 |
(L-R) Geronimo; Prescott Bush,
the Yale thief who stole Geronimo's skull as a prank,
later U. S. Senator from Connecticut
and sire of George H.W.,
grandsire of W. |
LINK to original Yale Daily News article: Through the Lens: Peabody
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Science Student • 3
days ago
Vertebrate Zoology has some incredible collections -- as do
most divisions of the Peabody.
A special favorite of mine are the fossils of O. C. Marsh, one of the most
important paleontologists of all time. His life was controversial, and for good
reason -- but Marsh discovered Triceratops, Stegosaurus, Torosaurus,
Apatosaurus, Allosaurus and more. We've got all the type specimens right here
at Yale!
theantiyale • 5 days
ago
As a school aged child I was brought to the Peabody and saw with my own eyes nine
formaldehyde-filled jars each containing a developing human fetus. I'll bet
this display has disappeared and will never be admitted to having existed at
all. I was born in 1944 so you can approximate the dates of the exhibit from
that year onward through school-age.
Science Student to theantiyale • 3 days ago
Dear Mr. Keane,
I work at the Peabody
as a student assistant, and thought I'd try to address your comment. I work in
Vertebrate Paleontology, so human fetuses are quite literally "not my
department" -- but I did some searching to see what I could find.
The Peabody
keeps a database of all the specimens it contains, and it does list a number of
human remains. All of these, however, are osteological -- which makes sense, in
light of the Peabody's
collection structure. We tend to preserve mammals as skins or skeletons -- not
in jars of formaldehyde. Our liquid-preserved specimens tend to be fish or
amphibians.
Preserved fetuses don't sound like the Peabody's usual fare, and there are certainly
none in our collections database. Perhaps the ones you saw were a temporary
exhibit from another institution? Or perhaps they were from the medical school,
which I know has some human specimens? Maybe you'd be interested in this
article: http://news.yale.edu/2010/09/1...
Whether or not there were fetuses on display, your post
raises valid questions about museum ethics. Like any powerful institutions,
museums DO sometimes behave in highly-questionable ways. The Peabody itself has a fairly checkered
history, largely due to its founder O. C. Marsh.
Marsh was one of the greatest paleontologists of all time,
and the discoverer of hundreds of fossil species. But he was also a combative,
difficult man whose rivalry with E. D. Cope led him into an academic feud. In
the course of their battles, Cope and Marsh slandered each other in the press,
destroyed and stole fossils, etc.
Furthermore, Marsh was a grave-robber. During his fossil
hunts out west (in the 1870s-1880s) he disinterred the remains of a number of
Native Americans, bringing back their bones for the Peabody's collections. Even at the time, this
spurred outrage -- as contemporary newspaper articles prove.
Ethical issues aren't unique to the Peabody, either. Plenty of museums contain
(or once contained) stolen artifacts, unearthed bones, and human specimens of
questionable provenance. This is a particular issue for older museums, as
scientific ethics have changed greatly over the years.
I feel, though, that the past actions of museums matter far
less than their current behavior. Museums offer incredible resources to their
patrons, volunteers, employees and visiting researchers. These days, most of
them (including the Peabody)
operate on strict ethical principles, and would be horrified at the deeds of O.
C. Marsh. Some museums have even reburied specimens in atonement for their past
actions.
The modern Peabody
is not Marsh's museum -- or even the museum of sixty years ago. It's a source
of incredible scientific research, and a depository for some truly incredible
collections. I grew to love the place as a student even before I started
working there -- and it's a job I'm proud to have. I hope that you -- and other
readers -- aren't put off by what the Peabody
once was. Many institutions have a checkered past, but this one is working
toward a bright future!
Please let me know if you have other questions, and thanks
for reading!
theantiyale to Science Student • a day ago
How fascinating. Perhaps it was the med school. At the time
I was 8 or 9 and my mother was showing my horrified little eyes (I was
fascinated AND horrified) what was in the bottles. I didn't quite know what the
facts of life were ( remember this was 1952 when I was 8).
I DID know that my mother had had two miscarriages before I
was born. And now, that I am an old man, I wonder if any of those fetuses were
my siblings (odd thought, but you know doctors didn't tell their patients what
happened to the miscarriages in those days. No documents or authorizations were
signed).
It is ironic that two blocks from the Peabody at that time,
Roman Catholics were conducting all-night vigils saying the Rosary in front of
Planned Parenthood on Orange Street as Griswold v State of Connecticut was
about to emerge and make its way through the courts,
I made these remarks in a post on YDN and a letter to the
head of the Peabody a few years ago (I'm sure he brushed it off as many at Yale
brush off the feelings of town folk) and never had the courtesy of a reply, so
your long courteous and fascinating history here is welcome for more than one
reason.
It sounds as if O.C. Marsh and Prescott Bush (a Skull and
Bonser , later Connecticut's U.S. Senator and father of Geo H.W. and grandfather
of W) were both busy stealing bodies while at Yale: (Prescott stole Geronimo's
skull for his secret society), Dubious desecration.
I only today--after years of posting --- learned that there
is a way to access on the YDN posting board those who reply to my posts.
Many thanks for your serious reply.
PK
Science Student to theantiyale • 16 hours ago
Hi, Mr. Keane, and thanks for your reply!
Just wanted to comment on your attempted communication with
Dr. Briggs. I'm sorry he never replied (I know he's very busy with renovations)
-- but I'm not sure if he'd be able to answer your questions. In 1952, the Peabody's director was
Carl Owen Dunbar -- who passed away several decades ago. The public portions of
the museum's archives (in which I've worked) don't contain much information on
past exhibits; it's unlikely a current employee would know about 1952 displays.
If you're interested, you might try contacting the Museum's
archives. If there's information on old displays anywhere, it ought to be there
-- plus the archivists are more used do dealing with this kind of inquiry. The
med school might also have information for you. If the Peabody ever displayed fetuses, they'd have
to come from somewhere -- and the medical school would have better access.
As to the origins of the fetuses you remember... I hesitate
to speculate. If they were preserved in jars, they could have been around for
years -- so there's no way to know when they were collected. If such an exhibit
existed, I'm not surprised it was long ago -- medical ethics have changed much
in the past decades.
It was in the early fifties, if I remember correctly, that
the cancerous cells of Henrietta Lacks were cultured without consent. Her
"HeLa" cell line contributed greatly to medical research, and without
a doubt saved many lives . But still, Mrs. Lacks' case shows much about the
treatment of patients at the time. Not all doctors (or scientists) felt the
need to obtain samples by request.
Of course, this has changed much over the years, and
informed consent is a critical part of modern medical ethics. These days,
displayed fetuses are generally donated after stillbirth -- but as you said,
that wasn't always the case. Given the timeframe of this story, what you
suggest is certainly possible -- though I don't think that the modern Peabody
(or medical school) would do such a thing.
Thanks for reading, and let me know if you have other
questions! I'd be happy to find you some contact information if you're
interested in talking to someone about this.
