A botanical demonstration of the potential of linking data using unique identifiers for people

Natural history collection data available digitally on the web have so far only made limited use of the potential of semantic links among themselves and with cross-disciplinary resources. In a pilot study, botanical collections of the Consortium of European Taxonomic Facilities (CETAF) have therefore begun to semantically annotate their collection data, starting with data on people, and to link them via a central index system. As a result, it is now possible to query data on collectors across different collections and automatically link them to a variety of external resources. The system is being continuously developed and is already in production use in an international collection portal.

Fruitful collaborations: the Taylor White project in the Blacker Wood Natural History Collection

As part of a themed print issue of Notes and Records dedicated to a research project surrounding the eighteenth-century Taylor White collection of animal paintings, this article provides context by describing the initial acquisition of the collection, and by situating it within the larger Blacker Wood Natural History Collection held at McGill University Library. Highlights of the Blacker Wood Collection are discussed, along with the collection's founder, Dr Casey Wood. The second part of the article provides a brief examination of the movement, in some academic administrative circles, towards the ‘de-professionalization’ of librarian work within academic libraries, and offers an outline of the specialized skills that librarians bring to the description, analysis and preservation of special collections. The Taylor White Project is then offered as an example of research collaborations between scholars and librarians; a description of the advantages of embedding a scholar within specific library collections to work with, rather than replace, a librarian is provided. The author suggests this strategy as one potential answer to the question of ‘de-professionalization’, to move away from divisive discussions towards a more symbiotic relationship between scholars and librarians.

‘Obliging and curious’: Taylor White (1701–1772) and his remarkable collections

Taylor White (1701–1772) was by profession a barrister and judge, active in public life in London. His life as a jurist and as the long-serving treasurer of the Foundling Hospital is documented in the records of his public appointments and in his own official correspondence. This article reveals the other Taylor White, a Fellow of the Royal Society (1725), and an active participant in the practice of science in the mid eighteenth century. White accumulated a significant collection of specimens and drawings of plants, insects, birds and mammals. Over 900 of the zoological drawings are preserved in the Blacker Wood Natural History Collection at McGill University in Montreal. White's passions for natural history and collecting are revealed tangentially through the very few letters in his hand, the notes he made about his own collection, and infrequent references in the books and letters of his friends and fellow naturalists. This article seeks not only to document the sources of White's collection, but also to extract a narrative of acquisition, transport and exchange of specimens that reveals the informal networks of eighteenth-century naturalists, which included not only scientists but also sailors, merchants and curious lawyers. It also explores the work and motivations of the collector engaged in building a reference collection of animal portraits, painted in their true colours and ‘the size of life’. Close study of this collection positions Taylor White within the community of eighteenth-century naturalists and provides a deeply textured exploration of natural history and collecting in the age of Linnaeus.

The practice of note-taking in Taylor White's natural history collection

Between the 1750s and 1770s Taylor White compiled over 750 manuscript notes to accompany his collection of animal portraits. These notes are written on individual unbound sheets of paper, and offer descriptions of the birds, mammals and fish that he commissioned to be painted. Examination of the structure and content of White's notes reveals that he chose and edited information from published sources while supplementing this with his own personal observations, that he wrote in both Latin and English, and that he obtained the help of an assistant to copy out many of his drafts in a more refined hand. This article discusses what White's purpose might have been in compiling these notes, what relationship they held to his collection of images, and how his note-taking practices aligned with the contemporary eighteenth-century culture of note-taking and information management in natural history.

Updates to the checklist of the wild bee fauna of Luxembourg as inferred from revised natural history collection data and fieldwork

Museums and other institutions curating natural history collections (NHCs) are fundamental entities to many scientific disciplines, as they house data and reference material for varied research projects. As such, biological specimens preserved in NHCs represent accessible physical records of the living world's history. They provide useful information regarding the presence and distribution of different taxonomic groups through space and time. Despite the importance of biological museum specimens, their potential to answer scientific questions, pertinent to the necessities of our current historical context, is often under-explored. The currently-known wild bee fauna of Luxembourg comprises 341 registered species distributed amongst 38 different genera. However, specimens stored in the archives of local NHCs represent an untapped resource to update taxonomic lists, including potentially overlooked findings relevant to the development of national conservation strategies. We re-investigated the wild bee collection of the Zoology Department of the National Museum of Natural History Luxembourg by using morphotaxonomy and DNA barcoding. The collection revision led to the discovery of four species so far not described for the country: Andrena lagopus (Latreille, 1809), Nomada furva (Panzer, 1798), Hoplitis papaveris (Latreille, 1799) and Sphecodes majalis (Pérez, 1903). Additionally, the presence of Nomada sexfasciata (Panzer, 1799), which inexplicably had been omitted by the most current species list, can be re-confirmed. Altogether, our findings increase the number of recorded wild bee species in Luxembourg to 346. Moreover, the results highlight the crucial role of NHCs as repositories of our knowledge of the natural world.

The authentication and repatriation of a ceremonial tsantsa to its country of origin (Ecuador)

Tsantsas, commonly referred to as “shrunken heads”, are unique and valuable antiquities that were produced by the Shuar, Achuar, Awajún/Aguaruna, Wampís/Huambisa, and Candoshi-Shampra (SAAWC) peoples until the mid twentieth century. Originally used with ceremonial purpose during important social group functions, tsantsas became monetarily valuable as keepsakes and curios during the nineteenth century as a result of Western/European cultural encroachment. Unmet demand resulted in the production of convincing forgeries that created confusion about the authenticity of existing collections. Ceremonial tsantsas are both human remains and valuable cultural items. Their production and purpose were negatively influenced by colonialism and the outside curio market; as such many institutions may choose to repatriate them to their places of origin. Herein, we report on the authentication and repatriation of a ceremonial tsantsa recently rediscovered in a university’s natural history collection. The personal memoirs of the original collector describe that it originated in the Ecuadorean Amazon. In consultation with the government of Ecuador, it was determined that authentication was required prior to repatriation. The tsantsa was compared to a list of thirty-three distinct characteristics shared by ceremonial tsantsas. These criteria were taken from those provided by Ecuador’s National Cultural Heritage Institute and those found in prior studies from the academic literature; they include notable skin and hair features, structure and facial anatomy, and evidence of traditional fabrication and modification. We were able to affirm 30 of the 33 authenticating indicators. As part of our protocol the tsantsa was scanned with a CT-imaging system. The resulting 3D images were invaluable in discerning subtle and difficult-to-visualize characteristics regarding the skin and patterns of modification, although there are limitations related to the small size of filamentous structures. The results of the authentication were accepted by the Ecuadorean government, and the tsantsa was repatriated in June 2019. An additional benefit of CT-imaging is that data files can be generated in order to create rapid prototypes via 3D printing. In fact, as our work demonstrates, artifacts of value can be repatriated while simultaneously preserved as a volumetric replica for the purposes of a collection.

A SHORT HISTORY OF PALEONTOLOGY IN TURKEY, PART I: FROM THE NINETEENTH CENTURY TO THE COLLAPSE OF OTTOMAN TURKEY

ABSTRACT Modern paleontology in Turkey appeared in the early nineteenth century, together with the first modern geological studies. The fossils collected in these studies were initially used to establish biostratigraphy and to make the first geological maps of the country. Paleontologists were involved in these studies from the beginning; the earliest identifications of new animal and plant taxa from Turkey occurred in the same century along with the detailed descriptions of the rich and diverse Turkish fossil record. Aside from the academic studies, some paleontologists also took part in the economic side by contributing to stratigraphic analysis of coal beds or participating in petroleum exploration. All these pioneering works on the geology and paleontology of Turkey were done by foreigners; however, the outcomes of this newly introduced science were quickly appreciated by Ottoman Turkey. During the middle of the nineteenth century, the first text mentioning geological processes was written by the head scholar of the Imperial School of Military Engineering, while the first geology classes began to be taught under the Imperial Medical School in Istanbul, in which the first natural history collection was also established. Unfortunately, not a single original study in paleontology was produced by Ottoman citizens, with the notable exception of an Austrian immigrant of Hungarian descent, possibly because of a lack of a real interest in earth sciences.