossils. Chiappe, Luis M., and Lowell Dingus.

Sauropod Vertebrae

Specimen Type: Fossil
Estimated Age: TBD

Of all dinosaurs, the sauropods were the largest. In fact, they are generally considered the
largest creatures to have ever walked the earth. Sauropods were herbivores with long necks, small heads, and massive bodies. Most had very long tails to balance their enormous bodies, and some even had body armor for added protection.

SOURCES: The sauropod vertebrae specimen in the mini museum comes from an incomplete set of bones discovered in the Dana Quarry in the village of Ten Sleep at the western edge of the Bighorn Mountains in Wyoming. It was found together with a Diplodocus, Apatosaurus, and a yet to be identified sauropod which paleontologists are hoping might be accepted as Amphicoelias Brontodiplodocus. Gould, Stephen Jay. Bully for brontosaurus: reflections in natural history. WW Norton & Company, 2010. Switek, Brian. My Beloved Brontosaurus: On the Road with Old Bones, New Science, and Our Favorite Dinosaurs. Scientifc American/Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2013.

Triceratops Brow Horn

Specimen Type: Fossil
Estimated Age: 100–66,000,000 years old

Triceratops belongs to a large family of dinosaurs known as the Ceratopsids. Ceratopsids lived during the Late Cretaceous period between sixty-six and seventy-nine million years ago, or just before the Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-Pg) mass extinction event that wiped out the dinosaurs.

All Ceratopsids are quadrupeds with bony frills, horns, and beak-like mouths. In particular, the head of Triceratops was nearly one-third the length of its entire body. A structure that large leads scientists to wonder about its evolutionary purpose.

As you might expect, there is evidence that the frill and horns were used as defensive weapons against predators such as Tyrannosaurus Rex, including partially-healed frills and brow horns with Tyrannosauroid tooth marks.

Recent studies noting the presence of blood vessels in the frill suggest that these features could be used in identification, courtship, and dominance displays, much like the antlers and horns of modern reindeer, mountain goats, or rhinoceros beetles. The blood vessels also point to the possibility that the frill served to help regular body temperature.

SOURCES: The specimen in the mini museum comes from Lance Creek, Wyoming. It was acquired by Hans directly from the person who dug it from the earth. The specimen was found together with parts of the skull including the short horn (snout horn), at least 30% of the frill, a few teeth, rib bones, and assorted other bones. Hatcher, John Bell, Henry Fair eld Osborn, and Othniel Charles Marsh. The Ceratopsia. Vol. 49. US Government Printing Office, 1907.
Scannella, John B., and John R. Horner. “Torosaurus Marsh, 1891, is Triceratops Marsh, 1889 (Ceratopsidae: Chasmosaurinae): synonymy through ontogeny.” Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 30.4 (2010): 1157-1168. Brusatte, Stephen L. Dinosaur Paleobiology. Vol. 2. John Wiley & Sons, 2012.

Tyrannosaurus Rex Tooth

Specimen Type: Fossil
Estimated Age: 67–66,000,000 years old

Though Tyrannosaurus Rex is no longer thought of as the biggest predator that ever lived, this theropod remains the largest of the tyrannosaurid family and one of the most popular dinosaurs of all time.

Tyrannosaurids lived during the Late Creataceous period between sixty-six and eighty million years ago. It is believed that Tyrannosaurus Rex grew slowly until its early teens and then rapidly gained mass over the second half of its life. Tyrannosaurus Rex only lived a short while after reaching maturity, perhaps living to a maximum age of thirty-five.

Due to its large size, some scientists believe that a full grown T. rex could not possibly run faster than 11 miles per hour (5 meters per second). Others estimate that T. rex could run as fast as 45 mph (20 m/s). The variation in speed estimates also leads to speculation about feeding habits. Though scientists are still unsure of T. rex’s social dynamics, there is conclusive evidence that T. rex fought among each other, biting one another’s faces, sometimes with deadly results.

Various scientific studies of the T. rex’s bite force place the “Tyrant Lizard” firmly at the top of
the terrestrial charts, with anywhere between 35,000-75,000 newtons of force. This is about 15 times greater than the bite force of an African lion. The T. rex also had some of the largest teeth of any carnivorous dinosaur, with the largest yet found coming in at 30 cm long (1 ft.).

SOURCES: Several Tyrannosaurus Rex teeth were used in the mini museum, including teeth collected on private ranch land by paleontologist Jared Hudson. Erickson, Gregory M., et al. “Bite-force estimation for Tyrannosaurus rex from tooth-marked bones.” Nature 382.6593 (1996): 706-708.
Fiffer, Steve. Tyrannosaurus Sue: The Extraordinary Saga of Largest, Most Fought Over T. Rex Ever Found. Macmillan, 2001. DePalma, Robert A., et al. “Physical evidence of predatory behavior in Tyrannosaurus rex.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 110.31 (2013): 12560-12564.

Duckbilled Dinosaur Bone

Specimen Type: Fossil
Estimated Age: TBD

The hadrosaur is one of the most easily recognizable species of dinosaur due to its iconic duck-billed head, but without any protective plates or other obvious defenses, hadrosaurs had to get big quickly or be eaten.

Recent research on Hypacrosaurus, a member of the hadrosaur family which was about the size of T. rex, indicates that the species reached maturity in less than ten years. Compare this with T. rex, which took three times that long to grow to full size.

SOURCES: The hadrosaur in the mini museum was acquired from paleontologist Jared Hudson at the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show. The Tucson show is the largest gathering of its kind in the United States. Cooper, Lisa Noelle, et al. “Relative growth rates of predator and prey dinosaurs re ect e ects of predation.” Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 275.1651 (2008): 2609-2615.
Fassett, James E., Larry M. Heaman, and Antonio Simonetti. “Direct U-Pb dating of Cretaceous and Paleocene dinosaur bones, San Juan Basin, New Mexico.” Geology 39.2 (2011): 159-162.

Pterosaur Wing Bone

Specimen Type: Fossil
Estimated Age: 228–66,000,000 years old

When we think about flying dinosaurs, we often call them “pterodactyls.” However, pterodactyls are really a sub family of pterosaurs, which are not even dinosaurs at all but reptiles!

Spanning 160 million years of evolution, pterosaurs were quite diverse. Some were as small as a bat or a bird, and others, such as Quetzalcoatlus, were the size of a giraffe with a wingspan of 10 meters.

Given their size, scientists assume that pterosaurs must have had very firm, if somewhat delicate, skeletons. Recent studies suggest that the wings in larger species contained air sacs that functioned as part of the animal’s respiratory system.

Many scientists and engineers have tried to recreate their flight dynamics. No one knows for sure, but one study by aerospace engineer Colin Palmer turned up some interesting ideas about the shape of the pterosaurs’ wings. Palmer’s wind tunnel tests suggest that pterosaurs could glide for hours using minimal e ort. The tests also suggest that pterosaurs landed using a slow glide to protect their complex wings.

Pterosaurs are believed to have been quadrupedal, meaning that they walked on four legs. Some studies suggest that they launched themselves into the air by running and jumping. Others suggest that the launched themselves forward using their forelimbs.

SOURCES: The mini museum specimen comes from a pterosaur wing bone. As some pterosaur bones are as thin as a millimeter, several specimens from di erent species were used. All of the pterosaur specimens were purchased from paleontologists working in the eld. Unwin, David. Pterosaurs: from deep time. Dutton Adult, 2006.
Palmer, Colin. “Flight in slow motion: aerodynamics of the pterosaur wing.” Proceedings of the Royal So- ciety B: Biological Sciences 278.1713 (2011): 1881-1885. Veldmeijer, Andre J., Ilja Nieuwland, and Mark Witton. Pterosaurs: Flying Contemporaries of the Dinosaurs. Sidestone Press, 2012.

Dinosaur Dung

Specimen Type: Fossil
Estimated Age: TBD

Fossilized feces are called coprolites. Coprolites can come from reptiles, dinosaurs, and even ancient mammals.

Depending on their origin, coprolites may contain a variety of minerals such as phosphorus and calcium. Scientists use this information to help identify the species responsible for the droppings and to learn more about their diet.

Yet, while modern interest in coprolites is mainly focused on their value to science, coprolites were once worth their weight in gold.

In 1842, English agricultural entrepreneur John Lawes successfully used vitriol, also known as sulphuric acid, to reduce coprolites to calcium phosphate from which Lawes created a super- phosphate that could be applied directly to fields. The results were impressive, and when this process became widely known, it created a massive demand for phosphates around the world.

For several decades, Cambridgeshire county, which is adjacent to Hertfordshire, became
a hotbed of coprolite mining in Britain. This area was a particularly rich source of coprolites from a variety of mega fauna. Near the end of the 19th century, the coprolite mining industry came to an abrupt halt as new sources of rock phosphate around the world led to greater price competition.

SOURCES: The coprolite in the mini museum comes from a specimen retrieved in Utah. It
comes from an unspecified dinosaur. Grove, Richard. The Cambridgeshire coprolite mining rush. Vol. 1. Oleander Press, 1976. Reinhard, Karl J., and Vaughn M. Bryant Jr. “Coprolite analysis: A biological perspective on archaeology.” Papers in Natural Resources. (1992).
Chin, Karen, et al. “A king-sized theropod coprolite.” Nature 393.6686 (1998): 680-682.
Chin, Karen, et al. “Remarkable preservation of undigested muscle tissue within a Late Cretaceous tyrannosaurid coprolite from Alberta, Canada.” Palaios 18.3 (2003): 286-294.

K-Pg Boundary
(mass extinction event)

Specimen Type: Extinction event
Estimated Age: 65,500,000 years old

There is a very special layer of sediment separating our Cenozic Era from its predecessor, the Mesozoic. This layer is called the K-Pg Boundary Layer because it separates the Cretaceous Period (part of the Mesozoic Era) from the Paleogene Period (part of our Cenozoic Era). This layer also marks a mass extinction event in the fossil record known as the Cretaceous-Paleogene Extinction Event or the end of the age of the dinosaurs.

The K-Pg Boundary Layer contains a high concentration of the element iridium which is rare on earth but is often found in abundance in meteorites. For this reason, most scientists believe that a massive asteroid strike might have been involved. New evidence also suggests several strikes may have occurred during a single event, similar to the impact of comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 which broke apart and collided with Jupiter in 1994.

SOURCES: The specimen in the mini museum is a mixture of K-Pg Boundary Layer samples taken from France, Spain, Canada, and the United States. Acquired directly from geological professionals, the mixture illustrates the scale of this particular event and serves as a reminder that we are all connected across space and time. Bakker, Robert T. The dinosaur heresies: new theories unlocking the mystery of the dinosaurs and their extinction. New York: Morrow, 1986. Schulte, Peter, et al. “The Chicxulub asteroid impact and mass extinction at the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary.” Science 327.5970 (2010): 1214-1218.

Insect in Amber

Specimen Type: Fossil
Estimated Age: 40-60,000,000 years old

Resin is a sticky substance produced by plants, primarily from conifers. Its primary purpose is to protect the plant from invasive pests, such as insects. Resin accomplishes this by being both sticky and smelly (some might say fragrant).

The tackiness of resin comes from carboxylic acids which make up the bulk of its mass. Hydrocarbon compounds known as terpenes provide the fragrance. Over time, humans have learned to refine these compounds to create a wide array of products industrial solvents to adhesives and protective coatings. We’ve even used terpenes to flavor our food. For example, beer gets its bitter flavor from a terpene that comes from the hops plant, which happens to be a conifer.

When compressed and heated beneath layers of sediment for millions of years, resin undergoes a process of molecular polymerization. The result is a low-density, amorphous solid known as amber.

When recovered, amber is often dull, reddish brown, or even gray. After polishing, amber practically glows. This glow has been prized by humans for millennia. Scientists often find objects trapped in fossilized amber. These objects are called inclusions, and they range from dust and pollen to insects and even fossilized lizards!

The largest amber deposits in the world are located around the Baltic Sea. Amber from this region, referred to as Baltic amber, is considered the highest amber quality in the world. Baltic amber deposits date from the Eocene period, some 40-60 million years ago. Scientists consider Baltic amber the greatest repository of fossilized insects from any age.

SOURCES: The Baltic Amber in the mini museum comes from Marius Vesta of Lithuania.
Bohme, W., M. Borsuk-Bialynicka, and M. Lubka. “A lizard from Baltic amber (Eocene) and the ancestry of the crown group lacertids.” Acta
Palaeontologica Polonica 44 (1999): 349-382.
Wolfe, Alexander P., et al. “A new proposal concerning the botanical origin of Baltic amber.” Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 276.1672 (2009): 3403-3412.

Mammoth Hair

Specimen Type: Hair
Estimated Age: 10-12,000 years old

The Woolly Mammoth is just one species of the genus Mammoth or Mammuthus, but it is easily the best known of its kind. Mammoths are assumed to have completely disappeared around 10,000 years ago, perhaps as a result of human predation. Today, we tend to find Wooly Mammoths beneath the ice in the extreme north. In fact, they’re rather abundant and so well-preserved that liquid blood and DNA have been recovered from specimens that perished 39,000 years ago.

SOURCES: The specimen in the mini museum comes from several woolly mammoth sources.
Tikhonov, Alexei, Larry Agenbroad, and Sergey Vartanyan. “Comparative analysis of the mammoth popu- lations on Wrangel Island and the Channel Islands.” Advances in Mammoth Research 9 (2003): 415-420. Barrow, Mark V. Nature’s Ghosts: Confronting Extinction from the Age of Je erson to the Age of Ecology. University of Chicago Press, 2009.

Egyptian Mummy Wrap

Specimen Type: Burial relic
Estimated Age: c. 350 BC

While most ancient cultures preserve their dead, few went to the lengths of the ancient Egyptians.

Extensive funerary works in Egypt date back to the Early Dynastic Period around 3000 BC. Over millennia, the Egyptians made steady progress in both scale and sophistication of the processes surrounding corpses. Low, flat-topped mastabas became step pyramids, while preparation of the dead shifted from air-drying techniques to careful chemical preparation using natron (a natural form of sodium carbonate), oils, plant resins, and a form of petroleum known as bitumen.

Bitumen is a tar-like substance that can be found at the bottom of ancient lakes, in natural pools, or seeping from cracks in sandstone. In the ancient world, bitumen was referred to as pitch, which was used as both a waterproof sealant and glue. Nebuchadnezzar II, the last great King of Babylon, used bitumen in many civic works from lining sewers to setting paving stones. We still use bitumen today as a component of asphalt.

SOURCES: The specimen in the mini museum comes from an Egyptian mummy and dates to roughly 350 BC. This falls between the fall of Ancient Egypt and the rise of the Ptolemaic Kingdom. It was a time of successive conquests of Egypt, rst by Persians and then by the Greeks.
Pettigrew, Thomas Joseph. A History of Egyptian Mummies: And an Account of the Worship and Embalming of the Sacred Animals by the Egyptians: with Remarks on the Funeral Ceremonies of Di erent Nations, and Observations on the Mummies of the Canary Islands, of the Ancient Peruvians, Burman Priests, Etc. Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, Green, and Longman, 1834. Rullkötter, J., and A. Nissenbaum. “Dead Sea asphalt in Egyptian mummies: molecular evidence.” Naturwissenschaften 75.12 (1988): 618-621.
Peck, William H. “Mummies of ancient Egypt.” Mummies, Disease and Ancient Cultures, 2nd edition, Cambridge University Press: Cambridge (1998): 15-37.
Wilkinson, Toby AH. Early Dynastic Egypt. Routledge, 2002.
Aufderheide, Arthur C. The scienti c study of mummies. Cambridge University Press, 2003.

Dracula Soil
(Vlad III’s Castle)

Specimen Type: Soil
Estimated Age: NA

Built on top of a high rock, Cetatea (Castle) Poenari, the citadel of Prince Vlad’s ancestors, is not an easy place to reach, something Hans learned first-hand when he went to Romania to collect this specimen.

“I flew into Bucharest, but I didn’t manage to reach Poenari until after sundown. By then it was so dark I couldn’t even make out a silhouette of the castle ruins. I was nervous, but I knew there was a staircase. Sure it had some 1480 steps, but how hard could it be?

When I checked into the hotel, I met a few Romanian tourists. I told them of my plan, and they warned me not to walk the stairs to the fortress at night. I thought they were joking, but they went on to tell me that wolves, bears and packs of wild dogs were a real problem.

After eating supper, I opened my guide book and learned that sure enough this region has the highest concentration of wolves, bears and feral dogs in all of Europe. Still, I only had a few days and I was determined to get my soil samples. So, rather than go up the stairs I decided to climb the sheer cli below the castle where nothing could reach me.

In retrospect, this really sounds horrible and I suppose I am lucky to be alive. However, I did learn that while very di cult the castle is not impossible to reach in this manner. Even when one forgets their headlamp and a rainstorm pops up in the middle of the climb.

The next day I used the stairs, but of course it was a beautiful day.“

SOURCES: Stoker, Bram. Dracula: 1897. Intervisual Books, 1897. Florescu, Radu R., and Raymond T. McNally. Dracula, Prince of Many Faces: His Life and His Times. Hachette Digital, Inc., 2009.
Pettersen, L. and Baker, M.. Lonely Planet Romania. Lonely Planet Publications, 2010

London Bridge

Specimen Type: Human artifact
Estimated Age: 1831

The earliest history of London Bridge dates back to the Roman invasion of Britain and the settlement of Londinium in AD 50. Over the centuries the bridge was razed by war and fire, abandoned to ruin, rebuilt by Saxons, and seized by the Danish during the Viking invasions.

The London Bridge of the 19th century was designed by John Rennie and opened in 1831. This version was called “New” London Bridge as it replaced the “Old” London Bridge of medieval times.

In the late 1960’s, the City of London moved forward with plans to replace the bridge with a modern structure capable of handling even more traffic. To help raise necessary funds for a new bridge, the City of London decided to sell the old bridge. It was unclear who might buy such a thing, but one crazy idea found another in the form of Lake Havasu, Arizona.

Lake Havasu is a 19,300 acre reservoir sitting behind the Parker Dam on the Colorado River. Robert P. McCulloch, an American entrepreneur, received a large parcel of land along the shore in exchange for a promise to develop the area. McCulloch’s real estate agent came up with the idea of buying London Bridge as an attraction to bring prospective buyers to the region.

The bridge was dismantled and shipped to Arizona via the Panama Canal, then reassembled on land over a steel superstructure. Once complete, McCullough had a channel cut beneath the bridge to create an artificial island in what is technically an artificial lake. Not only did the plan work, but McCulloch went on to buy another 11,000 acres of land to develop Lake Havasu City.

SOURCES: The specimen in the mini museum comes from remnants of reassembled New London Bridge in Lake Havasu, sold as novelties to tourists.
Salmon, M. A professional survey of the old and new London Bridges, and their approaches, including historical memoirs of both structures. Salmon, M. 1831 Elborough, Travis. London Bridge in America: The Tall Story of a Transatlantic Crossing. Random House, 2013.

Berlin Wall

Specimen Type: Human artifact
Estimated Age: 1961

On the night of August 13th, 1961, the German Democratic Republic (GDR) began the construction of a massive wall to enclose West Berlin and seal it off from the rest of East Germany, though the real purpose of the structure was to keep East German citizens from defecting to the West.

The Wall stood until November 9th, 1989. Radical political changes had been underway in Eastern Europe, and civil unrest had wracked the East German government for weeks. Thousands of East Germans had passed to the west through Czechoslovakia and then
into Austria. There were peaceful, yet defiant, demonstrations in many East German cities.

To ease the pressure, the government decided to loosen travel restrictions to the west. As the news spread, East German citizens began to mass at the checkpoints to the west. Hundreds became thousands. The East German troops guarding the checkpoints eventually gave
way and allowed people stream through.

In the weeks after the fall of the Wall, the remnants of the East German leadership tried and failed to reassert their leadership. Ultimately, it was the state of the economy that ended the debate about reunification. The East Germans were bankrupt, just days from default on heavy debts from western banks. The costs for reunification would be high, far higher than anyone expected, but the result would mean freedom for millions.

SOURCES: The specimen in the mini museum was personally collected by Hans during a trip to the former East Germany. It represents not only oppression, but the strength of the human spirit to endure against all odds and emerge triumphant.
Funder, Anna. Stasiland: Stories from Behind the Berlin Wall. (2003).
Taylor, Fred. The Berlin Wall: a world divided, 1961-1989. HarperCollins, 2006.

Raw Gold Nugget

Specimen Type: Precious metal
Estimated Age: 2013

When our solar system began to form, Earth was a collection of spinning rocks, known as an “accretion disk.” Being more dense than other matter, metals like iron, nickel, and gold were drawn into the molten core of the planet by the force of gravity, while the outer layer, comprised mostly of silicates, cooled and formed what we call the mantle.

Gold discovered on the surface comes primarily from a massive meteor bombardment 3.9 billion years ago which seeded the mantle with more rare metals. Volcanic eruptions, along with general plate tectonics, also bring gold to the surface.

Due to its relative scarcity, gold has played an important role in commerce in the form of coins and backing for paper currencies. Gold also has special properties which make it a valuable
substance to industry, including a high resistance to corrosion and exceptional conductivity.

SOURCES: The gold in the mini museum comes from California, primarily from the Sierra Nevada and was mined by modern prospectors. The alluvial gold in the Sierra Nevada is the result of intense volcanic activity during the Cretaceous Period. This mother lode of ore was then overlaid by thick, granite intrusions. After millions of years of erosion and continued upheaval, these intrusions were worn away and streams carried gold across the region where it would be found by the famous “49er” prospectors of the mid-19th century. Cutter, Donald C., and Sacramento Club of Printing House Craftsmen. The discovery of gold in California. Sacramento Club of Printing House Craftsmen, 1949. Garside, Larry J., et al. “The upper reaches of the Sierra Nevada auriferous gold channels, California and Nevada.” Geological Society of Nevada Symposium. 2005.
Hart, Matthew. Gold: The Race for the World’s Most Seductive Metal. Simon and Schuster, 2013.

Abraham Lincoln’s House
(Foundation Brick)

Specimen Type: Human artifact
Estimated Age: 1837

Four months after the end of the Civil War, President Lincoln delivered remarks at the dedication of the Solider’s National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. It is said that Lincoln was rather quiet as he delivered the speech. Most researchers believe he may have been suffering from a case of smallpox. Regardless, this short speech summarizes one of the most tumultuous events in American history:

“Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle eld of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that eld, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives so that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

In a larger sense, we can not dedicate, we can not consecrate, we can not hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”

– Abraham Lincoln, November 19, 1863

SOURCES: The specimen in the mini museum comes from a collection of foundation bricks taken from Abraham Lincoln’s house and sold to benefit the rehabilitation of the property and the museum on the site. Goodwin, Doris Kearns. Team of rivals: The political genius of Abraham Lincoln. Penguin UK, 2009.

Corinthian Leather

Specimen Type: Human artifact
Estimated Age: 1976

When the Chrysler Corporation introduced Corinthian Leather, no one paid much attention. Every automotive manufacturer had their own “special” fabric, and like the others “Corinthian Leather” was just standard upholstery leather manufactured in an ordinary warehouse outside Newark, New Jersey. What made Corinthian Leather exceptional was its role in the execution of an advertising campaign for the Chrylser Corboda.

By the early 1970’s, Chrysler had a long reputation producing big luxury cars, but the oil embargo of 1973 changed the economics. Big was out and small was in. However, consumers still
wanted the illusion of luxury, and the Cordoba was designed to fit this niche. Corinthian Leather was included in the Cordoba and a marketing campaign was designed around a charismatic spokesperson named Ricardo Montalbán.

Ricardo Montalbán was a Mexican actor who had been in Hollywood since the mid-forties. Montalbán’s role was to evoke a sense of European style by using his rich, Castilian accent to emphasize the soft Corinthian Leather of the Cordoba’s interior as well as the implied sophistication and performance of the vehicle overall.

Sales of the Cordoba shocked the industry. Montalbán’s character and the phrase “Soft Cornithian Leather” became cultural icons in their own right, outlasting both the Cordoba and its heir the Chrysler Le Baron.

SOURCES: The specimen in the mini museum comes from the front seat of a 1976 Chrysler Cordoba. It was personally recovered by Hans from a junkyard. Underhill, Paco. Why we buy: The science of shopping–updated and revised for the Internet, the global consumer, and beyond. Simon and Schuster, 2009.

Sand from Waikiki

Specimen Type: Sand
Estimated Age: 1950

To many, the name Waikīkī evokes an idyllic image of a tropical paradise. They picture the gentle curve of a pristine beach backed by lush palms. They may even recall the volcanic crest of Diamond Head. Yet, while Waikīkī boasts some of the best surfing on the planet, it also has a tremendous historical and cultural significance for the Hawaiian people.

In the Hawaiian language, Waikīkī means ‘spouting fresh water’. This fertile region is the central meeting point for a number of mountain streams and underground springs, and human habitation here dates back at least 1,400 years.

During the 15th century, the ruling King of O’hau, Mā‘ilikūkahi, established his seat of power in Waikīkī. The people of O’ahu developed an extensive agricultural system covering the 2,000 acres of wetland that separated the mountains from the beach. Their works included irrigation canals, taro elds, and pools for fish farming.

In 1795, King Kamehameha I of the island of Hawai’i stormed the beaches of Waikīkī with a large, modern army of 12,000 men equipped with cannons and muskets. This battle closed a string of victories for King Kamehameha, allowing him to proclaim the formation of the Kingdom of Hawai’i.

By 1810, the remaining islands succumbed to King Kamehameha and the Royal Court formally relocated to Honolulu. The beach of Waikīkī remained a semi-private retreat for the royals, but near the end of the 19th century, hotels and resorts began to appear.

SOURCES: The specimen in the mini museum includes samples taken from Waikīkī beach throughout the 20th century, including an heirloom from a 1950’s honeymoon trip. The inclusion of this specimen is a symbol of paradise, but also as a reminder that every paradise has a hidden past. White, Kai, and Jim Kraus. Waikīkī.
Arcadia Publishing, 2007.

Tunguska Event
(Surviving Tree)

Specimen Type: Plant
Estimated Age: 1908

On June 30th, 1908, a massive explosion in the skies over the Podkamennaya Tunguska River lit up the midnight sky as far away as London. It is believed that the event was caused by an asteroid or comet which entered the atmosphere and exploded 5-10 kilometers above the surface of the planet. The blast decimated an area of 830 square miles (2,150 km2), attening over 80 million trees.

The Podkamennaya Tunguska River runs for a thousand miles deep within the Russian Taiga. This region is difficult to reach, but for over a century scientists have trekked to study and retrieve physical evidence of the event.

In the last decade, researchers from the University of Bologna, Italy have studied the Tunguska event from several scientific perspectives. Much of their research has focused on Lake Cheko. Some studies suggest the lake formed nearly 6,000 years ago, but core samples taken by the Bologna team indicate the lake may be just a century old. The shape, or morphology, of the lake is quite similar to the Odessa Meteor Crater in West Texas. Furthermore, seismic readings indicate the lake has a deep, conical shape masked by sedimentary fill.

SOURCES: The specimen in the mini museum comes from scientists at the University of Bologna who recovered it from a surviving tree near the center of the event. Analysis of tree resin and growth rings provides evidence of the catastrophic event. Serra, R., et al. “Experimental hints on the fragmentation of the Tunguska Cosmic Body.” Planetary and Space Science 42 (1994): 777-783. Gasperini, L., et al. “A possible impact crater for the 1908 Tunguska Event.” Ter- ra Nova 19.4 (2007): 245-251.
Napier, Bill, and David Asher. “The Tunguska impact event and beyond.” Astronomy
& Geophysics 50.1 (2009): 1-18.
Gasperini, Luca, et al. “Sediments from Lake Cheko (Siberia), a possible impact crater for the 1908 Tunguska Event.” Terra Nova 21.6 (2009): 489-494.

Titanic
(Coal from the Wreck)

Specimen Type: Human artifact
Estimated Age: 1912

The R.M.S. Titanic was a legendary ship of epic proportions: 883 feet long, carrying
nearly 2,200 passengers and crew, with a total displacement of 52,310 tons. The ship required enormous amounts of power. Her twin, triple-screw propulsion systems delivered 46,000 horsepower enabling the Titanic to achieve a top speed of 24 knots. By comparison, the fastest ocean liner today is the Queen Mary 2, which is capable of reaching just above 30 knots.

On a normal crossing, the Titanic’s boilers consumed 600 tons of coal per day. Her coal bunkers could hold 6,600 long-tons, which was more than enough to get the fast ship from Southampton to New York in seven days.

Unfortunately, disaster struck on April 15th, 1912 when the ship struck an iceberg, sinking the “unsinkable,” and causing the death of more than 1,500 people. Eyewitness reports indicate that the engineers on board did their best to keep the dynamos and the boilers running as long as possible.

The wreck of the Titanic was thought lost forever, but a joint French-American expedition discovered the ship in 1985 using a deep-sea camera sled named the Argo. Recovered artifacts have gone on display around the world, and a small selection, including the coal in the mini museum, has been made available to collectors.

SOURCES: Obtained from RMS Titanic, Inc, the exclusive steward of RMS Titanic. The Company is dedicated to preserving the legacy of the ship, wreck site and all her passengers and crew through educational, historical, scientific, and conservation-based programs. Timpany, Mary S. “Ownership Rights in the Titanic.” Case W. Res. L. Rev. 37 (1986): 72.
Lord, Walter. The Night Lives On: The Untold
Stories and Secrets Behind the Sinking of the “Unsinkable” Ship-Titanic. Open Road Media, 2012.
Butler, Daniel Allen. Unsinkable: the full story of the RMS Titanic. Da Capo Press, 2012.

Trinitite
(First Nuclear Bomb Test)

Specimen Type: Human artifact
Estimated Age: 1945

On July 16, 1945 near Alamogordo, New Mexico, the United States Army detonated the first nuclear device in history. Robert Oppenheimer and Major General Leslie Groves authorized this full-scale nuclear test, codenamed “Trinity,” as part of the Manhattan Project. The “Gadget,” as the device was referred to, exploded with an energy equivalent of around 20 kilotons of TNT, leaving a crater in the desert 2500 feet (76 m) wide. The explosion produced a mushroom cloud, which reached 7.5 miles (12.1 km) in height. People felt the shock wave over 100 miles (160 km) away.

The blast swept desert sand into the mushroom cloud where it liquefied and rained down on the crater. The cooling liquid formed a layer of glass 1-2 centimeters thick. The glass is referred to as “trinitite” or “Alamogordo Glass.”

The sand at the Trinity Site is arkosic, which means it is composed primarily of feldspar and quartz. While these two minerals generally produce clear glass, most trinitite is either pale green or oxblood red. The most common color is pale green, which indicates the presence of ferromagnesian silicates, such as olivine. Red trinitite indicates the presence of copper, which scientists believe came from melting overhead wires at the test site. Bits of the support struc- ture and even the lead from the bomb casing itself have also been discovered in trinitite.

SOURCES: The specimen in the mini museum comes from mineral collections gathered in the early 1950’s and sold to the public as novelties.
Ross, Clarence S. “Optical properties of glass from Alamogordo, New Mexico.” American Mineralogist 33 (1948).
Hersey, John. Hiroshima. Random House LLC, 1985. Bellucci, Jeremy J., et al. “A detailed geochemical investigation of post-nuclear detonation trinitite glass at high spatial resolution: Delineating anthropogenic vs. natural components.” Chemical Geology 365 (2014): 69-86.
Kelly, Cynthia C. The Manhattan Project: The birth of the atomic bomb in the words of its creators, eyewit- nesses, and historians. Black Dog & Leventhal, 2009.

Mount Everest

Specimen Type: Rock
Estimated Age: 1945

Mount Everest is the tallest mountain in the world. The peak rises 8,848 meters (29,029 ft.) above sea level, with the summit directly on the border of Nepal and China.

Like all the mountains of the Himalayas, Everest is a relative youngster in geological terms. Just 50-55 million years ago, the Indian subcontinent collided with the Eurasian tectonic plate. These churning continents cast up lighter, sedimentary layers that once formed the oor of the ancient ocean. Fossils from this ocean can be found on many of the Himalayan peaks, including Mount Everest.

There are two primary approaches to the mountain: the northern approach through China, formerly Tibet, and the southern approach through Nepal.

The northern approach was discovered by British mountaineer George Mallory during a survey mission in 1921. After three failed attempts to summit, Mallory returned to Everest in 1924. It
is unknown whether he and his partner Andrew Irvine reached the summit. The two climbers disappeared and remained lost on the mountain until their remains were discovered in 1999.

On May 29th, 1953, using the southern approach through Nepal, Sir Edmund Hillary and Nepalese Sherpa Tenzing Norgay became the first people to reach the summit of Mount Everest and return.

SOURCES: The mini museum contains a specimen from the mountain itself. This specimen represents the ever-changing nature of our planet and the extremes of both mental and physical human endurance. Odell, N. E. “The highest fossils in the world.” Geological Magazine 104.01 (1967): 73-74.
Fujita, Koji, Thompson, Lonnie. “Thirty-year history of glacier melting in the Nepal
Himalayas.” Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres (1984–2012) 111.D3 (2006).
Krakauer, Jon. Into thin air: A personal account of the Mount Everest disaster. Random House LLC, 2009. Davis, Wade. Into the Silence: The Great War, Mallory, and the Conquest of Everest. Random House, 2012.

Apollo 11 Command Module Foil

Specimen Type: Human artifact
Estimated Age: 1969

The Apollo program was conceived during President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s administration and later dedicated to President John F. Kennedy’s goal of “landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth” within a decade.

President Kennedy proposed this bold agenda during an address to the United States Congress on May 25th, 1961. On July 20, 1969, NASA fulfilled the mission when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to land on the moon. This was the 11th flight of the Apollo program, and the success was broadcast live to the entire world.

The technological and scientific breakthroughs associated with the Apollo program were vast and long lasting, but it is the human achievement which has held our imaginations for so many years.

SOURCES: Hans waited for years to buy relics directly from any of the Apollo 11 astronauts. Finally, in 2007, Buzz Aldrin auctioned several of his Apollo 11 mission relics in Dallas, Texas. Hans went to the auction house and previewed the items carefully and decided the largest piece of kapton foil would be ideal for the mini museum.
Kranz, Gene. Failure is not an option: Mission control from Mercury to Apollo 13 and beyond. Simon and Schuster, 2001.
Chaikin, Andrew, and Victoria Kohl. Voices from the Moon: Apollo astronauts describe their lunar experiences. Viking Studio, 2009.

Human Skull

Specimen Type: Bone
Estimated Age: TBD

The adult skull is comprised of 22 separate bones, including the mandible. It consists of
two main regions, the viscerocranium, which supports the face, and the neurocranium, which houses the brain. This structure supports 4 muscles used for chewing and 17 muscles used for facial expressions. Our faces rely on this arrangement to give each of us a unique visual identity.

Many cultures have taken advantage of the process of cranial growth to modify the shape of the skull by means of straps, boards, and metal bands. The earliest evidence of intentional cranium deformation dates back to 45,000 BC. The reasons are complex but appear to revolve around social status, spiritual connections, and cosmetic enhancement. Though most anthropologists would say the wider practice died out by the middle of the 20th century, hundreds of thousands of modern plastic surgeries still take place each year making one wonder if the methods have simply become more refined.

SOURCES: The specimens in the mini museum come from a variety of places around the world.
Gerszten, Peter C., and Enrique Gerszten. “Inten- tional cranial deformation: a disappearing form of self-mutilation.” Neurosurgery 37.3 (1995): 374-382. Gould, Stephen Jay. The mismeasure of man. WW Norton & Company, 1996.
Quigley, Christine. Skulls and skeletons: Human bone collections and accumulations. McFarland, 2001.

Human Brain

Specimen Type: Plasticized tissue
Estimated Age:

The human brain is a hungry beast. Even though it only accounts for 2% of our body mass, the human brain consumes up to 20% of the energy produced by the body. The brain uses this energy for everyday things such as walking and breathing, but also for talking and thinking and the expression of emotion.

In 1977, German doctor Gunther von Hagens invented a technique to preserve animal and plant tissues by replacing the water and fat with liquid polymers. The process, referred to as plastinization, works on the cellular level. Tissue immersed in an acetone bath is subjected to a vacuum which causes the acetone to boil and evaporate. This draws the polymer into the cells, preserving detailed structures for permanent study. Dr. von Hagens has created many plasticine figures for study and display, including fish, giraffes, apes, and even human beings.

SOURCES: The specimen in the mini museum comes from a laboratory in Russia which uses plastinization methods to prepare subjects for various exhibits and research purposes worldwide. Descartes, R. Discourse on the Method. 1637.
Von Hagens, Gunther. “Animal and vegetal tissues permanently preserved by synthetic resin impreg- nation.” U.S. Patent No. 4,205,059. 27 May 1980. Kurzweil, Ray. How to create a mind: The secret of human thought revealed. Penguin, 2012. Ramachandran, Vilayanur S. The tell-tale brain: A neuroscientist’s quest for what makes us human. WW Norton & Company, 2012.