Challenge Issue The recent popularity of human
evolutionary studies in the media has brought with it
new challenges. How can the self-correcting nature
of science function against a backdrop of “tweets,”
Google logos, and unprecedented sale prices for fos-
sil specimens paid by museums to private collectors.
Consider the case of “Ida,” an entirely complete ju-
venile skeleton as well as some soft tissue and gut
contents of a 47-million-year-old fossil primate who
defined a new fossil primate species: Darwinius
masillae.
Ida was actually discovered nearly thirty years
ago but her remains were separated and sold to two
different collections: one a museum and the other
private. In 2006, the better-preserved part of Ida,
pictured on the left, was reported to have been sold
by a private collector to the Natural History Museum
of Oslo for an unprecedented $750,000.
Once the two sections of Ida were reunited, the
process of careful scientific scrutiny could begin.
Various anatomical features led some scientists to
suggest that Ida is a “missing link,” one of the ances-
tors in the evolutionary line leading to humans. The
notion that Ida could be a “missing link,” perhaps
along with her high sticker price, captured the me-
dia’s attention and led to a book deal, a planned
documentary, and even a logo on Google.
While all scientists agree that Ida is a remark-
able find other scientists have disputed Ida’s place
on the human line suggesting instead that she is an-
cestral to the lemurs. Ida’s story illustrates the kinds
of commercial and public relations challenges sci-
entists and the public alike face as media hype has
come to play a role in the study and interpretation of
fossil specimens.Courtesy of PLoS