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‘In the Field

The Bulletin of

The Field Museum The Founders’

Exploring Council presents
The Earth And lis Fernando Rubio del
People Valle with
Parker/Gentry
Award.

he Field Museum

11

The Friends’
Groups — opening
doors to new

5-8

A complete schedule
of events in
November &

December, including experiences and
the Chicago opportunities at
Humanities Festival. the Museum.

UNLOCKING THE MYSTERIES
OF HYDROTHERMAL VENTS

Contributed by Janet Voight
Associate Curator of Zoology

bout 150 miles west of Washington

state and a mile below the deepest light

penetration, you might predict that ani-

mals on the Northeast Pacific Ocean floor

would be few and far between. Yet, at

hydrothermal vents along the Juan de Fuca

Ridge, chemicals released from the Earth’s

mantle support an abundance of animal life in
this otherwise barren environment.

This summer, Janet Voight, associate cura-

tor of zoology at The Field Museum, sailed

aboard the University of Washington’s ship,

(Above) An octopus, a member of an
undescribed species of the genus
Graneledone, was photographed near the
edge of a vent community during the 1996
cruise. Voight is attempting to assess
whether predators, like this species, occur
preferentially at hydrothermal vents like
those in the Northeast Pacific.

L
Thomas G. Thompson, to study life at the V

along the Ridge. Voight, with Canadian and
American scientists, explored vent habitats
2,200 meters below the ocean’s surface using a
ROV (Remotely Operated Vehicle).

Voight’s research, supported by a grant
from the West Coast office of the National
Undersea Research Program, focused on mobile
predators such as octopuses, crabs and fishes.
Most deep-sea predators roam the ocean depths
in an unending search for nourishment and are
thought to rely entirely on food that drops from
the more productive water closer to the ocean’s
surface. Her research questions whether these
deep-sea predators feed at hydrothermal vents,
or if, as it has been assumed, predators avoid the
vents because of of the noxious chemicals that
sustain these unique biological systems.

What makes hydrothermal vents so unique
is that animals in these habitats survive using
energy from a source other than the sun. Tec-
tonic activity, like that depicted in The Field
Museum’s “Moving Earth” exhibit, allows sea-
water to penetrate pores and crevices in rocks
where it mixes with and carries toxic chemicals
from beneath the Earth’s surface. The mixture is
then released in the form of hydrothermal vent
fluid at mid-ocean ridges. Toxic chemicals in
the fluid, especially hydrogen sulfide, serve as
food for vent bacteria. Members of the vent
community, even the largest ones, rely on the
bacteria for food; without the bacteria, vent ani-
mals would die — just as we would die without
plants to convert sunlight into food.

DE DUVE SHARES HIS THOUGHTS
ON THE BEGINNING OF LIFE

obel Prize winner Dr. Christian de Duve,

a biochemical cytologist, doesn’t

believe Earth is the only place contain-
ing the essential ingredients to sustain and pro-
duce life. In last year’s September/October issue
of American Scientist, Dr. de Duye wrote: “
there must be about as many foci of life in the
universe. Life is a cosmic imperative. The uni-
verse is awash with life.”

Dr. de Duve will be speaking at The Field
Museum on Nov. 10 about the beginning of life
on Earth, and whether it was a fateful accident or
an inevitable outcome. His discussion is part of
the Chicago Humanities Festival’s examination
of birth and death and is one of seven events the
Museum is sponsoring during the Festival (see
“Calendar of Events” page).

In 1974, Dr. de Duve was awarded the
Nobel Prize in Medicine with Albert Claude and
George Palade for “discoveries concerning the
structural and functional organization of cells.”
Dr. de Duve is perhaps best know for the devel-

opment of high-resolution techniques for the
separation and characterization of cellular
organelles (a discrete structure in a cell) and for
the discovery of two types of organelles: the
lysosome, which is the cell’s “stomach,” and the
peroxisome, which is involved in a cell’s metab-
olism of fats.

Recently, however, Dr. de Duve turned his
attention to the origins of life, a topic to which he
has made a number of original contributions —
earning him a membership in the International
Society of the Origin of Life.

In his most recent book, Vital Dust: Life as
a Cosmic Imperative (1995), Dr. de Duve exam-
ines the origins of life from a biochemical stand-
point. Publishers Weekly called Vital Dust “an
awesome panorama of life on Earth, from the
first biomolecules to the emergence of the human
mind and our species’ future.”

Born in England in 1917, a citizen of Bel-
gium, Dr. de Duve commuted for more than 30
years between Belgium, where he was professor

SONAR

NOV 27 1996

IBRARIES

November;

BAGPIPERS PREPARE TO
INTRODUCE JOHN
McCARTER, THE MUSEUM’S
NEW PRESIDENT, TO GUESTS
AT A SEPTEMBER
WELCOMING RECEPTION

Coverage on page 2

€se bacteria coat
everything from rocks to
snails (like algae, only
with a whitish fuzz).
Some bacteria even live
inside hosts, such as tube
worms and clams, form-
ing mutually beneficial
relationships (a symbi-
oses). In these cases, the
hosts provide the chemi-
cal nourishment for the
bacteria and bacteria pro- ="

vide food in return. But not every vent animal is
so friendly. For example, vent snails act like lit-
tle lawn mowers cropping the bacteria that grow
on rocks or on tube worms.

These snails appear to be relics — sur-
vivors of an ancient group extinct everywhere
else on Earth. To advance our understanding of
yent snails and the evolution of modern lin-
eages, Voight collected specimens of these relic
taxa for Field Museum collections. Why these
relics occur only at vents is unknown. It might
be because hydrothermal vents are immune
from climate changes (even those that blot out
the sun) and to all but the most direct asteroid
impacts. Some scientists think that these archa-
ic animals have survived at vents because
predators rarely prowl these habitats. The data
Voight collected will address this theory.

It has been assumed that predators avoid
vents because the fluid around the area contains
Continued on page 3

of biochemistry at the Catholic University of
Louvain, and the United States, where he
was an Andrew W. Mellon professor emeri- |

tus of biochemical cytology at The Rocke- i 4 r

feller University in New York. In addition to
Vital Dust, he wrote: A Guided Tour of the
Living Cell (Scientific America, 1984) and
Blueprint for a Cell (Neil Patterson, 1991).

ember 1996

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SCOTT VEIRS /REVEL PROGRAM

(Above) Research was
carried out during the
cruise using this
machine, the
Remotely Operated
Vehicle (ROV) ROPOS
from British
Columbia’s Institute of
Ocean Sciences. The
ROV is linked to a
ship by fiber-optic
cables that carry com-
mands from ship-
board pilots to the
ROV. These cables
also carry images to
the ship from the
ROV‘s two video
cameras and sensors.
Although ROVs don’t
have the glamour of
manned submersibles
in which scientists
actually visit the
ocean floor, they do
allow all scientists on
board to participate

in every dive. In con-
trast, submersibles
can carry at most

two scientists on

a visit to the

ocean floor.

TIFE AS aA
fesmic
iMPERATIVE

JOHN WeiNisTEIN /GN87991,26C

“We must convey to
students of all ages
... that the Museum
is their place: a
sanctuary for learn-
ing, exploration and
discovery.”

McCARTER REAFFIRMS THE MUSEUM'S MISSION
AT RECEPTION IN STANLEY FIELD HALL

More than 1,000 guests and
members of the Chicago media
attended a September 19, 1996
reception, hosted by President
Emeritus Sandy Boyd, to wel-
come John McCarter, the Muse-
ums new president. Prior to
McCarter’s introduction, visitors
| talked to curators about their
__ research and toured the Muse-

' um's research labs and collec-
tions. After the tour, Leo F.
Mullin, chairman of the Muse-
um’ Board of Trustees, intro-
|| duced President John McCarter
and thanked Sandy Boyd for his
I5 years of dedication and ser-
| vice to The Field Museum. The
following column is based on
John McCarter’s speech from
that night.

or the past 15 years, Sandy Boyd
led an exciting expansion and
refocusing of the Museum’s
mission and its achievements. Our
work now encompasses advanced
research, training, public education and action

to help improve stewardship of the natural
world and to enhance intercultural understand-
ing. These are great global issues of our time,
and they are intimately related. I am thrilled to
have the opportunity, as the Museum’s new
president, to build on Sandy’s solid foundation
and lead the Museum into the 21st century.
Peter Raven of the Missouri Botanical Gar-
dens, a recipient of the Field’s Award of Merit,
communicates the significance of our species by
extending his arm to represent the age of life on
earth and then passing a file twice over his fin-
gernail to represent the time that humans have
been here. He asks, and we echo the question:
How can we believe we are responsible stew-
ards of this world if we undo four billion years
of evolution’s work in a matter of generations?

Statement of Ownership, Management and Circulation

Filing date: October 1, 1996. Title: In the Field. Publication no, 898940. Frequency of publication: Bimonthly. Num-
ber of issues published annually: 6. Annual subscription price: $6.00. Office: Roosevelt Rd. at Lake Shore Dr.,
Chicago, IL 60605.

Publisher: The Field Museum, Roosevelt Rd. at Lake Shore Dr., Chicago, !L 60605. Editor: Robert Vosper, The
Field Museum, Roosevelt Rd. at Lake Shore Dr,, Chicago, IL 60605. Owner: The Field Museum, Roosevelt Rd. at
Lake Shore Dr., Chicago, IL 60605, Known bondholders, mortgages and other security holders: None. The purpose
and function of this organization and the exempt status for federal income tax purposes have not changed during
the preceding 12 months.

A B

Total copies printed 25,000 25,000
Paid and/or requested circulation
(Sales through dealers and carriers, street
vendors and counter sales) none none
Paid and/or requested mail
Subscriptions
Total paid and/or requested
circulation
Free Distribution by mail
Free Distribution outside
mail none none
Total free distribution 1,039 1,059
Copies not distributed,
Office use, leftovers,
spoiled
Returns from news
agencies none none
Total 25,000 25,000
Percent paid and/or
requested circulation 95.5 95.5

22,337 22,818

22,818
1,059

22,937
1,039

1,624 1,123

| certify that all information fumished above is true and complete. /s/ Jimmie W. Croft, vice president of finance and
Museum services,

A= Average number of copies each issue during preceding 12 months
B = Actual number of copies of single issue published nearest filing date

November/December 1996 2?

OUR RELEVANCE TO THE WORLD

When we build exhibits or design public
programs for visitors, and when our scientists
go into the field or work in their laboratories
with our vast collections, we have an underlying
message: The future of our world’s people, cul-
tures and environments are all interconnected.
Against the backdrop of environmental and cul-
tural history, it is clear that the human-induced
pressures of today threaten the ecological health
of the planet. In every aspect of our work we are
tackling these difficult problems by building
understanding of biological and cultural diversi-
ty, the human and natural causes of environ-
mental degradation, species elimination and
ecological collapse. In a world increasingly seg-
mented into South and North, poor and rich,
rapidly growing and economically mature, we
seek solutions that will help sustain a planet
under intense attack and that will help us live
together despite burgeoning populations,
increased urbanization and conflicting needs
that place both civilizations and ecosystems at
risk.

To give our aspirations concrete form,
while at the same time using our collections and
expertise in biological and cultural diversity in
innovative ways, The Field Museum has
become a leader in establishing local, national
and international programs that address the cur-
rent environmental and cultural crises in real-
world arenas:

° Teamed with Conservation International and
supported by the MacArthur Foundation, the W.
Alton Jones Foundation and other donors, the
Museum is headquarters for the Rapid Assess-
ment Program, which has developed techniques
to make quick but scientifically valid surveys of
the relative biological importance of tropical
areas being considered for development or
preservation. The findings are made available
within weeks or months to organizations in the
regions concerned. An offshoot of this program
is our training of biologists and conservationists

(Above) John
McCarter welcomes
Paul and Marianne
Patten’s two children,
Laird and Aaron, to
the reception. Many
of the families at the
reception took the
opportunity to meet
the curators and talk
with them about the
Museums research.
Children were
especially fascinated

Editor:
Robert Vosper

Art Director:
Shi Yung

in Peru and Bolivia to integrate these techniques
in their work in evaluating and setting conser-
yation priorities in their countries.

* Here at home, we have joined with the Nature
Conservancy and more than 30 other agencies
and institutions in a breathtakingly innovative
project called Chicago Wilderness. In and
around this great city there remain small pock-
ets of the tall-grass prairies, woodland savannas
and the wetlands that once covered the Plains.
There are, altogether, some 200,000 acres of

DIANE ALEXANDER WHITE /GN88002.

(Above) Left to Right: Chapurukha
Kusimba, assistant curator of African
archaeology and ethnology at The Field
Museum, with Edward Yastrow, a Museum
volunteer in the anthropology department.

open lands in our parks, forest preserves, river-
banks and privately owned tracts that could be
restored or conserved to preserve numerous
endemic species of plants and animals that may
otherwise fade into extinction. These local
issues have global significance. Doug Stotz and
Debbie Moskovits of the Museum’s Office of
Environmental and Conservation Programs, and
the late Ted Parker, joint authors of the path-
breaking book, Neotropical Birds: Ecology and
Conservation, have helped provide a basis for
conservation priorities in Central and South
America, but they also have demonstrated that
nesting locations in Chicago and the Midwest
are critical for the preservation of bird species
whose migratory flights range throughout the
Americas. Chicago Wilderness will set the stan-
dard for other cities in many parts of the world
with similarly endangered ecosystems. It will
send the message that urbanization need not
spell the death of natural communities.

MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING

The Museum’s scientists and educators rec-
ognize that traditional cultures are not static,
and that societies in the process of economic
development have a need, and a right, to use
their land and resources to improve their mater-
ial well-being. The task now is to find ways that
the developing world can avoid the mistakes
Continued on page 4

November/December 1996
Vol. 67, No. 6

The Field Museum
Exploring

The Earth And Its
People

with Assistant
Curator Meenakshi
Wadhwa’s discussions
about her work with
the Museum’s
collection of rocks
from Mars.

Editorial Assistant:
Rhonda Jones

In the Field (ISSN #1051-4546) is published bimonthly by The Field Museum, Roosevelt Road al Lake Shore Drive, Chicago IL 60605-2496. Copyright ©
1995 The Field Museum. Subscriptions $6.00 annually, $3.00 for schools, Museum membership includes In the Field subscription. Opinions expressed by
authors ae their own and do not necessarily reflect policy of The Field Museum. Museum phone (312) 922-9410. Notification of address change should
include address label and should be sent to Membership Department. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to In the Field, The Field Museum, Roo-
sevelt Rd. at Lake Shore Dr., Chicago, IL 60605-2496. Second-class postage paid al Chicago, llinois.

UPSTAIRS, DOWNSTAIRS

HYDROTHERMAL VENTS ... continued jrom page 1

noxious chemicals and no oxygen. Vent fluid,
however, doesn’t linger at the sea floor. The
warm or even hot fluid is buoyant, causing it to
rise rapidly from the ocean floor, Even animals
specialized at surviving at vents have to live at
the vent’s edge where they are periodically
bathed in cold, oxygen-rich water from the sur-
rounding ocean. Even a predator repelled by the
chemicals in vent fluid would seemingly be able
to feast on the animals living on the edge of
vents. Why don’t predators just reach in to
where vent animals are literally piled on top of
one another and grab some rich morsels to
devour in the cold, chemically-clean water that
surrounds these habitats?

No one has seen predators do this, but sci-
entists have very little time to observe vent
communities. The high cost of running ships
and ROVs (or submersibles), the constraints
imposed by bad weather and the limitations of
working with a robot, all prevent deep-sea biol-
ogists from doing what is simple for land-based
biologists. If deep-sea predators do feed on vent
animals, they may distribute vent-produced bio-
mass broadly across the ocean floor — creating
a biological link between these very small, but

special habitats and the ocean world. Vents are
now thought to be similar to desert “oases”
because in the midst of the barren ocean floor
they are full of life. Just as water at a desert
oasis has little effect on the humidity of the sur-
rounding environment, hydrothermal vents are
thought to have little impact on the food-starved
ocean floor. This yiew may be challenged if
deep-sea predators are found to raid vent com-
munities. With more research, Voight may find
that the biological impact of hydrothermal vents
on the sea floor extends far beyond their
physical limits.

WANT MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE
EXPEDITION?

A group of high-school and college teachers
joined the scientists and kept a log of what hap-
pened during the cruise. The log, profiles of the

scientists and summaries of their research are
posted on the University of Washington's Web
site: <<http:/Awww.ocean.washington.edu/
exploraquarium/revel/>>. The site also offers an
educational journey to the Juan de Fuca Ridge
via a ‘virtual field trip.”

FERNANDO RUBIO RECEIVES PARKER/GENTRY AWARD

By Robert Vosper

s a child, Fernando Rubio del Valle

became fascinated with the forests and

grasslands of his native Peru. As he got
older, this fascination turned into devotion, In
1983, he graduated from the School of Forestry
Sciences at the National University of La Moli-
na; then in 1987 he joined the non-government
organization PRO NATURALEZA (Fundacién
Peruana para la Conservacién de la Natu-
raleza/Peruvian Foundation for the Conservation
of Nature). It was with PRO NATURALEZA that
Rubio began his fight to preserve the natural
habitats of Peru —a fight he continues today.

On Oct. 22, the Founders’ Council presented
Rubio with the Museum’s inaugural Parker/Gen-
try Award in recognition of his environmental
and conservation efforts; especially for his work
at the Santuario Nacional Pampas del Heath.
This new award (see the September/October

issue of Jn the Field) recognizes conservationists
whose innovative work in preserving the world’s
rich natural habitats has yet to receive much
publicity, and whose creative approach to
conservation may serve as a model to others
around the world.

When Rubio joined PRO NATURALEZA,
he successfully coordinated the management
plan for the National Park of the Amotape
Mountains. He was then named the director of
the Santuario Nacional Pampas del Heath, where
he transformed 20,000 acres of mostly neglected
natural savannas into one of the best-managed
protected habitats in the Americas. The sanctuary
harbors many animal species like the marsh deer
and the maned wolf, both of which depend on the
threatened grasslands. The sanctuary is also
home to several species of birds and specialized
plant communities.

A key to Rubio’s success has been his abili-

ty to gain the support
and trust of the indige-
nous communities and §
other settlers that live
adjacent to the sanctu-
ary and who initially
opposed the plan.
Rubio not only gained |
their support, but he
also integrated them
into the management of |
the sanctuary.

Rubio is now plan-
ning to develop a bio-
logical station in the
area of the sanctuary.
He will be also sharing the management of the
grasslands with the recently established Madidi
National Park, located on the other side of the
Rio Heath in Bolivia.

FERNANDO RUBIO DEL VALLE

ce tion in Siener a eld Hall on Sept. 26,
Museum President Emeritus Sandy Boyd thanked all The Field

Ata staff-only re

Museum’s employees a lunteers for their hard work and —
dedication over the years. Sandy Boyd retired at the end of —
September after 15 years as the Museum’s president.

___ As president emeritus, Boyd Plans | to continue his work
with the Museum as an honorary chai irman for the upcoming —
funding campaign. He also will teach a course on non-profit
organizations at the ersity of lowa ae he is president

_ emeritus and professor of law.

3 November/December 1996

DIANE ALEXANDER WHITE /GN87994,6C

(Above) From left to
right: Peter Crane,
vice president of
Academic Affairs;
John McCarter;
Doug Stotz, conser-
vation ecologist;
and David Willard,
collections manager
of birds.

/GN87996,27C

Underground”:

(Right) Anna Roosevelt,
curator of archaeology,
displays a 11,000 year-
old vertebra of a pirarucu
fish found in her recent

expedition to Caverna da
Pedra Pintada in the
Brazilian rain forest.

McCA RTE R R EC EP Tl O N eee Continued from page 2

that Europe and North Ameri-
ca made during their develop-
ment. This requires mutual
understanding among diverse
cultures and raising concern
_ for the common good of
| humanity and its companions
on the living Earth. Among our
recent programs that address
these issues are the Nuveen
Forum series, “Conversations
on Pluralism and Identity in
America”; the two most recent
Spring Symposia on human
and environmental interactions
m2 on Madagascar and in the
Andes; exhibits like “Africa,”
“Messages from the Wilder-
ness,” the forthcoming “Liv-
ing Together” and “Life
and the Conservation Training
Consortium, which brings promising young
researchers, teachers and conservation workers
from tropical countries to Chicago to study both
the science and the political nuances of conserva-
tion. Our curators also help local people in places
like the Philippines, Borneo, Peru, Brazil and
Madagascar to reconcile conservation and devel-
opment priorities. Museum curators also apply
their anthropological expertise to help understand
the basis of low birth weights in our inner cities
and appropriate forms of agricultural practices on
steep tropical hillsides. In all of these activities,
the Museum contributes to the global goal where
different people live in mutual respect and where
the needs of the present are properly balanced
with the concerns for the future.

These are just a few of the more significant

Trustees.

(Left) President Emeritus Sandy Boyd and his wife,
Susan, with John McCarter and his wife, Judy.

(Right) From left to right: Rosalind Kaye; Laura Gates,
vice president of Museum Affairs; Hope Kaye; Nick
Kaye; John McCarter; Michelle Kaye; and Ken Kaye.

DIANE ALEXANDER WHITE /GN88001.21C

(Left) Susan Crown
and her husband,
William C. Kunkler
IIL, who is on the
Museum’s Board of

ventures we have undertaken, and we plan to do
more, around the world and especially here in
Chicago. Our major teaching tool is, and will con-
tinue to be, the collections and exhibits that enrich
the Museum’s halls. We must convey to students
of all ages — including the school group on tour,
the retired person finally with time to explore, the
serious scholar or the lonely teenager fascinated
with science — that the Museum is their place: a
sanctuary for learning, exploration and discovery.
But we must also reach an audience beyond our
walls. This means the use of staff and programs in
Chicago’s parks, schools and neighborhoods and,
increasingly, the technology of the Internet, publi-
cations, CD-ROMs and video.

PARTNERSHIPS

With this ambitious research, teaching and
action agenda, we clearly can’t work in isolation.
Our relationship with the Committee on
Evolutionary Biology at the University of
Chicago, where 19 of our curators hold appoint-
ments, and with the program in anthropology at
the University of Illinois at Chicago, where six of
our curators hold appointments, are models for
academic cooperation. Our shared mission with
the American Museum of Natural History, the
Smithsonian and Britain’s Natural History
Museum will enable us to work economically in
joint ventures. Our new museum campus and the
nature park on Northerly Island will enable us to
work more closely with the Shedd Aquarium and
the Adler Planetarium, as well as all of Chicago’s
museums, zoos and gardens. The recent steps
toward revitalization of Chicago’s schools are an
enormous encouragement for the museum
community. We must be deeply involved in
enriching curriculum, helping students win

JOHN WEINSTEIN /GN87983.5AC

(Right) Leo F.
Mullin, chairman
of the Museum’s
Board of Trustees
and his wife, Leah.

Westinghouse Awards and reaching out to those
who previously had little hope of academic
achievement.

Our Museum institutions can be beacons to
draw an increasingly segregated and diffuse
Chicago together. The Field Museum in particular
must serve all communities by showing we are
more alike than different, and that Chicago can
flourish only if we understand and appreciate the
diversity that is our wonderful heritage but also
our tough challenge.

THE MILLENNIUM

To this end, I’m pleased to report that the
Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees
has approved a two-fold effort to celebrate the
millennium:

First, we will mount a major exhibit focusing
on 40,000 years of human history — our written
record, our reflections on God and spirituality, on
family, on law and government, on biological and
industrial technology.

Second, we will collaborate with other
Chicago institutions for a year-long exploration of
human achievement involving astronomy, geolo-
gy, biology, paleontology, anthropology, the arts,
music and humanities. Already involved in dis-
cussions are the Adler Planetarium, the Shedd
Aquarium, the Oriental Institute, the Chicago
Humanities Festival, the University of Chicago,
the Art Institute and the Chicago Historical
Society. The academic, foundation, and govern-
ment leaders we have spoken with are uniformly
enthusiastic. We will be contacting others to iden-
tify how we can work as a team to center the
world’s attention on Chicago at the time of the
millennium.

We have great work to do.

(Left) John McCarter
with John Rogers,
president of the Board
of Commissioners of
the Chicago Park Dis-
trict, and Melody
Hobson, vice presi-
dent of Ariel Capital.

JOHN WEINSTEIN /(

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CALENDAR OF EVENTS

ANCIENT ROME AND THE
DeCOSTA COIN COLLECTION

By Rhonda Jones

The new exhibit, “Ancient Rome,” dis-
plays, among other things, a sample of the
beautiful Roman coin collection donated to the
Museum in 1994 by Chicago native, Dr. Edwin
J. DeCosta. He presented the Museum with
several thousand prized coins that date back to
134 — 135 B.C. The coin collection will serve
as a memorial to DeCosta who died in 1995.

Coin collecting was more than just a pas-
time hobby for this busy doctor. His love for
coins resulted from a strong interest in archae-
ology and a feeling for the beauty of the coins.
A talented amateur sculptor, DeCosta consid-
ered his Roman coin collection to be miniature
pieces of relief sculpture.

When DeCosta donated his collection,
curators at the Museum had to confirm the
authenticity of the “gems.” Each coin was
weighed and measured, its inscriptions trans-
lated and its images studied and compared. In
most cases, the scientists were able to identify

each coin’s city of origin, denomination, year
and often the workshop in which it was mint-
ed. DeCosta’s gift to the Museum also includ-
ed some funding for research and cataloging.

Romans produced a wealth of coins over
an extended period of time, spreading them
across much of the world including India, Rus-
sia and northern Africa.

Also included in the exhibit are 1,900-
year-old bronze kitchen wares found in the
ruins of a villa outside Pompeii. This small,
wealthy town in southern Italy, lay at the foot
of Mt. Vesuvius. The volcano erupted in 79
A.D., killing many of the town’s 15 — 20 thou-
sand residents.

The volcanic ash, which buried the city,
also preserved many treasures of this ancient
culture. Many of the items from the Pompeii
ruins were extracted from their original posi-
tions — pots still on stoves and plates still on
tables.

Scientists can use coins, and other artifacts

HEAVEN ON EARTH: ortHopox

TREASURES OF SIBERIA AND NORTH AMERICA

“Heaven on Earth: Orthodox Treasures of
Siberia and North America” features sacred
objects and icons of the Orthodox church that
date back to the early 6th century in Byzantium.
It includes priceless liturgical objects from
Siberia, Alaska and Orthodox churches through-
out the United States and Canada.

This exhibit pays reverence to the founding
saints, great martyrs and the constituents of
the Orthodox church in America—Russian, Ser-
bian, Greek, Rumanian, Ukrainian, Aleut and
Eskimo.

Complementing the bicentennial anniver-
sary celebration of the Orthodox Church’s incep-
tion in North America, “Heaven on Earth”
reflects the unique character and the cultural and
spiritual role of the Orthodox faith. Since the
first missionaries from Russia arrived in Alaska
in 1794, the Orthodox liturgy has been an inte-
gral part of North American culture.

This fascinating exhibit will continue
through Jan. 5, 1997. Turn to the “Calendar of
Events” page for a selection of educational pro-
grams scheduled around this exhibit.

SACRED ARTS
OF HAITIAN VODOU

COMING THIS FEBRUARY

The predominant religion of the
Haitian people, vodou, was created out of
several related traditions transported across
the Atlantic by enslaved Africans who
transformed their beliefs and rituals
according to the conditions they faced in
the New World.

“Sacred Arts of Haitian Vodou” is the
first major exhibit to explore the ritual arts
produced within this Afro-Caribbean reli-
gion. The exhibit displays more than 500
vodou-inspired art objects.

“Sacred Arts of Haitian Vodou” will
run from Feb. 1 to April 13, 1997.

like the ones in the
exhibit, to gain
insight into the
early Roman peo-
ple and their cul-
ture — art, reli-
gion, government
— as well as their
economics. The
ancient artifacts fea- %
tured in the exhibit, |
originals and replicas, *
were crafted of precious

fine alloys such as bronze and brass. Bronze,
mixture of copper and tin, symbolized wealth
in ancient Rome. Glass wares, fresco paint-
ings, replicas of scientific instruments and
examples of Roman influences on modern life
are included in this exhibit.

“Ancient Rome” will be on display in the
Searle Lounge until Feb. 3, 1997.

FAITH NET

The photographic exhibit, “Red White Blue
and God Bless You,” offers a reverent portrayal of
the people of the mountain villages of New
Mexico.

Photographer Alex Harris’ images of yards,
porches, stores, churches, cars, homes, friends
and neighbors capture the unique ways in which
the Hispanic community in this region use color
to enhance their surroundings and adorn their
possessions. Through the lens of his camera, Har-
ris captures a blend of aesthetic, religious and
familial devotion demonstrated by the people of
the area.

This exhibit is being circulated by the Inter-
national Center of Photography and is supported
by grants from the National Endowment for the
Arts and Lynne and Harold Hickman.

“Red White Blue and God Bless You” will be
on display in the Museum’s South Gallery
through Dec. 8. 1996.

ALEX HARRIS

(Above) Medal.
Head of Emperor
Napoleon with
Roman laurel leaves.
Bronze. Napoleon I,
France, A.D. 1807.

(Left) Processional
Cross, Belorus, early
19th century. Brass
and enamel pigment.

(Left) “Hong Kong
Lounge, Las Vegas,
New Mexico,
looking north from
Richard Lucero’s
1972 Buick
Centurion.”

FAITH NET

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

(Below):

St. Innocent of
Irkutsk. Alaska,
late 19th century.
Oil paint on

canvas.

Saturday, Dec. 7
Orthodox Treasures

11/2 & 9 saturday
Teen Workshop

10 a.m. — noon, (2 sessions). First introduced
to Mexico by the Europeans, the art of “papier
maché” was embraced and has continued to
be used for a rich array of folk-art expressions
— pifiatas, toys and sculpture. In this two-ses-
sion workshop you will learn the basics of
papier maché from creating free-form sculp-
tures to the use of molds. After creating small
figures or sculptures the first week, we will
sand and paint our works in week two. For
teens grade 7 and up ($24; $20 members). Call
(312) 322-8854 for more information.

11/5 & 19 tuesday
Medical Botany

6 — 8 p.m., (3 sessions). From Aristotle’s
Greece to Zanzibar, this short course will pro-
vide a historical survey of the use of plants in
medicine. With slides, demonstrations and a
tour of the Plant Hall, walk through world his-
tory and mankind's unending search for plants
that heal. During the last session we will dis-
cuss present-day uses of medicinal plants and
current research in finding plants with healing
properties for AIDS and cancer. ($48; $42
members). Call (312) 322-8854 for more infor-
mation.

1 1 } 8-9 Friday & Saturday
Family Overnight

5:45 p.m. — 9 a.m. What is it like to be in a
museum after the crowds have gone home and
the doors have been locked? Overnights are
designed for families (adults accompanied by
children grades 1-6) and include two natural-
science workshops, an evening snack, a story-
telling performance, a self-guided flashlight
tour of “Inside Ancient Egypt” exhibit and a
continental breakfast. ($43; $38 members).
Call (312) 322-8854 for more information.

11/10 & Uses
Interpreting Archaeology

9 a.m. — noon. Learn how archaeologists use
artifacts and environmental data to reconstruct
past human behavior. During slide presenta-
tions, in-class activities and on exhibit walk-
through, you will learn how to think like an
archaeologist piecing together clues about
apy ancient diet and health,
warfare, trade and reli-
- gion. ($48; $42 members).
© Call (312) 322-8854 for
' more information.

111/12 suesy

Friends of
the Library

5:30 — 7 p.m, Dr. Rudiger
Bieler, associate curator
and head, invertebrates,
department of zoology,
will present a lecture on
malacology. Call (312)
322-8874 for more infor-
mation.

1 1 / 9 -1 0 Saturday & Sunday
7th Annual Chicago Humanities Festival

This year’s Chicago Humanities Festival features authors, scholars, policy makers and per-
forming artists in an examination of the theme of birth and death. The festival, which is orga-
nized by the Illinois Humanities Council, probes the social and ethical issues of birth and
death, and provides opportunities for historical and cross-cultural comparisons. The Museum

will host seven of the Festival’s events:

Saturday, Nov. 9.

¢ What Assyrian Queens Wore on Their Way to Heaven. McGuire Gibson, world-
renowned Mesopotamian archeologist at the Oriental Institute and The University of Chicago,
presents a slide lecture interpreting how and why queens decked themselves out on their
voyage to the next world. Montgomery Ward Lecture Hall, 10 — 11 a.m.

* Trapped in Amber. Field Museum scientists examine the big issue of birth and death —
evidence for the origins of life, the rise of species and patterns of extinction throughout geo-
logic time. Insects trapped in amber remain one of the most visible forms of prehistoric life,
possibly containing evidence of DNA from other species — part of a lively debate since the
publication of Jurassic Park. Montgomery Ward Lecture Hall, 11:30 — 12:30 p.m.

The Field Museum will exhibit amber jewelry from private collections and will have amber
jewelry for sale in a trunk show from Nov. 8 — 10, at the Museum's store on the first floor.

e A Universe is Born! Debate Rages for Eons. Charles Rhodes, professor of physics at the
University of Illinois at Chicago, assembles a panel of physicists to debate their different per-
spectives on the “big bang” theory. Physicists include: The University of Chicago’s Angela
Olinto and Stanford University’s Andrei Linde. Montgomery Ward Lecture Hall, 1 — 2 p.m.

e Birth Under Duress: Stories from Harlem. Alaka Wali, anthropologist at The Field Muse-
um, tells stories drawn from her research in Harlem, N.Y., about what it means to be preg-
nant and give birth under difficult circumstances where much of what happens is beyond the
mother's control. Montgomery Ward Lecture Hall, 2:30 — 3:30 p.m.

e Passages to Everlasting Life: Ancient American Rituals. Anna Roosevelt, curator of
archaeology at the Museum and professor of anthropology at The University of Illinois at
Chicago, explores diverse rituals and practices surrounding birth and death in the Americas,
linking death to deified ancestors and birth to life everlasting. Montgomery Ward

Lecture Hall, 4 — 5 p.m.

Sunday, Nov. 10. .

e Life on Earth: Fateful Accident or Inevitable Outcome. Nobel Prize winner Christian de
Duve (see page 1), professor emeritus at the University of Louvain and The Rockefeller
University and author of Vital Dust: Life as a Cosmic Imperative, talks about the origin of life,
from the early cell development to the complexity of the human mind. James Simpson

Theatre, 1 —2 p.m.

¢ Death in Our Time. Dr. Sherwin B. Nuland (“Get Smart” page), Yale University professor of
medicine and author of the best-selling book, How We Die: Reflections on Life’s Final Chap-
ter, examines the physiology of the stages of death and reflects on the implications of this
process. James Simpson Theatre, 2:30 — 3:30 p.m.

Tickets to the presentations are $3 and can be purchased through the Orchestra Hall
Box Office, 220 S. Michigan Ave., or by phone at (312) 294-3000.

1 2/ 7 Saturday

Orthodox Treasures

10 a.m. — noon. After a guided tour of the
“Heaven on Earth” exhibit, you will learn
about the rituals involved in preparing and
writing an icon. Families will create paper
mosaic icons of saints using simple materials.
For adults and children grades 2-6. ($10 per
participant; $8 per member participant). Call
(312) 322-8854 for more information.

1 2/ 1 | Wednesday
Holiday Plants

6 — 8 p.m. Learn about the symbolic history of
selected plants including juniper, fir, rosemary
and yew. Then make a 12 inch diameter
wreath using a variety of mixed evergreens
with herbs and dried flowers added for accent.
($35: $30 members). Call (312) 322-8854 for
more information.

1 2/ 1 1 Wednesday
Sparkling Wine Taste

6 — 8 p.m. Celebrate the holidays at The Field
Museum with the world’s most celebrated
wines. Please join us in Stanley Field Hall for
a reception-style tasting of champagnes and
sparkling wines of the world, complemented
by savory hors-d’oeuvres. The wine is compli-
ments of Mary Ross, director of The Wine
Academy of the North Shore. The Museum
shop will be open and members will receive a
20 percent discount on all purchases. Advance
reservations required by Dec. 4. ($40; $35
members). All participants must be at least 21
years of age. For reservations and for addition-
al information call (312) 922-9410, ext. 453.

GET SMART

FACE IT: MASKS AT THE FIELD

asks connote mystery, hidden
meanings and fun with a sense of

M fear. They are used in many societies

for religious, celebratory or even practical
purposes.

Explore masks and find out what they mean
to several different cultures. See how masks
transform the people who wear them and learn
how they come alive in theater and dance per-
formances. Also, find out about the special
masks worn by firemen, hockey players, divers
and surgeons. Talk with the people who wear
these specialized masks to find out what the
masks accomplish.

Throughout the week, visitors will have a
chance to make masks of their own. Talented
artists will inspire (and help) as you create
masks out of paper boxes, paper bags, or paper
plates and then decorate them with bright and
colorful accessories.

Your mask can transform you into a fero-
cious animal, a whimsical character or a danger-
ous monster. Other artists will help you create a
new image with body paint. Once transformed,
you will be asked to participate in a masked
parade that will kick off each day at 2:30 p.m. in

Masks

the main hall.

Visit some of The Field Museum’s magnif-
icent masks on a self-guided tour using a
brochure available at the information booth. Or

JOHN WEINSTEIN /GNB7680.16AC

eo ee

take a tour led by a staff member or volunteer of

the various exhibits featuring masks.

Masks also will be available for purchase at
the Museum Store. On selected days, local gal-
leries will be exhibiting masks created by con-
temporary artists.

“Masks At The Field” continues at the
Museum through Dec. 31.

Each day of the six-day long festival will feature a special guest or performance at 1 p.m.

Thursday, Dec. 26

Spiderman will be our special guest on the opening day of the festival.

Friday, Dec. 27

Members of the Gingarte Capoeira Club, transformed with masks and body paint, demonstrate Brazilian acro-
batics, self-defense moves and traditional and popular dances.

Saturday, Dec. 28

ALLIED Chinese-American Association presents a Chinese Lion dance in which some participants become
part of an enormous lion that paws and prances as it enters the Museum.

Sunday, Dec. 29

Ballet Folklorico de los Nermonos Avila will present the Mexican tradition of masked dancing.

Monday, Dec. 30 and Tuesday, Dec. 31.

Chicago's acclaimed Redmoon Theater will reomblne mask making with performance.

DR. NULAND REFLECTS ON
THE PROCESS OF DYING

r. Sherwin Nuland’s newest book, How
We Die: Reflections on Life’s Final

Chapter, pulls no punches in its exami-

nation of the process of death. Kirkus Review
said that in the book, “Nuland succeeds in
demythologizing death ... strong stuff: not for
those who prefer to cling to comforting illusions
about life’s end.” Dr. Nuland believes that hiding
death behind the walls of hospitals creates the
fear we all have about dying. The way to ease the
fear is to unveil the mysteries behind dying and
to explain it as a normal biological process.

On Nov. 10 at The Field Museum, Dr.
Nuland will be talking about the physiology of
the stages of death and the implications of this
process. This discussion is part of the
Museum’s contribution to the Chicago Humani-
ties Festival’s examination of birth and death (for
information about this and other Festival events
see the “Calendar of Events” page).

In his book, which won the National Book
Award for non-fiction, Dr. Nuland details how
people die from a variety of ailments, using his
own experience, including the death of his
grandmother and caring for his older brother
who was dying of cancer.

In addition to his most recent book, Dr.
Nuland wrote two others: Doctors: The Biogra-
phy of Medicine (Knopf, 1988) and Medicine:
The Art of Healing (Hugh Lauter Levin Associ-
ates, 1992).

ae Field Muscam
and receive e these benefits:

he eee adiniesion :

_ Free priority admission to “Life OverT Time”

_ Priority admission to special exhibits

_ Free coat checking and strollers

__ Invitation to Members’ Night oe

_ Free subscription to In the Field _

10% discount at all Museum stores

10% discount at Picnic in the Field _

_ 13-month wall calendar featuring exhibit phowenohs
Reduced subscription prices on selected 1 magazines __
Opportunity to receive the Museum’s annual report
Use of our 250,000-volume natural history library

_ Discount on classes, field trips and | seminars for adults and
: -Members-only tour gee

‘Childs S$ “dinosaur” birthday c card

MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION __
New Members only. aes is nota renewal form.

OQ Please enroll me asa 2 Member of The Field Mecan : .
Name oe

_ Business phone

Send form to:
The ey seum, Roose lt Road at Lake Shore Drive Glee, .
ae ‘ols G0605 oe

HELD MUSEUM

THE SMART WAY TO HAVE FUN.

- WINTER FIELD GUIDE.
6 COMING!

Wines 1997 Field Guides al be available by mid-December.

Upcoming events in the New Year include programs on the

"Sacred Arts of Haitian Vodou" exhibit. It also includes the first
Family Overnight of 1997, on Friday, Feb. 21, Call (312) 322-8854 to

request your free copy of the Adult, Family and Children’s Pro-

grams Field Guide for Senay ee March.

Ay

Saturday, Nov. 2

10 a.m. — 1 p.m. Adinkra activity.
Learn about traditional designs from
Ghana representing different African
proverbs. Stamp your favorite.

11a.m. Stories from Around the
World. Travel to distant lands
through the magic of storytelling.

Sunday, Nov. 3
lla.m. & 1p.m. Highlights of The
Field Museum tour.

1:30 p.m. The Early Maya Civiliza-
tion tour. Explore the Mayan ances-
tors’ art, architecture, technological
innovations, math and writing sys-
tems. Find out more about present-
day Maya in Mexico and Central
America.

Thursday, Nov. 7

12:45 p.m. The Aztec, The Maya
and Their Predecessors tour. Learn
about the diverse and complex Pre-
Columbian cultures of Mexico and
Central America.

Saturday, Nov. 9
11 a.m. & 1 p.m. Highlights of The
Field Museum tour.

11:30 a.m. & 2:30 p.m. The Aztec
Empire and Their Predecessors tour
(English). Find out about the diversi-
ty of languages and cultures from
this region and how they built a
mighty empire founded 3,000 years
ago.

11 a.m. — 3 p.m. Iconography
demonstration. Archbishop Alypy
will demonstrate this art form which
reveals the meaning behind reli-
gious images.

11:30 a.m. & 1:30 p.m. Orthodox
Influence on Indians of the North-
west Coast tour. Sorrel Goodwin, a
Tlingit Indian and woodcarver, will
walk visitors through exhibits that
reflect on the Orthodox/Native
American connection.

1 p.m. El Imperio Azteca y sus
Predecesores tour. Aprenda sobre la
diversidad de lenguajes y culturas
en esta region y como estas
culturas construyeron un poderoso
imperio que se fund6 hace 3,000
anos.

Sunday, Nov. 10
l1a.m. & 1 p.m. Highlights of The
Field Museum tour.

1:30pm & 3pm Choirs from Ortho-
dox Traditions performance. Music
will fill Stanley Field Hall as
chanters and choirs from four differ-
ent congregations present their
music.

VISITOR PROGRAMS

Mio rricay, ae lan
and 2 p.m. Visit some of the
exhibits that make this Muse-
um one of the world’ 5 great
est. Find out the sto .
behind the exhil

weekend listings

and Sunday Highlights tours.

Thursday, Nov. 14
12:45 p.m. The Aztec, The Maya
and Their Predecessors tour.

Friday, Nov. 15

10 a.m. —1 p.m. Rocks and Miner-
als activity. Try and match minerals
with the familiar products they pro-
duce.

Saturday, Nov. 16

10 a.m. —1 p.m. African Metals
activity. Learn about the ancient
African art of metallurgy.

11 a.m. Stories from Around the
world storytelling.

11 a.m. & 1p.m. Highlights of The
Field Museum tour.

Thursday, Nov. 21
12:45 p.m. The Aztec, The Maya
and Their Predecessors tour.

Friday, Nov. 22

10 a.m. —1 p.m. Pareus activity. Try
out a Pacific Island style as you
wrap a pareu-style dress.

Saturday, Nov. 23
11:30 a.m. The Aztec Empire and
Their Predecessors tour (English)

1 p.m. The Early Maya Civilization
tour.

2:30 p.m. El Imperio Azteca y sus
Predecesores tour (Spanish).

Sunday, Nov. 24
11 a.m. & 1 p.m. Highlights of The
Field Museum tour.

Friday, Nov. 29

10 a.m. —1 p.m. Lava activity. Now
that they're cool, touch some of the
substances produced by a volcano.

Saturday, Nov. 30
10 a.m. —1 p.m. African Metals
activity.

11 a.m. Stories from Around the
World storytelling.

11 a.m.—1 p.m. Spiders activity
and demonstration. See a live taran-
tula and scorpion and find out why
they’re related. Then make your
own hanging spider.

11 a.m. — 3 p.m. Egg Decorating
demonstration. Learn about Ukrain-
ian pysansky (egg coloring), and
about Rumanian egg beading.
Watch as artists create these unusu-
al and beautiful ornaments.

11:30 a.m. & 1:30 p.m. Orthodox
Influence on Indians of the North-
west Coast tour. Sorrel Goodwin, a
Tlingit Indian and woodcarver, will
walk visitors through exhibits that
reflect on the Orthodox/Native
American connection.

Sunday, Dec. 1
1 p.m. The Early Maya Civilization
tour.

iy!

Friday, Dec. 6

10 a.m. - 1 p.m. Native American
Tools activity. Enjoy a game of
chance or skill as you play tradi-
tional Native American games.

Saturday, Dec. 7
11 a.m. & 1 p.m. Highlights of The
Field Museum tour.

11:30 a.m. & 2:30 p.m. The Aztec,
The Maya and Their Predecessors
tour (English).

1:00 p.m. Los Aztecas, Los Mayas y
sus Predecesores tour (Spanish).

Friday, Dec. 13

10 a.m. - 1 p.m. Terrific Teeth
activity. Can teeth tell you what an
animal eats? Take part in this fun
activity and find out!

Saturday, Dec. 14

10 a.m. - 1 p.m. Adinkra activity.
11am Stories from Around the
World storytelling.

11 a.m. & 1 p.m. Highlights of The
Field Museum tour.

1:30 p.m. The Early Maya Civiliza-
tion tour.

Saturday, Dec. 15

Performance:

1 p.m. Orthodox Hymns of the
Nativity. The Pan Orthodox choir, a
Greek Orthodox choir and the SLO-
BODA Serbian Singing Society will
sing Christmas carols.

1:30 p.m. — 3 p.m.
Christmas Stars
activity. Make a star
of Alaskan Orthodox
tradition for a deco-
ration.

Dec. 30 & 31
Redmoon Th

Friday, Dec. 20

10 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Horns and Antlers
activity. What's the
difference between
horns and antlers?
Examine a variety of
horns and antlers
and discover their
form and function.

Dec. 26 — 31
Face It: Masks At
The Field
Ongoing demonstrations, activities
tours and performances. Explore
masks and what they mean to sever-
al different cultures. See how masks
transform the people who wear
them and how they come alive in
theater or dance performances.

Thursday, Dec. 26
Performance:

1 p.m.

Spiderman

Friday, Dec. 27

Performance :

1 p.m. Gingarte Capoeira Club.
Transformed with masks and body
paint, the performers demonstrate
Brazilian acrobatics, self-defense
moves and traditional and popular
dances.

Saturday, Dec. 28

Performance:

1 p.m. Chinese Lion Dance per-
formed by ALLIED, a Chinese Amer-
ican youth association in the Chica-
go area.

Sunday, Dec. 29

Performance:

1 p.m. Mexican Mask Dances. The
Ballet Folklorico de los Hermanos
Avila will perform traditional mask
dances from different regions in
Mexico.

Monday, Dec. 30

Performance:

Noon — 3 p.m. Redmoon Theater
presents mask-making activities and
a performance,

Tuesday, Dec. 31

Performance:

Noon — 3 p.m. Redmoon Theater
present mask making activities and
a performance.

RESOURCE CENTERS

Daniel F. & Ada L. Rice

Wildlife Research Station

Learn more about the animal king-
dom through videos, computer pro-
grams, books, and activity boxes.
Open daily 10 a.m. — 4:30 p.m.

Webber Resource Center

Native Cultures of the Americas
Use books, videos, tribal newspa-
pers, and activity boxes to learn
more about native peoples.

Open daily 10 a.m. — 4:30 p.m.

Place for Wonder

Touchable objects let you :
investigate fossil, shells, rocks,
plants, and items of oe life in
Mexico.

Weekdays: 1 p.m. — 4: 30 p. m.
Weekends: 10 a.m. — ~ 4:30 p.m.

Pawnee Earth Fotiee

Visit a home of mid — 19th cen-
‘tury Pawnee people. Learn about
these Native Americans and their
life on the pl ains.

10 a.m—430 p.m. —

ELIZABETH BOUCHARD

ONE RIVER — TALES OF EXPLORATION

AND FRIENDSHIP IN THE AMAZON

By Michael Dillon
Curator of Phanerograms

n Sept. 14, in The Field Muse-

um’s Montgomery Ward Theater,

Dr. Wade Davis introduced his

most recent literary effort: One

River: Explorations and Discov-
eries in ie Amazon Rain Forest. This work
chronicles the field experiences of two extraordi-
nary tropical botanists. One of them is Dr.
Richard Evans Schultes of Harvard University,
who is better known as the father of modern eth-
nobotanical research and who was Davis’ major
professor. The other is Dr. Timothy Plowman,
who was Professor Schultes’ most accomplished
student and a curator of botany at The Field
Museum from 1978 to his untimely death from
AIDS in January, 1989.

Though Plowman and Davis were both
students of Schultes, they were a generation.apart.
But over the years they became close friends
while traveling extensively together in Andean
South America in the 1970s. At the discussion at
the Museum, Dr. Davis delivered a fascinating
account of Schultes’ and Plowman’s ethnobotani-
cal studies in South America’s mighty Amazon
River Basin and the Andes mountains from which
it flows. One River is equally fascinating and

gripping.

Davis got the idea for One River after deliv-
ering a eulogy at The Field Museum’s memorial
service for Plowman. After the service, Davis
made a personal commitment to tell the story of
the two botanists that had forever changed his
life.

In the ensuing years, Davis meticulously
researched a variety of subjects, from Schultes’
early 1930s work among the peyote cult of the
Kiowa Indians in Oklahoma, to expeditions in
Oaxaca, Mexico (1928 — 1939) documenting the
botanical sources of two enigmatic mysteries that
sparked the psychedelic era: teonanacatl, the
sacred mushrooms known as “Flesh of the Gods”
and ololiuqui of the morning glory family known
as “the Serpent Vine.” But perhaps the most
revealing is the story of Schultes’ search during
World War II for natural rubber and his other eth-
nobotanical discoveries among the various native
tribes within the Amazon rain forest. Woven into
this is Wade’s own story of traveling for nearly a
year with Plowman in search of the wild and cul-
tivated Erythoxylaceae, or “coca” plant.

One River follows Davis’ critically
acclaimed book, The Serpent and the Rainbow
(1986), which was made into a feature-length
film. Davis got the idea to write The Serpent and
the Rainbow while researching his thesis on the
botanical basis for Haitian vodou. In fact, Davis
often met with Plowman at The Field Museum to

THE FIELD MUSEUM LIBRARY’S
1996 HOLIDAY WISH LIST

x : Field Museum Library invites
i Museum members to support
| the development of its collec-
tions. This holiday “wish list”
presents books that would be significant
enhancements to the Library’s collections —
which are an indispensible resources for the
Museum’s research and public education pro-
grams. Please consider a gift to help The Field
Museum Library maintain the strength of its col-
lections. A bookplate will record a donation
made either on your behalf, or honoring a family
member or friend. Even a small contribution
toward the acquisition of one of these titles is a
wish fulfilled.

Analytical Bibliography of the Prehistory and
the Early Dynastic Period of Egypt and Northern
Sudan, by Stan Hendrickx. (Leuven University
Press, 1995) $77.

The Archaeology of Navajo Origins, edited
by Ronald Towner. (University of Utah Press,
1996) $45.

Asian Voyages : Two Thousand Years of Con-
structing the Other, by O. R. Dathorne. (Green-
wood Publishing Group, 1996) $60.

Biodiversity and Ecosystem Processes in Tropi-
cal Forests, edited by G. H. Orians, R. Dirzo &
J. H. Cushman. (Springer Verlag, 1996) $80.

Chinese Popular Prints, by John Lust. (E. J.Brill,
1996) $142.

Global Change and Terrestrial Ecosystems in
Monsoon Asia, edited by T. Hirose & B. H.Walk-
er. (Kluwer Academic, 1996) $119.

Global Monitoring of Terrestrial Ecosystems,
edited by W. Schréder. (Ernst & Sohn,
1996) $90.

Humans at the End of the Ice Age: the Archaeol-
ogy of the Pleistocene-Holocene Transition, edit-
ed by Lawrence G. Straus. (Plenum Press, 1996)
$65.

The Interwoven Lives of George Vancouver,
Archibald Menzies, Joseph Whidbey, and Peter
Puget; Exploring the Pacific Northwest Coast,
by John Michael Naish. (Edwin Mellen Press,
1996) $120.

The Peoples of Africa: an Ethnohistorical Dic-
tionary, by James Stuart Olson. (Greenwood
Press, 1996) $100.

Picturing Knowledge: Historical and Philosoph-
ical Problems Concerning the Use of Art in Sci-
ence, edited by Brian S, Baigrie. (University of
Toronto Press, 1996)

The Tectonic Evolution of Asia, edited by An Yin
& T. Mark Harrison. (Cambridge University
Press, 1996) $208

The Tropical Rainforest: an Ecological Study,
by Paul W. Richards, (Cambridge University
Press) $140.

Tropical Rainforest Research: Current Issues,
edited by D. S. Edwards, W. E. Booth & S. C.
Choy. (Kluwer Academic, 1996) $215.

Please use the following form to make a
contribution to help the library acquire these
titles. Please indicate the title to which your gift

discuss his thesis. Whe
the two walked around the
Museum, Plowman used to
introduce Davis as “the
only man I know to have.
walked the Darien Gap”
(that inhospitable and
impenetrable strip of jung]
between southern Panama
and Colombia).

The respect and admira-
tion that these men had for
each other clearly shows.
through in One River. But this
book is not just a biography of
these great botanists — it is a
captivating story of tropical
exploration and discovery in
the 1800s and 1900s. It is also a
book since Davis provides a full accounting of the
various resources used in each chapter and valu-
able links for a more detailed study of the book’s
topics. In addition, One River is complemented
with previously unpublished photographs and
three very useful maps of Amazonian South
America.

One River is a must read for anyone who is
interested in South American anthropology,
geography, history, politics or, for that matter, the
human spirit.

AN THE AMANO OM

applies. Please print clearly the name(s) of the
donor and/or honoree as they should appear on
the Library’s gift bookplate (for example: your
name only; honoree name only; both names with
phrase “in honor of”).

Please send the form (with check made to
The Field Museum) to: Development Depart-
ment — Library Friends, The Field Museum,
Roosevelt Rd. at Lake Shore Dr., Chicago,
Illinois 60605.

Turn to page 11 for more information about
the Friends of Field Museum Library.

SSS eee

The Field Museum Library © :
Sey Wish List Contribution 1
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9 November/December 1996

GEOLOGY CURATOR, MATTHEW NITECKI, RETIRES

By Robert Vosper
atthew Nitecki began his search for
a M freedom as a young teenager escap-
ing from Poland with his family at
the start of World War II. Last summer, Nitecki
may have discovered freedom in its purest form
when he retired from The Field
Museum after more than 30 years
| as a geology curator.
“IT have been a professional
| man for a long time, but it was
| quite a shock to suddenly become
| the odd man out,” he says. “The
5 Field Museum is my life, I don’t
have a social life outside this
place, after all I have spent more
than half of my waking hours
here. But after the initial shock, I
suddenly realized that I am a free

: For Matthew Nitecki “free-
| dom” doesn’t mean getting on the
next plane to Florida. It means
= being able to continue his research
on fossils without being distracted
by administrative responsibilities or the pres-
sures of publishing. And it means he can contin-
ue to work in the one place he calls home: The
Field Museum. As curator emeritus, he will still
have an office at the Museum and all the
resources he needs at his disposal. “I come here
everyday and work the same long hours as I did
before — if not more,” he says. “But I think I’m
more productive now since I have retired.”
If Nitecki is working the same hours, why
did he retire? He explains: “When you are
young you think that you are at the top a moun-
tain. As you get older you suddenly begin to slip

down the continental shelf to the ocean floor. I
am now at the edge of that shelf — below me is
just a big drop. When you get to this point it is
time for you to retire, to move on and to leave
room for younger people. After all it is not my
world anymore.”

Nitecki is a paleontologist, or as he likes to
say an evolutionary biologist. His area of spe-
cialty is “problematic” fossil from the lower
Paleozoic Era (roughly 400 — 600 million years
ago). These fossil are radically different from all
living species — making standard techniques of
identify them ineffective. What these fossils rep-
resent is a record of early evolutionary experi-
ments with life.

“He has always been instrumental in help-
ing shepherd the geology department into
becoming one of the finest in the world,” says
John Flynn, chairman of the geology depart-
ment. “But he also made major contributions in
keeping The Field Museum in the public eye by
founding, running and organizing the Spring
Symposia for its first 14 years ... he has this
wonderful knack of finding the most interesting
topics.”

Most of the symposia that Nitecki orga-
nized dealt with theoretical and philosophical
topics such as: “Is evolution history?” Or, “Is
history science?” Nitecki then edited the papers
presented at the symposia into books — offering
scientists a new forum for publishing.

One area that seems very dear to Nitecki’s
heart is his interest in history and the sociology
of science. He says it is very rare to get a chance
to study a huge shift in intellectual or scientific
theory, such as American scientists’ acceptance
of plate tectonics or the. theory thatmeteorites
contributed to the extinction of dinosaurs. By

The Women’s Board of The Field Museum
cordially invites you and your family to a

HOLIDAY TEA CELEBRATION

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 1996 — 4 p.m. TO 6 p.m.

ACTIVITIES:

FOR EVERYONE

Peruvian Tops

Hanukkah Dreidls

Egyptian Hieroglyphs

Mexican Paper Flowers

Mr. Imagination

Pawnee Earth Lodge

Museum Scavenger Hunt

Origami

African Adinkra

Japanese Kites
se.Wildlife Research Station

FEATURING:

The Stu Hirsh Orchestra

The Jesse White Tumblers

A Special arrival by Santa Claus
Andy Head, Stiltwalker

Frank Birdsall, Stiltwalker

Mr. Imagination

Family Hol

The
Wednesda

Adult Non-Members at $17.00 each

Name

Address

City/State/Zip

November/December 1996 10

AGES 5 AND UNDER
Bean-Bag Toss

Face Painters
Arachnid Assembling
Place for Wonder

AGEs 6 To 12

Haitian Holiday Lanterns
Polish Paper Cutting

Mask Making

Ojo de Dios — God’s Eyes

NUMBER OF TICKETS

Adult Members at $12.00 each

questioning scientists immediately after these
shifts, Nitecki was able to get answers to ques-
tions like: Who accepted it? and, Why did they
accept it?

Nitecki is well-qualified to study shifts in
history because he has experienced so many. For
example, as a young boy growing up in Poland
he watched the Germans and Russians tear his
country in half. He fled with his family to France
and eventually to England. At age 16, he joined
the exiled Free Polish Army that was stationed
in England. During the war he parachuted into
the Netherlands as part of the unsuccessful
allied invasion, known as Operation Market
Garden, to secure Arnhem Bridge — made
famous in Richard Attenborough’s film, “A
Bridge Too Far.”

While talking about his days as a paratroop-
er he says, “Nothing is more pleasurable than
when your chute opens — that is the greatest
pleasure in life — because you are scared. It is
not normal to jump out of a plane, but I was
young and stupid.”

After the war, with Poland controlled by the
Soviets and Europe in shambles, Nitecki and his
family emigrated to the United States. Eventual-
ly he made his way to the University of Chicago
where he entered the master’s program after
testing out of undergraduate studies. In 1969, he
became associate curator at The Field Museum
and then curator in 1975.

Nitecki’s loyalty to the Museum was a
major factor in his retirement. “In a sense: I
could have stayed until I left the building hold-
ing a walking stick,” he says. “But this wouldn’t
have been good for the Museum. They need
someone who is young, aggressive and full of
energy — someone with new ideas.”

PHOTOS WITH SANTA

Reservations are limited and will
be accepted in order received.

Party attire is encouraged.

Parking available in the East Lot.

No early admission to party.

No tickets sold at the door.

For further information, please call the

Women’s Board Office at
(312) 322-8870

PRICE

$

Enclosed is my check for $

. Please make check payable to The Field Museum.

Please enclose a self-addressed, stamped envelope for tickets, and mail with this coupon to:
Holiday Tea Celebration, The Field Museum, Women’s Board Office,

Roosevelt Road at Lake Shore Drive, Chicago IL 60605.

UPSTAIRS, DOWNSTAIRS

EXPLORING THE MUSEUM THROUGH THE FRIENDS’ GROUPS

any people who visit The Field Muse-
M um enjoy the members’ programs and

the exhibits, while others crave more
knowledge about the Museum, its curators, col-
lections and research. To meet the needs of these
people, the Museum created four distinctive
groups that stretch the limits of exploration and
involvement in the world of The Field Museum.
Although each group uses different methods to
reach these objectives, they all have one thing in
common: They open doors to new opportunities
and experiences, while playing a vital role in sup-
porting the Museum’s programs.

__ Richard Leakey

JOHN WEINSTEIN /GN887816,29AC.

The Founders’ Council focuses on the
Museum’s research efforts. The Council presents
the Award of Merit in recognition
of outstanding achievement in
bringing issues of biodiversity to
public attention. This year’s award
went to Richard Leakey, noted
paleoanthropologist and conserva-
tionist. In October, the Council pre-
sented Fernando Rubio del Valle
with the inaugural Parker/Gentry
Award (see page 3). Members also
participate in small, informative
dinners, receptions, luncheons and
presentations designed to bring

them in direct contact with curators ‘m#RY mzavex /GNB7978.5C

and visiting scientists.

Members of the Council contribute $1,500 or
more each year for Museum operations, make a
single or accumulated gift of $25,000 or more, or
make a deferred gift of $50,000 or more. Call
Patricia Stratton at (312) 322-8868 for more
information.

Lavia Frons — the yellow-winged bat from
East Africa. This is one of many animals
William Stanley encountered on a recent
trip to Eastern Tanzania.

The Friends of
Field Museum
Library explore the
role of the Museum’s
Library in global natur-
al history research and
public education, while
enriching its collection
of 250,000 volumes. By
spearheading book and
journal acquisitions,
collection preservation,
exhibitions and publica- §
tions, this group helps
support the Library — a
vital resource for cura-
tors, visiting scientists,

DIAI
students, educators and

the public. Library Friends attend programs on
topics ranging from collecting rare books to pre-
views of major exhibits. Recently, members
attended a reception with Dr. Douglas Stotz, co-
author of the book, Neotropical Birds: Ecology
and Conservation.

Library Friends make an annual, tax
deductible contribution of $100 that is applied to
acquisitions for the Library and the Mary W. Run-

ca’s Lake Titicaca region.

Annual dues are $50 per household, For
| more information, call Sarah Highstone at
(312) 322-8874.

_ The Nature Network appeals to those
who enjoy exploring and investigating
nature and the outdoors in the company of
Museum curators and scientists. The
7 group’s goal is to learn more about the envi-
ronment, while providing support for the
Museum’s research, conservation and envi-

ronmental-biology programs. Members of

ae

shops, informal
discussions and ge
behind-the-scenes
tours of the Muse-
um’s collections. The
group recently joined ;
Greg Mueller, chairman
of the botany department,
at the Indiana Dunes to
help track down some elu-
sive fungi he is studying.

The cost of joining the Nature Network is
$150, of which $100 is tax deductible. For more

the group participate in field trips, work-

nells Rare Book Room. For more information,
call Sarah Highstone at (312) 322-8874.

information, call Paul Baker at (312) 322-8881.

SSS

The Collections

Committee provides
a forum for exchanging
ideas and information on
the anthropology depart-
ment’s extraordinary
ethnographic. collections

Name

million objects from
around the world. This
group is for people who
collect or who are inter-
ested in ethnographic art
and cultural objects. Membership includes pro-
grams with curators and other scholars, visits to
private collections and access to the expertise of
the Museum’s curators. In a recent event, Dr.
Charles Stanish, chairman of the the Museum’s
anthropology department, presented a program |
about shawl pins and textiles from South Ameri- I

City

Phone (

Group

| OThe Founders’ Council ($1,500, or more)
| O The Library Friends ($100, or more)

| OThe Collections Committee ($50)

| OThe Nature Network ($150, or more)

| OAll four groups ($1,800, or more)

|
|
I
|
I
I
of more than a quarter- | Address
I
I
I
I
I
I

If you are interested in joining one or more of the groups, please fill out
this form and send it along with your check or money order payable to
The Field Museum to: The Field Museum, Development Dept.,
Roosevelt Road at Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL 60605.

State Zip

)

Amount Enclosed

Total

[ee ee

MEMBERSHIP PROGRAMS

Members’ Lecture Series

SMALL MAMMALS OF THE EAM
Nov. 14 = * 6:30 p.m.
$6, $3 for members

William Stanley, collections manager, division of mammals, and
his colleagues have been researching the small mammals of the
Eastern Arc Mountains (EAM) for the past five years. Join us
when Stanley describes how he works in these forests, as well as
some of the fascinating mammals he has encountered there.

East Africa is known for spectacular mountain ranges such as
Mt. Kilimanjaro and the Ruwenzoris, as well as the wildlife found
in these mountain habitats. The EAM, located in Eastern Tanza-
nia, are some of the lesser known mountains in this area. These
ancient fault-block mountains support forests that contain an
incredible number of endemic plants and animals. Unfortunately,
these forests are rapidly being destroyed and the unique flora and
fauna of this archipelago are severely threatened.

As a result of Stanley’s work, the list of small mammals
known to occur in these forests have increased significantly and at
least one new species of shrew has been discovered.

Tickets are available by mail through the membership depart-

ment or may be purchased on the day of the lecture beginning at
6 p.m. Send checks payable to: Membership Department, The
Field Museum, Roosevelt Rd. at Lake Shore Dr., Chicago, IL
60605. For additional information, call (312) 922-9410, ext. 453.

Members’ Wine Tasting Series

“A SPARKLING CELEBRATION”
Dec .11 *6p.m.—8 p.m.
$35 for members, $40 for non-member guests

Celebrate the holidays at The Field Museum with the world’s
most celebrated wines. Please join us in Stanley Field Hall for a
reception-style tasting of champagnes and sparkling wines of the
world, complemented by savory hors-d’oeuvres. The wine is
compliments of Mary Ross, director of The Wine Academy of
North Shore. The Museum shop will be open and members will
receive a 20 percent discount on all purchases. Advance
reservations are required by Dec. 4. Tickets are $35 for members
and $40 for non-member guests. All participants must be at least
21 years of age. For reservations and information, call (312) 922-
9410, ext. 453.

11 November/December 1996

South
Africa

Including a Journey on
the Fabled Blue Train
January 25 to February 10, 1997

outh Africa has been called “a world in one country”

because of its majestic mountain ranges, beautiful

beaches, endless plains teeming with wildlife and its
awesome deserts. Its cities are lively and cosmopolitan,
and its vineyards rival those in France and California.

In this 17-day environmental tour of South Africa,
you'll explore the very best of this remarkable land that
covers an area larger than California and Texas combined.

Everyday you'll experience fresh wonders like the
spectacular scenery of the Cape of Good Hope, a region
inhabited by baboons, elands and rheboks. You will also
see the point where the Atlantic and Indian Ocean crash
against the southernmost tip of South Africa and you'll
wander throughout the astonishing Kirstenbosch Botanical
Gardens, a paradise of flowers and trees, lovely springs
and distinctive landscaping. A quaint steam train will carry
you to the idyllic lagoon of Knysna, deep in primeval
forests. Included in the trip is travel aboard the world-

famous Blue Train, which meanders through the interior of
South Africa from Johannesburg to Cape Town. But the
undisputed highlight of the trip is three nights in Kruger
National Park. Sprawling over 5 million acres, the park is
one of the finest wildlife preserves in the world. Expect to
see lions, elephants, white rhinos and hippos, and there is
an excellent chance of seeing many rare species, including
15 varieties of eagles.

During the whole trip you'll be accompanied by Dr.
Chapurukha Kusimba, assistant curator of African
archaeology and ethnology at The Field Museum. He will
give on-site commentary and educational lectures.

The cost of the trip is $5,695 per person, double
occupancy, which includes accommodations, transfers and
excursions ($1,190 single supplement). The Museum has
arranged, through Travel Dynamics, a specially reduced
fare of $1,880 per person aboard British Airways.

Time is running out, so make your reservations now for ...
R TIC ADVENTURES ... January 31 to Rehtiee 16,1997

E PALA CE : ON WHEELS ... February 1 to 16, 1997 :
autiful city of Rajasthan in the style of the maharajahs aboard the luxury train, Pai
ally air-conditioned and finely decorated train is bound for a journey through a 0 r

doms once reigned.

.ND THE NILE BY YACHT... February 9 to 23, 1997
ent paths 1 of the pharaohs on the Nile aboard MS Nile Express and see the monumeni
th pyrene the Sphinx, Luxor, Karnak and the Valley of the Kings. _

SOUTH AFRICAN TOURISM BOARD