Re: Controversial Patterson "Diatryma footprint" slab has been moved

[Phil Bigelow <bigelowp@juno.com>]

Thanks to Andrew for posting the ref.  It's omission in my first post was
a glaring oversight.

Overall, the new location for the slab may actually help to further
science, but not necessarily in a way that its collector had intended. 
Previously, the slab was hidden out of public view in the basement vault
of the Burke Museum (John Rensberger once told me that he didn't want the
slab out in public view because he believed it would "encourage other
forgers to make similar prints".  I also recall John musing that he hoped
that nothing was published on the slab...presumably for the same reason).
 Currently, the slab is out in plain sight so that anyone can walk up and
touch it and examine it close up, and I think that is a good thing.

IMHO, the current disposition of the slab will probably *not* help to
further its authenticity.  Various characters of the "print" are
suspicious, even to the eye of a novice.  WWU geology dept. technical
supervisor George Mustoe is displaying the "track" as an example of
dubious evidence, and he has made a label that describes the various
"pro" and "con" characteristics of the "print's" authenticity.

George is currently on a week-long vacation, but I'll see if I can get
more information from him when he returns (particularly, on how and why
the Burke decided to let the slab go to WWU).

<pb>
--

On Tue, 4 Apr 2006 10:29:12 -0600 "Andrew Milner" <amilner@sgcity.org>
writes:
> If  you can't go and see this proposed "Diatryma track", you can 
> always 
> check out the following paper about it:
> 
> Patterson, J. & Lockley, M. G., 2004. A probable _Diatryma_ track 
> from the 
> Eocene of Washington: An intriguing case of controversy and 
> skepticism. 
> Ichnos, 11(3-4): 341-347.
> 
> Abstract - A large tridactyl track from the Franklin Series of the 
> Eocene 
> Puget Group has been named _Ornithoformipes controversus_ ichnogen 
> et 
> ichnosp. nov. and is attributed to a large ground-dwelling 
> _Diatryma_ or a 
> _Diatryma_-like bird. The isolated footprint clearly shows that the 
> 
> trackmaker had broad semi-circular unguals and feet that show 
> several 
> correspondences with the foot morphology inferred for _Diatryma_ and 
> related 
> forms. The age of the footprint is estimated at about 45 million 
> years, 
> which is about 5 million years younger than known _Diatryma_ body 
> fossils. 
> The sedimentary geology context of the track is consistent with an 
> interpretation of the trackmaker as a large herbivore that lived in 
> 
> well-vegetated areas.
> 
> Andrew R. C. Milner
> City Paleontologist
> St. George Dinosaur Discovery Site at Johnson Farm
> 2180 East Riverside Drive
> St. George, Utah 84790
> USA
> 
> Tracksite Phone: (435) 574-DINO (3466)
> Cell: (435) 705-0173
> Tracksite Fax: (435) 627-0340
> Home: (435) 586-5667
> 
> Email: amilner@sgcity.org
> Website: http://www.dinotrax.com
> 
> "There is no branch of detective science which is so important and 
> so much 
> neglected as the art of tracing footsteps" -- Sir Arthur Conan 
> Doyle, 1891
> 
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Phil Bigelow" <bigelowp@juno.com>
> To: <dinosaur@usc.edu>
> Sent: Sunday, April 02, 2006 5:22 AM
> Subject: Controversial Patterson "Diatryma footprint" slab has been 
> moved
> 
> 
> >
> > Attention Foot People!  Just a short heads-up.
> >
> > While attending a geology brown bag seminar at Western Washington
> > University a month ago, I happened to pass a familiar large slab 
> of rock
> > sitting on a pallet out in the hallway.  I soon recognized the 
> slab as
> > the possibly faked "Diatryma" footprint that was collected from 
> the Puget
> > Group (Eocene, Flaming Geyser State Park site) in the Washington 
> Cascades
> > foothills. Aka, the "Patterson print."
> >
> > The "footprint" was previously stored out of sight in the Burke 
> Museum in
> > Seattle.  It's curatorial status has now been demoted to a hallway 
> in the
> > geology dept. at WWU in Bellingham, WA.  This may be its 
> permanent
> > resting place.
> >
> > If you are in the area, stop by and check it out.  It's sitting in 
> the
> > 2nd floor hallway in the Environmental Studies building (visitors 
> welcome
> > during class hours).
> >
> > <pb>
> > --
> > Former White House Hunter Safety instructor
> > Recently appointed as the new Danish Ambassador to Iran
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > 
> 
> 
>