The proliferation of billionaires – trillionaires reportedly coming soon – has raised many questions in world politics. But as long as wealth itself exists, one question has been around: What can an individual actually do? To do with this much money? A new answer emerges in “The Bones,” proving that the rich will always break new ground in luxury spending. Even for a man or woman who “has it all,” about B.C. There may still be an unmet need for a reconstructed Triceratops skeleton from 67,000,000 BC. Imagine what one would look like in the Great Room! This will only show rewards for visitors from living species.
Yes, as Jeremy Xido’s documentary film points out, there is a real market for such things – but that doesn’t get us into the homes of such collectors, who probably don’t want to advertise their purchases. In the past, dinosaur artifacts were excavated for scientific study and then stored for natural history museums. But now paleontologists must compete with a deep-pocketed commercial field where the potential for huge profits could obliterate any moral hesitation. Premiering at CPH:DOX, this delightful introduction to a complex subject spans the globe, from the excavation field to academia and auction houses. An entertaining illustration of relevant topics and colorful personalities rather than any serious exposition, this book should have broad appeal for programmers looking for nonfiction content that is both educational and humorous.
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As one observer here put it, the “fossil trade” has been around for at least 300 years. But it’s no surprise to learn that interest in dinosaurs and the associated commerce took a big leap forward after the first “Jurassic Park” movie was released 31 years ago. Since then, commercial diggers have increased in number and aggressiveness; This has horrified scientists who often find potentially valuable excavation sites being “destroyed” by careless amateurs. One local Moroccan interviewed says he can make $40 “in a good week” mining fossils in the Sahara. At the other extreme, the most complete Tyrannosaurus rex specimen ever found (called “Sue”) was sold by Sotheby’s in 1997 for $8.3 million. Twenty-three years later a similar product (“Stan”) sold for almost four million dollars. times more.
Some of these giants are in museums. But others are lost among private collectors whose identities often remain secret. In both cases, these endpoints often come after a long, complicated process that “Bones” can only somewhat illuminate because there are so many variables. Laws in the country of origin may have little effect in the country where it is purchased and/or sold. In the Canadian province of Alberta, we learn that only the government can truly “own” a fossil, while in many other places the rules are vague or so poorly enforced that they create a “free-for-all.” (The term is used here by an expert to describe the United States’ policies, or lack thereof.)
Such inconsistencies encourage smuggling, accidental or intentional misidentification of works, and ever-rising prices. They also feed countless intermediaries, such as the French entrepreneur Francois Escuillie, who prefers to think of himself as establishing “somewhere between science and commerce”; but he acknowledges that some paleontologists call him a “rogue.” Seen at the massive fossil repository or attending a large annual gem, fossil and mineral convention in Tucson, he is seen here as a kind of wacky, lovable, good-for-nothing uncle; Ramachandra Borcar’s original score is fun every time it is on screen.
But such slippery characters are the bane of researchers like Nizar Ibrahim, who find themselves in a “race against time trying to see how many of these treasures we can salvage for science” before they are damaged or sold for private profit. The extent of the legal gray zone between countries means that although Escuillie has been repeatedly investigated by customs officials, even having his parts and passport seized, he has also repeatedly won cases brought against him.
“People think it’s a world heritage site. “They confuse morality with law,” he grumbles at one point. But many artifacts in western museums are now disturbing relics of colonialism, and authorities in places like Mongolia and Morocco want their heritage back. The shifting sands of human politics, economics, and more continue to disturb these bones more than the 80 million years since some of them first set foot on Earth. Their proper care and study is now of particular urgency for scientists because, after all, dinosaurs and 21st-century humanity have something in common: living in an age of mass extinctions and climate change. As one observer noted in parting here, “No genre lasts forever.” Sip.
Xido (“Death Metal Angola”) explores this complex terrain with a sensitivity equivalent to the attention to idiosyncratic individuals and dispassionately flashy “National Geographic”-style edutainment of early Errol Morris. Dramatic landscapes visited in North America and Asia are captured with widescreen effect by a team of cameramen. A bonus of the smoothly completed montage are a few CGI animated sequences (not from the “Jurassic” movies) that show what the long-vanished creatures of both land and sea would have looked like.
“The Bones” is nonjudgmental, suggesting that the pursuit of science is a nobler cause than that of the shekels, but it doesn’t necessarily disagree with those who argue that they can coexist. A whole movie could be made about the ways in which the “fossil trade” often becomes illegal – this is not that movie. Xido is content to consider the different sides, casually weighing their conflicts, but refrains from making any accusations.
The result may seem like your average paleontologist prefers charm where blame is due. However, the film’s multinational sweep has enough weight to make you more concerned about the state of the prehistoric record than you might have thought… and causes tens of millions of years to suddenly shrink in the grander scheme of things.
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