ilFIELD
Winter
2003-2004
The Field IVIuseum's Member Publication
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Einstein
FROMTHE PRESIDENT
The Odyssey of a Novice Naturalist
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In the fall of 2002, I visited biologist Steve Goodman in Madagascar, the world's'
fourth largest island southeast of Africa, where he, his students and international
colleagues are documentina tt»e rare and threatened fauna and flora.
From AntananarivQj m^OTuntry's
capital, we traveled'for 2.5 days
in Land Rovers across rutted lanes
with ox carts as the only other
traffic. We finally reached Antsingy,
V\ "the place where no one walks." We
\set up our campsite and cnakestjift
\\ Vi faboratory among jagged limeitone
v
collecting with a purpose:
Museum and University of
Antananarivo are sharing the
skeleton for taxonomic and morpho
logical studies. L'Institut Pastewr^
in Paris, France, is investigating
disease with the blood and endopar-
asites (internal parasites). Cornell
University is examining reproduc-
tion with the bat's sperm. The
University of Michigan and the^
Field are researching the ectopia"-'
sites (external parasites). Yale
^ University is conducting molecular
studies with the tissues. And the
p^aks, and ceremoniously poured
rum onto the rock to quench the
Uthirst of the ancestors. But from -
\khen on, our purpose of collecting j
tfictated every moment of the dSy^'
(ahd nights
U \v u s
Lines with bucket traps and mist/J ,, ^. ,,,.,,.„
, , ^, / V. Max Planck Institute in Germany is
nets were set up throughout the /---^ — , . .^ ^ , . ,
referencing its eyes to understand
brest. For the next five days we
checked the traps >iourly, finding
bats, frogs, chameleons, insects,
akes and other animals. At night,
e dexterous, barefooted team-
te leapt onto sharp limestone
•ags to catch amphibians and rep-
'tiles,^is reflexes honed by decades of
fieldwork. Most of the animals were
sleased; some were kept for study
Background: Sketchek'fyfii
John McCarter's journal.'^
Below: One bat fa«fe^^' ''^search institutions worldwide
tain the work of sciemtstsfJ-.Q,
around the g^obe. \^-^\
the evolution of sight in nocturnal
and diurnal animals. Thus, one spec-
imen can sustain the work of several
far-reaching research projects.
Our mission in Madagascar — and in
many countries where Field Museum
scientists are working — is to under-
stand the diversity of life, preserve
what is left and train young stu-
dents so that they can lead research
and conservation efforts in their
bat Specimen exemplifies the ^ .^ , , „„ ^ t
y \, . ,, , x- -J -^s*- country At least 80 percent of
lortance of collaborationand-' ,-^ ,, , ,,,,-,
Madagascar's plants and animals
are found nowhere else in the
world, yet slash-and-burn agricul-
ture, overgrazing and urban sprawl
are swiftly diminishing what pre-
cious few habitats remain. In a
country where population explosion
extreme poverty have led to
exploiting natural resources, how
)i do v\/e balance the needs of conser
c,> V^ioo with the needs of humans?
My trip to Madagascar sharpened
my awareness of the differences
tween the overabundance .t5f"^--^Ij-^
Ith in segments of the United .*«£5_
tates and the poverty throughouT^^^^^?
much. of the world. The trip also~^~^— -
,^UDde*'SCored the complexity and, -
difficulty of what Field Museumsci^— r^ j
entists are doing all over the globe. '--^
The Museum has established a
framework 'that supports individual
^scientists and their research inter-
ests, but it's their own expertise,
" ' cdhnfecfiohs, determination
and passion that make it all hap-
pen. Would we aspire to research
biodiversity around the globe with-
out individuals like Steve Goodman?
j ^.-€ouldwedo it? No.
"* the Vear of Biodiversity and
Conservation (YBC) honors the
hundreds of Field Museum scien-
tists working in our research
laboratories and around the world.
In this issue of In the Field, and
over the next three months at the
Museum, you'll have opportunities
to learn about island biodiversity,
the Neotropics and our planet's
living waters. Also visit www.field-
museum.org/biodiversity. You'll
feel proud to be a supporter of
this Institution.
KJohn W. McCarter, Jr.
President and CEO
See pages 4— 5 for an article on Steve
Goodman's research.
Support for Year of Biodiversity and Conservation
programming provided by the City of Chicago,
Richard M. Daley, Mayor; Department of
Environment, N. Marcia Jimenez, Commissioner.
u thjink about Tn the Field?
r general membership inquiries, including address chs
magazine In the Field, call 312.665.7115, email acranch(a)fmnh.org, or write Amy E. Cranch,
The Field Museum, 1400 South Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL 60605-2496.
INTHEFIELD
Winter 2003-2004, December- February,
Vol.75, No.l
Editor:
Amy E. Cranch, The Field Museum
Design:
Depke Design
Copy editor:
Laura F. Nelson
^<r In the Field is printed on recycled paper
using soy-based inks. All images ©The
Field Museum unless otherwise specified.
In the Field (ISSN #1051-4546) is published
quarterly by The Field Museum. Copyright
2003 The Field Museum. Annual subscriptions
are $20; $10 for schools. Museum membership
includes In the Field subscription. Opinions
expressed by authors are their own and do
not necessarily reflect the policy of The Field
Museum. Notification of address change should
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the membership department. POSTMASTER:
Send address changes to Membership, The
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Cover: See the world through the eyes of a
genius in Einstein, running through Jan. 19.
Einstein on a bicycle courtesy the Archives,
. California Institute of Technology Special
Relativity manuscript © the Israel Museum,
Jerusalem.
The Field Museum salutes the people of Chicago
for their long-standing, generous support of the
Museum through the Chicago Park District.
j:
te
Field
useum
1400 South Lake Shore Drive
Chicago, IL 60605-2496
312.922.9410
www.fieldmuseum.org
Einstein is the first comprehensive exhibition
that brings to hfe this famous scientist,
activist and man.
Top: Einstein at Carnegie Hall in New York
City, 1934.
4
A Field Museum scientist draws interna-
tional attention to Madagascar's threatened
species.
Middle: Steve Goodman, right, and a Malagasy
colleague examine a bat.
Michael Yamashita, the first speaker of our
popular National Geographic Live series,
retraces much of Marco Polo's legendary
trek across Asia.
16
Field Museum scientists are investigating
reef fish diversity before these treasures
disappear.
Bottom:Titan triggerfish, Balistoides viridiscens.
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WINTER 2003-2004
December-February ^^^^K
IN T Mil lELDFEATURE
Einstein Exiiibition Brings to Life the
Scientist, Activist and Man
Cheryl Baidoc. Project Administrator, Exhibitions
In 1919 British astronomers peered into the sky and observed the following during
a solar eclipse: Light from distant stars had curved around the sun's mass — a
phenomenon that physicist Albert Einstein had predicted three years before. When
the astronomers released their findings, the front page of the London Times said,
"Revolution in Science, New Theory of the Universe, Newtonian Ideas Overthrown.'
The proverbial stars had aligned, and Einstein's
controversial and radical theories had been proven
true. Suddenly Einstein was launched onto the
world stage, and his name became synonymous
with "genius."
"He became as famous overnight as Madonna,
plus Tiger Woods, plus President Bush, all rolled
into one," explained Dr. Michael Shara, curator of
Einstein, a new exhibition that appears at The Field
Museum through Jan. 19, 2004.
Covering his groundbreaking theories, personal
life and humanitarian passions, Einstein is the first
comprehensive exhibition to
explore the Ufe and work of this
famous scientist — considered one
of the greatest thinkers of the 20th
century. "Einstein is a real hero," Dr.
Shara said. "He was one of the most
intelligent, bright, imaginative
human beings who ever lived, who
left us a legacy which has allowed
our civiUzation to leap forward. He
was also a human being who had
very deeply held principles, who
cared deeply about human rights
and was not afi-aid to speak out,
even when it might cost him
dearly."
The Einstein exhibition received
excellent reviews and drew enthusi-
astic crowds when it opened at
the American Museum of Natural History in
New York, where Dr. Shara is an astrophysicist.
Chicago's Field Museum is the first stop for this
travehng exhibition, which will also appear in
Los Angeles, Boston and Jerusalem.
ReveaUng that even the most complex science
is a fundamentally human enterprise, the exhibi-
tion is a perfect fit for The Field Museum, where
more than 200 scientists are working behind the
scenes in the areas of anthropology, botany, geology
and zoology. "Einstein exemphfies the passionate
curiosity and drive to understand our world that
all scientists share," said Robin Groesbeck, manager
of exhibition coordination at The Field Museum.
Science made (relatively) easy
Einstein's theories capture the imagination because
they often contradict notions about time, light,
energy and space that we take for granted in our
everyday lives. For example, most of us think of
time as being the same for everyone, moving for-
ward at a steady pace. Einstein's Special Theory of
Relativity, however, says that time moves difFerendy
for objects that are moving at different speeds. And
the faster an object is moving, the slower time
passes for that object.
"As you travel close to the speed of hght, your
clock slows down, you actually increase in mass
and you get skinnier in the direction you are trav-
eling," said Donald Cooke, a former astrophysicist
who is currendy the vice president of institutional
advancement at The Field Museum. "Of course,
this is all relative to your perspective. If Einstein
had been travehng in a spaceship close to the speed
of light since his birth in 1879, he would be only
one day old. Meanwhile more than 100 years have
passed for the rest of us on Earth."
Many of Einstein's theories — which popular
culture has explored in movies, television and
books — seem like science fiction. Yet they have
been proven true. And they offer important insights
into how our world operates, such as why the stars
shine, why black holes exist and how gravity works.
The Einstein e.xhibition uses multi-media and
interactive elements to make these ideas accessible
and understandable. An interactive screen shows
visitors what they would look like with a black
hole in their bellies. A dazzling hght sculpture
helps explain the speed of light. A giant wall of
clocks illustrates the possibility of time travel.
"This exhibirion brings scienrific theory into
three-dimensional space, really engages people
in the process, and lets them walk away with
an understanding they didn't have before,"
Groesbeck said.
IN THE FIELD
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,-X'-.^°°»*''"he Cnited Stat...
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3o»e recent norx oy
unicated to « 1 ^^^^^
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certain aepecte of tiie .it
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Visitors can also see handwritten manuscripts
from Einstein's major scientific works, including his
1916 paper on the General Theory of Relativity.
"This is the most important docuinent, not just in
Einstein's life, but really in all of modern physics,"
Dr. Shara said.
A citizen of the world
Photographs, letters and personal mementos
throughout the exhibition reveal Einstein's personal
life and humanitarian pursuits. "He wasn't only
a scientist making groundbreaking discoveries,"
Groesbeck explained. "He was also actively
engaged in the political and social problems of his
time. His feet were firmly planted on the ground."
Einstein considered himself a global citizen and
did not hesitate to use his fame to work for the
causes he believed in. He was a lifelong pacifist and
socialist, who believed that only a unified world
government could put an end to war. He was an
internationally known activist for civil rights and
nuclear disarmament, who stood up to McCarthyism
and became a target of the FBI.
The exhibition features copies of Einstein's
correspondence with world leaders on a variety
of topics, including a 1939 letter in which
Einstein alerted President Roosevelt to the fact
that the Nazis might be developing an atomic
bomb. Einstein did not work directly on the cre-
ation of nuclear weapons, but his name has been
forever linked to them because of this letter and
because his famous equation, E=mc-, describes
the tremendous amount of energy that nuclear
weapons release.
The exhibition also includes a less well-known
letter, offering Einstein the presidency
of Israel in 1952. Although he graciously
declined, the offer is a testimony to the deep
connection Einstein had with his Jewish identity.
A normal guy
Visitors will also discover Einstein's life away from
the public eye. Despite his celebrity status, Einstein,
it seems, was "a normal guy," Cooke said. Einstein
loved to sail and play the violin. He declined to
wear socks because they would get holes in them.
As he got older, he didn't like to update his glasses
prescription. He also had two marriages and
multiple affairs.
"1 think visitors will be surprised to discover
how passionate Einstein was about every aspect
of life," Cooke said. "His correspondence illustrates
his zeal and shows us that he was an eloquent and
persuasive writer."
Einstein's letters also reveal his warmth and
humor. An avid, articulate correspondent, he
received dozens of letters each day, including many
from children. In 1943, he responded to a 12-year-
old girl with, "Do not worry about your difficulties
in mathematics. I can assure you that mine are
still greater."
A grand legacy
The exhibition concludes with a look at Einstein's
unfulfilled quest for a "Grand Unified Theory" that
would explain every phenomena in the universe,
from a cosmological scale to a subatomic level.
This topic remains one of the hottest areas in
physics today.
"Einstein's greatest legacy is the idea that the
universe is beautifiil, symmetric, simple and ulti-
mately understandable," Dr. Shara said.
By illuminating Einstein's theories, this exhibi-
tion proves yet one more of this great thinker's
ideas to be true. ITF
Organized by the American Museum of Natural History, New York; The Hebrew
University of Jerusalem; and the St<irball Cultural Center, Los Angeles.
Einstein is made possible through the generous support of Jack & Susan Rudin
and the Skirbali Foundation, and of the Corporate Tour Sponsor TIAA-CREF.
© HEBREW UNIVERSITY, JERUSALEM
Left: Einstein in
Princeton, New Jersey,
1938.
Center: A 1939
letter from Einstein to
President Roosevelt
suggested that the Nazis
might be building a
nuclear weapon.
Right: Einstein with his
first wife, Mileva Marie,
and their son, Hans
Albert.
WINTER 2003-2004 December-February
YBCSPOTLIGHTrlSLANDBIODIVERSITY
The Natural Wonders of Madagascar
Amy E. Cramli, Editor
All photographs by Harald Schtitz
Live as if your life depended on it.
I've whispered this mantra many times to remember that what I think and do really
matters, not only to me but my community at large. Steve Goodman, a Field Museum
biologist whose life and work are concentrated in Madagascar, also matters. His untir-
ing, selfless efforts to document Madagascar's animals have made a lasting contribution
to this internationally-deemed conservation hotspot. An upcoming photography exhibi-
tion and definitive book on the island's natural history endorse Goodman's capacity to
draw attention to the country's threatened species. The island itself depends on it.
A natural-born forest dweller
Goodman is no conformist. He fell into biology
after studying birds for his sculptures, resisted
pursuing his PhD for years and lived dubiously
through grants wherever his research interests took
him. Friends and colleagues call him the bohemian
biologist. But while an appearance fit for a Grateful
Dead concert may indicate his free spirit, as a sci-
entist, Goodman is anything but laid back. Anne
Yoder, a colleague at Yale University, said he has
done more to investigate Madagascar's fauna than
any living person.
Goodman lives in Madagascar about 10 months
of the year, half of which are spent documenting
animals in the forests. He recendy completed his
160th inventory, recognizing that on an island with
so many diverse landscapes that are changing so
rapidly, one has to keep mo\-ing to know the fauna.
At 6 feet 2 inches, Goodman sweeps through the
tangled forests with the determination of an ele-
phant and the grace of a gazelle. Searing heat, dis-
ease, undrinkable water and tsetse flies covering
him like blankets come with the job description.
Goodman is motivated by a sense of imminent
crisis as he witnesses the country's remaining habi-
tats diminish. He himself has discovered dozens of
new species, and the scientists and students he hosts
on fieldtrips have added hundreds more. While it's
not uncommon to exclude scientists who Uve in
the country w^here the work is being done,
Goodman's inclusive nature is overturning that
practice in Madagascar. Between being a professor
at the University of Antananarivo and coordinating
a WWF-Madagascar project, the Ecological
Training Program (ETP), Goodman has provided
education to hundreds of aspiring Malagasy stu-
dents. More than 35 students have passed through
the ETP with higher degrees in zoology, paleontol-
ogy and conservation biology.
"Many developing countries' education systems
IN THE FIELD
have slid into a black hole," said Goodman. "My
greatest effort isn't necessarily in documenting
Madagascar's animals, but in giving young Malagasy
students the knowledge and empowerment — the
opportunity — to advance their country's conserva-
tion needs."
A place like no other
Comparable to California and Oregon combined,
Madagascar is the world's fourth largest island. All
of the land mammals there today belong to four
groups — tenrecs (small insectivores), rodents,
lemurs and carnivores — that probably floated to
the island via land debris after its break from east-
ern Africa about 1 60 million years ago. Thousands
of animal species that flourished from these ances-
tors can be found nowhere else on the Earth,
of conservation dollars, much of it evaporates in
the country's bamboozled bureaucracy. Madagascar's
new democratic president is trying to revamp the
economy and infrastructure, but there's much to
accomplish. Goodman's new book. The Natural
History of Madagascar, is highly anticipated to
catalyze worldwide interest in saving the landscape
and wildlife.
A book of colossal intent
Co-edited with Jonathan Benstead of the Marine
Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Massachusetts,
and published by the University of Chicago Press,
Tlie Natural History of Madagascar is by far the
largest synthesis of tropical biology ever written.
Inspired by a similar book on Costa Rica, this
1,800-page volume contains contributions from
Spiny forests occur in Madagascar's driest regions. Many trees have
underground tubers that store nutrients and water, while their spiny
bodies and poisonous leaves and bark keep animals from eating them.
One set of spines of this streaked tenrec (Heniicentetes seniispinosus)
becomes embedded in an attacker's mouth in self-defense, while another
set quivers, sending ultrasonic messages to other streaked tenrecs.
appearing to have been plunked onto Madagascar
from another planet altogether. New discoveries are
swimming, flying or creeping past researchers' paths
on a regular basis. One trip could churn up 10
unidentified creatures, leaving researchers in a
perpetual state of awe — and anxiety.
Political turbulence over the past four decades
and a dilapidated infrastructure have prevented sci-
entists from working there until recently. Yet species
are disappearing before they can even be named or
described. Lack of economic growth has forced the
Malagasy to turn to the land for subsistence: Slash-
and-burn agriculture, conversion of forests to
cooking charcoal and clearing land for cattle are
the biggest threats to habitats and wildlife. If defor-
estation continues at this rate, Goodman said, the
original large tracts of forest will faO, along with
hundreds of plant and animal species.
While charismatic animals such as lemurs, our
wide-eyed primate cousins, have attracted millions
nearly 300 scientists fi-om 19 countries. Its lush
photographs, accessibility and affordable price
enhance its appeal to citizens and travelers as well
as biologists, conservationists and policy-makers.
Particularly exceptional is that 70 Malagasy scien-
tists contributed to the tome, pulling their work out
of the shadows of their foreign colleagues. Since the
last inventory was published in the late 1800s, this
book, available before the end of the year, is hailed
as the single most important volume published on
Madagascar's land, plants and animals. ITF
The Natural History of Madagascar will soon be
available at The Field Museum's in-house and online
(Itttp: / /store.fieldmuseum.org) stores. The Natural
Wonders of Madagascar: Photographs by Harald
Schiitz, an exhibition featuring brilliant images from
this mystical island, runs Dec. 5, 2003, through July 5,
2004. Goodman will speak about his efforts on Dec. 6
at 2pm.
WINTER 2003-2004 December-February
INTHEFIELDFEATURE
National Geographic Live!
An Interview with IVIichael Yamashita
Following two successful seasons, The Field Museum and National Geographic are once
again presenting National Geographic Live! Find adventure, insight and inspiration
through encounters with the world's top explorers, photographers and scientists.
(See the calendar for the full schedule and ticket information.)
Below are edited excerpts from an interview with
photographer Michael Yamashita, the first speaker
on March 2. Using Marco Polo's book as his travel
guide, Yamashita visited 10 countries and encoun-
tered many landmarks and peoples Polo wrote
about following his legendary 24-year trek across
Asia. Yamashita and his travehng companion, Mike
^^^^^ Edwards, presented their journey
JI^^H in a three-part National Geographic
^^^^H series in 2001.
ITF: Did you read Marco Polo's
Description of the World?
MY: Yes, and it's not an easy read.
We used a version from the 1800s
that's in two volumes and around a
thousand pages, but it's the most
complete. I made a shoot list from the places Polo
visited. If he talked about a hot spring in a certain
area, we'd go to each village and ask the locals if it
existed. It was like a big treasure hunt. Amazingly
enough, a lot of those places are still the same 700
years later.
ITF: Scholars have questioned Polo's credibility,
largely basing their arguments not on what he
did write about, but on what he omitted, such as
bound feet. How did you address this?
MY: When I was researching the story, I found that
he lived among the Mongols and would not have
had much to do with the Chinese. He alludes to
bound feet in his descriptions of the distinctive
gait of Chinese women.
I believe he wrote about things that were of
interest to him personally. He had no motive.
He wasn't a writer; he was a merchant. And in
those days, a travel book was filled with mythology.
To write a real book and describe real things was
unheard of.
One of his great defenders says he alone has
contributed the most information to geographers
about world geography, and no has given the world
that much information since.
UP: What was the most memorable leg of the trip?
MY: I've spent a lot of time in the Far East, so for
me, Afghanistan was the experience. After all those
years of civil war, the country has been destroyed,
especially in the north. There's no infrastructure,
no running water, no electricity, no telephones and
very few cars. Everything is by donkey cart. It's
biblical. Everyone's wearing leather shoes, tunics
and turbans. To be in a place that took me back
700 years where I knew Polo must have been was
a great experience. And it's not as meaningful if it's
not hard. We became close to the people, and I'm
wondering if they're stiU alive after 9/11.
I worked with Ahmad Shah Massoud, commander
of the Northern Alliance. We flew in his helicopter
to the Panjsheer Valley and I photographed him in
battle. It was a great experience, even more signifi-
cant after 9/11. We then traveled with a letter from
him giving us free passage, and it just so happened
that the area under his control was exactly Polo's
route. We also saw the Taliban in Flushing Meadow.
ITF: What was the most interesting surviving
custom you witnessed?
MY: In China, we were looking for people who
ate raw meat. We hit the right village that said
they did, but only on special occasions, and we
wondered how we'd see it. The next day I met a
student who had come back for his sister's wedding
and we got invited. They were killing pigs and we
were thinking, "Oh, my god. Polo never talked
about raw pork, the one meat you wouldn't even
think of eating raw. He just said raw 'meat.'" But
of course as journalists we ended up eating it. We
went through a lot of funny experiences like that.
See the calendar for ticket information, or visit
wunv.nationalgeographic.com/lectures.
Series Sponsor: The Field Associates — a dynamic, diverse group of young
professionals dedicated to promoting awareness of The Field Museum's
collections, research and public programs. For information or to join, call
312.665.7133 or visit www.fieldmuseum.org/fieldassociates.
Education outreach activities related to the series are presented in collabora-
tion with The Field Museum, the Geographic Society of Chicago and the
Illinois Geographic Alliance.
IN THE FIELD
YOURGUIDETOTHEFIELD
Calendar of Events for Winter 2003-2004 December-February
Inside: Exhibitions Festivals Family Programs Adult Programs
New Exhibition-
The Natural
Wonders of
Madagascar:
Photographs by
Harald Schiitz
Dec. 5, 2003-Jiily 5, 2004
Discover the unique flora and
fauna of this extraordinary island
through 39 brilliant color photo-
graphs. Photographer Harald
SchiJtz beautifully captures the
one-of-a-kind Malagasy wildlife
studied by Field Museum scientist
Steve Goodman.
Join Goodman as he shares expedition
slides and gives you an insider's lool< at the
new exhibition. He will also discuss his new
book, The Natural History of Madagascar,
which will be available for signing after the
lecture.
Saturday, Dec. 6, 2pm
Free with Museum admission
This exhibition was created by Harald Schiitz in collaboration
with The Field Museum.
Support for Year of Biodiversity and Conservation programming
provided by the City of Chicago, Richard M. Daley, Mayor;
Department of Environment, N. Marcia Jimenez, Commissioner.
Einstein
k
Through Jan. 19, 2004
See the world through the eyes of a genius. Meet Einstein, the man
behind the revolutionary theories, through photographs, personal pos-
sessions, letters, original manuscripts and multimedia displays. Also
ask about the Curator's Audio Tour, produced by Antenna Audio.
Test Your Einstein Quotient
i>^.
^
.o/^.-;>-^<-4^^t/UM.<i^^
1. E=mc2 explains:'^
A. Why stars shine
B. The existence of black holes
C. Solar eclipses
Ansv^er: A. It shows that a relatively small quantity or matter
can release a tremendous amount of energy.
2. Besides science, which of these wer^ also passions of Ejnstein?
A. Music y ^ I
B. Sailing r ' y^ Z.
C. Women
I
J
Answer: All of the above. Einstein began violin lessons in childhood; he claimed to like
sailing because it is "the sport that demands the least energy"; and he had affairs with
women throughout his life and two marriages.
3. True or false: Einstein was the father of the atomic bomb.
Answer: False. When Einstein learned that German scientists had split the uranium atom
and might soon be able to build atomic weapons, he urged President Roosevelt to start a
similar research program here. His famous equation, E = mc^, explains the energy
released by an atomic bomb, but doesn't explain how to build one.
4. Which of these causes did Einstein not use his fame to support?
A. Civil rights in the United States
B. Creation of a Jewish homeland
C. A unified world government
D. The House Un-American Activities Committee
E. Socialism
F. Nuclear disarmament
Answer: D. In fact, even when he himself was denounced as a "Communist spy," Einstein
persisted in criticizing the actions of Sen. Joseph McCarthy, head of the committee.
Organized by the American Museum of Natural History, New York; The Hebrew University of Jerusalem; and the Skirball Cultural
Center, Los Angeles.
^m'its'm is made possible through the generous support of Jack and Susan Rudin and the Skirball Foundation, and of the Corporate
Tour Sponsor, TIAA-CRER
_x
ter
Field
useum
General Museum Information: 312.922.9410
Family and Adult Program Tickets and Information: 312.665.7400
WINTER 2003-2004 December- Fehmary
Your Guide to the Field: Calendar of Events for Winter 2003-2004 December-February
in us for a Year of
iodiversity and Conservation.
;^SSSgJ
im
The Field Museum
topics of our time througli special lectures, exhibitions, opportunities to interact with Museum scien-
tists and suggestions on how you can become personally involved in conservation.
Supporf for Year'of Stodiversity and Conservation programming provided by the City of Ciiicago, Riciiard M. Daley, Mayor; Department of Environment, N. Marcia Jimenez, Commissioner.
Featured Exhibition:
The Natural Wonders of Madagascar:
Photographs by Haraid SchiJtz
(Dec. 5, 2003-July 5, 2004)
Discover the unique flora and fauna of this extraordinary
island through brilliant color photographs.
Family Behind the Scenes:
Madagascar Fossils
Ji';/i Holsteiii, TFM Geoloj^y Dept.
Examine striking fossils from Madagascar — unusual
crocodiles, rare birds and intriguing
dinosaurs.
Families with cliildmi cmes 7—12
Friday, Dec. 5, 6— Spin
$15, members $12 .
Lectures:
The Biological Wonders of Madagascar
Sieve Goodman, TFM Zoolot^y Dept.
Learn about Madagascar's biodiversity through breathtaking
photographs from his fieldwork, exhibition and book.
Saturday, Dec. 6, 2pm, free with Museum admission
A World of Islands: Biodiversity
and the Geography of Nature
Dr. Larry Heaney, TFM Mammals Dept.
Discover why the Philippines boast the highest concentration
of one-of-a-kind plants and animals in the world.
Saturday, Dec. 13, 2:30pm, free with Museum admission
Scientist at the Field
Dk Larry Heaney, TFM Mammals Dept.
Peruse fascinating mammal specimens
and hear about Dr Heaney's fieldwork in
the Philippines, where he has discovered
20 new species of mammals.
Saturday, Dec. 13, 1 lam-2piu, free with Museum admission
January: Biodiversity in
the Neotropics
Featured Exhibitions:
Plants of the vV
(Ongoing)
From its simplest form, algae, to Its most complex, orchids,
this exhibition offers a magnificent collection of plant and
flower models in large dioramas.
Eviction and Homecoming: Ti 5 = ry of
Brazil's Panara Indians (Through Feb. 8, 2004)
These dramatic photographs document the triumphant
struggle of the Panara Indians of Brazil to reclaim
their homeland and cultural identity.
This exhibition was developed by instituto Socioambiental, Brazil, in collaboration with
The Field Museum.
Scientist Roundtabie:
Biodiversity in the Neotropics
Bwce Patterson, Doug Stotz and Robin Foster, TFM
Academic Affairs
Explore the New World tropics from Mexico to South
America, home to approximately a quarter of Earth's plant
and animal species.
Saturday, Jan. 10, 2pm, free with Museum
admission
IN THE FIELD CALENDAR
General Museum Information: 312.922.9410; Family and Adult Program Tickets and Information: 312.665.7400
Scientist at the Field
James Liiudcniiaii, TFM Insects Dept.
Hear about striking and rare insects and
spiders from tlie American tropics.
Louderman will also discuss his fieldwork on
how clear-cut foresting affects insect populations.
Saturday, Jan. tO, I hvii-2piii, free with Museiiiii adinissioii
oTaOcoDoVN
IP
Featured Exhibition:
What Is an Animal?
(Ongoing)
Discover the three
characteristics that all
animals share in this
interactive exhibition,
then see how scientists
classify animals.
Lecture:
Mollusks: Megadiversity in the Sea
Riidii^er Biclcr, TFM Zoolo^i^Y Dept.
Meet Museum scientists whose work on mollusks involves
scuba diving, deep-water dredging and studying the Museum's
collections.
Saturday, Feb. 14, 2pm, free with Museum admission
Adult Behind the Scenes:
Plants ana Animals of the Neotropics
Robert Likkii^ TFM Botany Dept.
Explore distinctive plants and animals from Central and South
America and the Caribbean in this tour through the Museum's
research departments.
Saturday, Jan. U), 9-Uam
$15 per person, \nembers $12
Scientists at the Field
Justin Grubich and Aaron Rice, TFM Fishes Division
Explore the most diverse group of vertebrates on Earth —
fishes! View fish skulls, specimens, skeletons and hi-speed
video footage that illustrate diverse coral reef and
Neotropical freshwater fishes.
Saturday, Feb. 14, 1 lam-2pm,free with Museum admission
Family Behind the Scenes:
Held Museum Division of Fishes
Mark Westneat, TFM Fishes Division
Dive into the Museum's fishes division and discover what
Field Museum researchers are studying.
Friday, Feb. 27,
6- Spill
15 per person,
mendiers $12
Coming in March...
Humans and Landscape
raSt. anCI rrCScnL Armour symposium
What does archaeology have to do with environmental con-
servation today? Join archaeologists, social anthropologists,
geologists and environmental scientists to explore how con-
nections between past cultures and ecosystems affect human
and natural ecological change. This symposium. Indigenous
Ecologies and Sustainability: Humans and Landscape Past
and Present, illustrates archaeology's role in modern-day
environmental conservation.
Saturday, March 6
Call 312.665.7448 or email twachter@fieldnmseutn.orf>
to register.
WINTER 2003-2004 December- Fdmuny
Family Overnight
Dozin' With the Dinos
Sue the T. rex is having a sleepover! Join us for a night of
family workshops, tours and performances. Explore ancient
Egypt by flashlight, prowl an African savannah with man-
eating lions and travel back in time to the Mesozoic Era.
Then spread your sleeping bag amidst some of our most
popular exhibitions. The event
includes an evening snack and
breakfast.
Families with children ages 5—12
5:45pm on Saturday, Dec. 21
until 9am on Sunday, Dec. 28
S47, members $40
Family Workshops
Family Storytelling
Fox Ellis, Master Storyteller
Come listen as Peoria's Fox Ellis spins
a lively tale, the first part in a three-
part series focusing on storytelling.
Ellis uses his craft to teach children and
adults alike about the importance
of oral histories. ^
Families unth children ages 5-12
Saturday.Jan. 10, 10am— noon
(Tlie other series dates are Feb. 21 and April 3.)
$10, members $8
Series of three $20, members $16
African Heritage Festival
The People of the African Diaspora
Antlwny Young,
Howard University
V 5 four-session course,
learn how the mystical
dimension of religion and
the Black Church character-
ize the dominant experience
of people of the African
Diaspora throughout the United States, including Chicago.
Tuesdays, Feb. 3, 10, 17 and 24, 6— 8pm
$70, members $60
Photographs of the Diaspora in the Americas
\licliael Bracey, photographer
Explore award-winning photographer Michael Bracey's images
that showcase lifestyles and comnrionalities among people of
African descent living within the Americas. Since 1997,
Bracey has been docu-
menting the African
Diaspora in black and
white, and continues to
use his craft to educate
people about African
heritage.
Saturday, Feb. 7, 2:30pm
$10, students and
educators $8, members free
Below is a calendar of current and upcoming temporary exhibitions. Some dates may change.
Visit our website at www.fieldmuseum.org or call 312.922.9410 as the date of your visit nears.
The Natural Wonders of Madagascar:
Photographs by Harald Schutz
December 5, 2003-July 5, 2004
Urban Expressions: Young Voices,
New Technologies
February 13, 2004-January 17, 2005
50 Years of Powwow in Chicago
Through January 18, 2004
The Two of Us
Mike Bradccich, TFM Education Dvpt.
Travel the Museum's exhibition halls, hear stories, touch objects,
make art projects and enjoy snacks. This winter we'll learn about
mastabas, monkeys and mud.
Families with children ages 3—5
Tuesdays, Jan. 20— March 9
10-11:30am or 1:30-3pin (Choose one time.)
$95 per child, $80 per member child
For each child, one adult attends at no char(>e.
Sue School
Sharpen your pencil and get ready to learn about paleontology!
Talk to members of the Museum's geology department about
the science of Sue, the most famous dinosaur in the world.
Colossal dinosaur puppets will roam Stanley Field
Hall to meet and greet dinosaur enthusiasts o
all ages.
Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 3 and 4,
9am— 5pm; Special {;uest Sue
Hendrickson , discoverer of Sue.
Saturday, Feb. 7, 1 lam— 2pm; Specia
quest Dr. Peter Makovicky, TFM
Geology Dept.
Free with Museum admission.
GEORGE PAPADAKlS/GNa9608 6C
Adult Courses
World of Words Presentation:
Voices, A Spoken Word Performance
Check out this exciting evening of open-mic performances in the
increasingly popular spoken-word movement. Each poet's mix of
dialogue and drama is both thought-provoking and entertaining.
Join such pioneers as Triple Black, winner of the Def Poetry com-
petition, Brenda Matthews, Moe Mentum, Armen Rah and Lorra.
Friday, Feb. 20
7:30ptn, open-mic registration 7pm
$10, members $8
The Field Museum salutes the people of Chicago for their long-standing, generous support of the
Museum through the Chicago Park District. In addition, Museum programs are partially supported
fay the Institute of Museum and Library Services, a federal agency; by the Illinois Arts Council, a
state agency; and by a CityArts Program 4 Grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural
Affairs.
Madagascar Fossils
Jim HolsteirtyTFM Geology Dept.
Explore why Madagascar is an ideal place to find and study
vertebrate fossils, and learn about the techniques used to collect
and prepare rare fossil finds of the unusual animals that once
lived in this ancient environment.
Saturdays, Jan. 17 and 24, lOam—noon
$40, members $34
Einstein
Through January 19, 2004
Eviction and Homecoming:
Tlie Story of Brazil's Panara Indians
Through February 8, 2004
Fragments From the Temple Mount of
Herod the Great: Archaeology News
From the Holy Land
Through March 14, 2004
ming This Spring
Travel the world with C
NATIONAL
GEOGRAPHIC
Td adventure, insight and inspiration through encounters with
^ world's top explorers, photographers and scientists. The third
son of this popular speaker series in our newly renovated James
npson Theater promises a world of adventure.
A Journey with Marco Polo
.\ liiiael Yaiiujsliiti!. PliolO};rapher
Retrace iVIarco Polo's legendary 24-year
trek across Asia. Using Polo's book as his
travel guide, Yamashita visited 10 countries
and encountered many landmarks and
peoples Polo wrote about, belying recent
scholarly questions about the authen- _ -
ticity of Polo's accounts. Vibrant
images and fascinating stories wil
bring this dramatic journey into
the present.
Tuesday, March 2, 7:30pin
The Passion of Seeing Wildlife
Manias Klniii. Photographer
Daring, tenacious and artistic, Klum is known for
his extreme photography — often facing seemingly
impassable habitats or prolonged physical hardship
to capture the world's most elusive wildlife. Learn about his assign-
ments on Borneo, Southeast Asia's poisonous king cobra and
India's endangered Asiatic lion.
Tuesday, March 16
Jt
Chimpanzees, Tools
and Termites
Elizabeth Lonsdorf, Priinatoloff
Blazing the trail that Jane
Goodall pioneered years ago,
Lonsdorf is studying termite
"fishing" among chimpanzees
at Tanzania's Gombe National
Park. Find out how male and
female youngsters use differen:
mechanisms to learn these
"cultural" behaviors, which are present in some groups but not I
others. Lonsdorf is the director of field conservation at Chicago^
Lincoln Park Zoo.
Tuesday, April 6, 7:.Wpni
Tibetan Traverse
Rich Ridgeu'ay, Conrad Anker andjhniity Chin, Mountaineers
Follow the migration of the chiru, a tiny antelope from Tibet's
Chang Tang plateau that is being poached for its fine wool. In
search of the chiru's unknown calving grounds to make a case
for the habitat's protection, the
mountaineers encountered spec-
tacular landscapes, challenging
terrain and abundant wildlife.
Tuesday, May 4, ~:30piii
Ticket Information
Call 312.665.7400 or visit www.nationalgeographic.com/lec- Patron (reserved seating)
tures to purchase tickets. A limited number will be available onsite Chicago members SiOO
the day of the event starting at 5:30pm, but we recommend reserv- ^ . . • • j.o^
., ... ... General admission: |«4;
ing tickets in advance since this series sells out. „, . , .^„
• , • • , . -rx, ,., /ii -1 .u Chicaw members S/O; :
Also, a series subscription makes a great gift! We II send the
tickets along with a personalized gift card at your request. Individual Events—
Patron (reserved seating): $110;TFM, NG and Geographic Society of
General admission: $84; TFM, NG and Geographic Society of
Chicago members $70; students $48
Series Subscriptions — On Sale Dec. 1
Explorers Circle Ensure the continuation of NG Live! Benefits
hde reserved seating, a private reception and a signed book:
Individual Events — On Sale Jan. 20
Patron (reserved seating): $30; TFM, NG and Geographic Society of
Chicago members $28
General admission: $24;TFM, NG and Geographic Society of Chicago
60;TFM, NG and Geographic Society of Chicago members $350 members $22; students $15
*•$ Sponsor: The Field Associates — a dynamic, diverse group of young professionals dedicated to promoting awareness of The Field Museum's collections, research and public programs. For information or
iOtj all 312.665.7133 orvisitwww.fieldmuseum.org/fieldassociates.
^Ral outreach activities related to the series are presented in collaboration with The Field Museum, the Geographic Society of Chicago and the Illinois Geographic Alliance.
General Museum Information: 312.922.9410; Family and Adult Program Tickets and Information:
Peaceable Kingdom
Make The Field Museum a part of your holiday
traditions! Our Peaceable Kingdom Festival offers
fun for the entire family with music reflecting cul-
tures throughout the Chicagoland area and around
the world. Enjoy The Yellow River Performing Arts
Company, individual performances by Grammy-
nominated Margaret Carlson, soprano Kimberly
Jones and tenor Cornelius Johnson. Songsters Steve
Kwame Cobb and Chavanduka will also be there to
Help celebrate Kwanzaa.
Sartirday, Dec. 21, 1 lam~3pni,frec with Miisawi ddinisswii
312.665 7400
See and hear the best of African
Heritage Month.
Family Performance: Alyo
Children's Dance Company
Celebrate the diversity and richness
of Africa and its people through
music, dance and oral traditions,
featuring a performance by this
talented company.
Saturday, Jan. 31, 1pin,free with
Museum adiiiissioii
Performance: Sterio and the
Garifuna Performing Arts Group
Enjoy the energetic, celebratory music and dance that shares
their culture and the story of their heritage.
Saturday, Feb. 7, 1 1am, free
with Museum admission
Family Program: Master Storyteller Linda Gorham
Hear master storyteller Linda Gorham share the historical
accounts of Ruby Bridges and John Henry as well as tradi-
tional legends in the second session of our three-part family
storytelling series.
Saturday, Feb. 21, 11am and 1pm
(The other series dates are Jan. 10 and April 30.)
$10, 'w^w^f^ji^^ik ^fc
Scries of thr^20\' members SI 6.
(Permanent Hall Renovations
Come vjsit the Pawnee Earth Lodge in its new home when it reopens in September 2004' The lodoe is
currenly closed to visitors, but next fail, you will be able to enter it from either the Hall of Northwest
Coast ndians and Arctic Peoples or the Hall of North American Indians. We are also pi ased t ann u^
c ose at" is?im:T°H""°"°'- '"' °'" '''"" ™"' "''''" '" "'' ^'O"' '"^ ^"'-e ex b ion wil there" e
Investigate ancient art and
modern traditions.
50 Years of
Powwow in
Chicago
Tlnouj'h January W, 2004
Dynamic photographs explore a vibrant celebration
of Native American cultures in today's urban world.
50 Years of Powwow in Chicago is presented by The Field Museum in collaboration with the
American Indian Center.
Eviction and
Homecoming: The
Story of Brazil's
Panara Indians
Tlirouj^h February 8, 2004
These dramatic photographs document the tri-
umphant struggle of the Panara Indians of Brazil
to reclaim their homeland and cultural identity.
This exhibition was developed by Institute Socioambiental, Brazil, in collaboration with
The Field Museum.
Fragments from the Temple
Mount of Herod the Great:
Archaeological News from
the Holy Land
Throuilh March 14, 2004
Four beautifully carved, monumental archi^
tectural fragments tell the story of the
Temple Mount in Jerusalem 2,000
years ago.
y This exhibition was organized by the Israel Antiquities Author-ity.
A
,\ *
Archaeological Mews from the Holy Land is made possible by tlie
Pritzker Foundation.
Visitor Information
Getting Here: Soldier Field's new North Garage has just opened across
the street from our main entrance. Visit vwvw.fieldmuseum.org for the latest
information on new parking lots/rates, free trolleys and public transit.
Hours: 9am-5pm daily. Last admission at 4pm.
To get tickets: Einstein is a specially ticketed exhibition. Enjoy the Einstein Curator's Audio
Tour, which is $5 for the general public and $4 for members and children up to 11. Member
passes can be reserved in advance by calling Ticketmaster at 312.902.1500 (service charges
apply) or coming to the membership desk near the Museum's south entrance (no service charges).
Non-member tickets can also be reserved in advance through Ticketmaster or in person at the
Museum's admission desks. Day-of tickets are available at the Museum while supplies last.
Accessibility: visitors using wheelchairs or strollers may be dropped off at the west entrance.
Handicapped parking and wheelchairs are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Call
312.665.7400 to check on the accessibility of programs that take place outside of the Museum.
Information: 312.922.9410 orwww.fieldmuseum.org
IIM THE FIELD CALENDAR
YBCSPOTLIGHT:LIVINGWATERS
IMAGES By RUDIGER BIELER,
Ugly as sin and often mistaken for a worm, the curly worm-snail would not likely end up in
a beachcomber's pocket. After it hatches, it glues itself to rocks or other hard substrates
and hangs out there — for the rest of its life!
RiJdiger Bieler, PhD, Field Museum curator of invertebrates, has found many worm-snails as
part of a survey of the Florida Keys, a national marine sanctuary. The unmoving mollusk poses
interesting biological questions about how it eats and reproduces, among other behaviors.
To eat, the worm snail pitches a net of mucus into the water that traps food particles, then
retracts the net and consumes it, reusing its own resources. To reproduce, the male releases
a sperm package into the current, where it can drift for weeks. The package must stumble
across a female whose mucus web is extended, become lodged and get sucked back in with
the food. Somehow the sperm winds its way into her reproductive chamber and fertilizes
the eggs. As Dr. Bieler joked, this gives "blind date" a whole new meaning.
The survey started off in 1997 with 582 known mollusk species and has expanded to more
than 1,700. Bieler and his colleagues keep finding new species, some no bigger than a
grain of sand. Cross-referencing what they collect with existing collections and literature —
be it a 19th-century monograph or a shell club newsletter — they are establishing an
accurate record toward managing the sanctuary. If 582 species had been taken at face
value to prove the success of the sanctuary 20 years from now, some 1,100 species could
have disappeared unnoticed.
Dr. Bieler will speak about his research for the Year of Biodiversity and Conservation
(YBC) on Saturday, Feb. 14, at 2pm. Free with Museum admission.
WINTER 2003-2004 December- February
YBCSPOTLIGHT;LIVINGWATERS
Threatened Treasures of the Coral Reef
Justin R. Gnibicli, PliD, Postdoctoral Fellow, and Aaron N. Rice, Graduate Student, Department of Zoolofiy
My depth gauge reads 15 meters (about 45 feet). I feel tiny, swallowed up by the
immense deep blue that envelops me. To my right, I see my dive buddy, Aaron Rice,
collecting survey data. A moving kaleidoscope of corals, sponges and fishes bedazzles
me with its iridescent colors, fantastic shapes and captivating action. Up to this point,
our survey of coral reef fishes had been relatively normal, until a looming shadow
catches my eye.
Rice and a humphead
Maori wrasse, Cheilinus
undulatus.
My heart pounds as I sense something as big as me
slowly and ominously gliding forward, propelled
not by its tail like a shark, but by large, flapping
pectoral fins that make it appear like a huge green
bird in flight. Soon recognizing it as a wary hump-
head Maori wrasse (Cheilinus undulatus), we relish
the moment since specimens topping 100 pounds
are rare, and human activity has taken a toll on this
graceful leviathan.
Scientists have been cataloguing fish biodiver-
sity — both the number of species and their rich
natural histories — for centuries. Yet most of our
planet's living waters still lie undiscovered, a source
of concern as habitats and species are increasingly
besieged by pollution, overfishing and climate
change. Answering questions like how fishes work,
where they live and how they're related may seem
like a daunting task for the thousands of reef
species that have been identified and the countless
otlicrs that have not. But what \\c do learn about
behavior, ecology and evolution can liclp niake a
proverbial splash in tiic bucket of oceanic conserva-
tion efforts.
Coral reef buffet
For every animal or plant that exists in the coral
reef community, from microscopic plankton to
crunchy invertebrates, coral reef fishes have evolved
specialized anatomies and behaviors to eat them.
Like the buffalo that once roamed vast prairies,
grazing on grasses to maintain the landscape,
comb-toothed surgeonfish and beaked parrotfish
scrape the thick algal turf to prevent it from
overgrowing sensitive coral animals. One Field
Museum research project compares feeding behav-
iors between these herbivores and their carnivorous
relatives. Carnivorous fishes have to react fast to
capture escaping prey, whereas herbivores forage
for sedentary sources such as algae. Examining
how their mouthparts, fins and senses are similar or
different and how they contribute to finding food
is a good case study on how specialization evolves.
Hogfishes and their wrasse kin are the reef's
strongmen when it comes to feeding. A second
set of jaws hidden in their throats performs like a
powerful nutcracker to crush hard-shelled clams,
oysters and conchs.Triggerfish also use stalwart
chisel teeth like bolt cutters to snap off crab legs
and urchin spines. A 5-pound fish can generate bite
forces more than 10 times its own body weight.
In contrast to biting fishes, many coral reef fishes
inhale their fellow finned inhabitants. Big-mouthed
groupers and tube-snouted trumpetfish creep up
and ambush their prey through stealth and camou-
flage. When they get just close enough, they lunge
forward and rapidly suck their prey into their
gaping jaws in fractions of a second, faster than
the human eye can see.
Courtship on the reef
When it comes to reproductive strategies, reef
fishes do it all. Wrasses, parrotfish and triggerfish
are polygainists that form harems comprised of one
dominant male and several temaJes, whereas butter-
flyfish pair up and mate for life. Their fidelity is
so strong that they try to minimize the amount
of time they're separated. The promiscuous yellow
tang forms huge spawning aggregations in which
individuals just let loose.
IN THE FIELD
Imagine changing your gender to improve the
odds of finding a mate — an unusual but common
behavior among coral reef fishes called sequential
hermaphroditism. This primarily happens when a
dominant male or female dies and another fish
needs to fill the vacant position. Anemonefish,
popularized in the movie Finding Nemo, start life as
males and change to dominant females (protandry),
while other fishes like triggerfish, parrotfish and
their wrasse kin begin as females and change to
male (protogyny). Going through life as just one
sex (gonochorism) is a seemingly rare occurrence
among most reef fishes.
A female triggerfish exhibits mothering behav-
iors akin to a watchful bird. After spawning, she
forms a nest that she fans with oxygenated water
to help the larvae breathe and defends against
potential predators: Fish eggs are a popular delicacy.
Divers need to be wary of a nest-guarding trigger-
fish. Mothers have been known to attack divers if
they get too close to the nest, and the titan trigger-
fish has sent unfortunate divers to the hospital.
Conserving reef fish diversity
Storms, tides and other natural forces make coast-
lines a dynamic zone for coral reef habitats and the
organisms that live among them. But humans and
industry also occupy coastlines, startling this com-
plex ecosystem with pollution run-off, a booming
seafood industry and other hazards to its delicate
existence.
Field Museum scientists are actively, if not fever-
ishly, involved in collecting data on what's out
there to aid in our own research projects and local
or regional conservation plans. With so little docu-
mented, we don't always know what we're looking
for, which is especially disheartening since we can
suppose that species abundance and diversity is
probably less than it was even 10 years ago.
We're asking such questions as do
fish roam freely in undefined territories, or do they
congregate like elephants to a watering hole? What
do size, shape and color have to do with survival?
How did they evolve so many peculiar feeding,
reproductive and locomotive behaviors? We have to
document diversity before we can understand
decline, and whatever information we gather can
help us identify threatened species or contribute to
creating marine protected areas.
We recently visited Busuanga, an island in the
Philippines, to work with the local fishes bureau
on cataloguing reef fish biodiversity of this region.
Our surveys yielded at least 40 new potential
species, which gives us a double sense of hope and
urgency since Philippine waters contain some of
the world's most threatened reefs. The last survey
was done in the 1950s and was incomplete, making
ours the first complete reef fish index of this
particular region. Unfortunately for the iconic
humphead Maori wrasse, we saw only dead juve-
niles that had been speared by local fishermen. We
have no idea what its population size is, where its
spawning locations are or even what the hump is
for in this vulnerable species.
The real work is only now beginning, since we
have just completed sorting through the 26,000
specimens gathered. The Field Museum's efforts
in assessing and documenting fish biodiversity —
even in small regions like Busuanga — can provide
critical evidence toward implementing vital reef
conservation plans. ITF
For the Year of Biodiversity and Conservation, Rice and
Grubich will share specimens and video on Feb. 1 4,
11am to 2pm. Free with Museum admission.
JUSTIN R. GRUBICH
Left: The vicious, nest-
guarding titan triggerfish,
Balistoides viridiscens.
Center: Mexican hogfish,
Bodianus diplotaenia,
and its pharyngeal
jaw (inset) that crushes
clamshells.
Right: A mated pair of
saddleback butterfiyfish,
Chaetodon ephippium.
WINTER 2003-2004 Dcicmber-Fehruary
YBCSPOTLIGHT:ISLANDBIODIVERSITY
Collectina Liverworts Down Under
Matt uoti Konrat, PhD, Collections Manager, and John Engel, PhD, Curator, Department of Botany
Rising straight out of the sea and shrouded in mist, IVIount IVIoehau on New Zealand's
North Island is as revered as the chief whom legend says is buried there. Before a
recent Field l\/luseum research trip up the tapu (sacred) mountain, a Maori elder led
our team, which included our collaborators and a Maori guide, in a ritual called a
karakia, a common practice before entering a culturally significant area. We held
hands in a circle, bowed our heads and silently listened to the elder's prayers. At the
ceremony's close, we began our search for the inconspicuous and elusive liverwort.
Background: FruUania
congesta, magnified 75
times under a scanning
electron microscope.
Funded by the National Geographic Society, our
Mount Moehau expedition was part of a larger
investigation of New Zealand's rare and threatened
liverworts. These gorgeous, complex organisms,
which with mosses and hornworts are known as
bryophytes, form a major component of New
Zealand ecosystems. Acting as rainfall interceptors,
they help stabilize terrain and prevent soil erosion.
They indicate pollutants in the atmosphere, such as
heavy metals, and potential large-scale changes to a
Left: Cell anatomy and
oil-bodies of rare species,
NeogroUea notabilis.
Right: Drjohn Engel
and Dr. Matt von
Konrat hike Mount
Arthur, South Island,
Neii> Zealand.
habitat or ecosystem. Bryophytes also are home to
fungi, bacteria, other bryophytes and seed plants,
and invertebrates.
An extraordinary 80 percent of the flora of
New Zealand — one of 25 global biodiversity
hotspots — is endemic to the archipelago, which, like
Madagascar, was once part of the ancient supercon-
tinent Gondwanaland. Containing more than 200
liverwort species found nowhere else. New Zealand
is the perfect natural laboratory and a center point
for institutions invested in conserving these vulner-
able plants. It also has the largest liverworts in the
world, Schistochila appendiculata and Monocleaforsteri,
and the most morphologically complex liverwort
in the world, Schistochila glaucescens.
Along with the Auckland War Memorial
Museum, the University of Auckland and the
Department of Conservation, we are analyzing a
range of data, including ecology, reproduction and
spatial distribution. We've assessed that considerable
uncertainty surrounds the population status of
more than 20 liverwort species. We've added to
the knowledge of how several species, previously
known only through scant collections, are distrib-
uted. We also collected new records for the region,
new species to science and species outside of their
known range.
Matt von Konrat, PhD, a Kiwi himself, manages
the Museum's collection of 1 80,000 bryophyte
specimens. He is also working with Japan's
Tokushima Bunri University to assess the biological
activity and taxonomic significance of isolated
chemical compounds in selected liverworts.
Laboratory tests have shown that some of these
chemicals have anti-microbial, anti-fiingal, muscle
relaxing and anti-cancer capabilities. The active
chemicals are found in oil-bodies, globule-like
organelles that are unique to Uverworts and come
in a variety of sizes and shapes.
A Google search for liverworts turns up a
smidgen of information. To fill in the gap. Dr.
von Konrat and John Engel, PhD, Field Museum
curator of bryology, are building a comprehensive
website — the first of its kind — devoted to these
plants. Prominently featuring the Museum's collec-
tions, it will include an image library, interactive
keys, maps, striking images and descriptions. It
will also serve as a companion to the Liverwort
Flora of New Zealand, a new multi-volume te.xt
co-authored by Dr. Engel that consohdates all that's
known about their ecology and biology. Both
media will help scientists, students and conservation
biologists around the world learn about these
plants and more easily identify liverwort species.
Compared to other land plants, many funda-
mental aspects of liverworts remain undisclosed.
The Field Museum's leadership in amassing and
sharing information — whether with research
institutions or the tangata whenua (people of the
land) — is vital to protecting and managing the
habitats where they occur. ITF
Look for wunv.liverworts.org to open this winter. Or
visit www.discoverhfe.org for interactive keys.
IN THE FIELD
OFSPECIALINTEREST
The Women's Board Celebrates
An ancient Buddhist temple bell echoed
as a colorful dragon danced through the
crowd.
On Oct. 25, 800 guests wandered
through sumptuous courtyards in Stanley
Field Hall at the Dream of Nine Dragons
Ball. Inspired by the upcoming exhibition,
Splendors of China's Forbidden City: The
Glorious Reign of Emperor Qianlong, the
i gala raised more than $900,000 to support
i The Field Museum's conservation efforts.
The Women's Board gratefully acknowledges the gala's sponsors, collectively called Architects, Engineers,
Building Consultants & Contractors — Friends of The Field Museum. They include: CATH Associates, Inc.;
Crown Construction & Development; Era Valdivia Contractors, Inc.; HiU Mechanical Corp.; Kroeschell,
Inc.; McGuire Engineers, Inc.; Superior Mechanical Systems, Inc.; Urban Resources, Inc. Architects &
Planners; and Vernon Williams— Architects.
The festive atmosphere continues on Dec. 4 with the annual Children's Holiday Celebration, a seasonal
treat filled with crafts, stories and entertainment. The Women's Board thanks Sears, Roebuck and Co. for
its generous support of this event, which will bring holiday cheer to more than 1 ,000 children and adults
from the Chicago area.
<^v. ^
1 ^ J
in^
f k
fcpw*]
Left: Field Museum
Women's Board President
Patricia Sdinadig (left)
with ball co-chairs Jean
Baldwin- Herbert, Daphne
Hoch Cunningham and
Dorothy Mackevich
Marks.
Frantz Cartright,
President, CATH
Associates (left), and John
McCarter, Field Museum
President and CEO.
New Parking Just Steps From Field Museum
Parking on Museum Campus has never been more convenient.
Soldier Field's new North Garage, a 2,50()-space indoor lot, has just
opened across the street from The Field Museum's south entrance. The
new Waldron Garage south of Soldier Field provides 1 ,700 spaces tor over-
flow on busy days. For quick access, exit onto 1 8th Street from Lake Shore
Drive and follow it until it becomes Museum Campus Drive. This new
lakefront route takes you to the North Garage, the East Museum lot
(between the Field and Shedd Aquarium) and the Adler Planetarium lot.
You can also access Museum Campus using McFetridge Drive, but 1 8th
Street is a more efficient option. Taxis, trolleys and CTA buses will con-
tinue to drop you off via McFetridge Drive if you choose not to drive.
All lots offer handicapped parking. Each lot is $ 1 2 a day, and discounts
apply if you arrive before 9:30am or after 4pm. These hours and rates do
not apply when there are special events at Soldier Field. Parking is not
available to Museum Campus visitors on Bears' home game days. Visit
www.museumcampus.org for details.
Other wondertiil amenities dot the revitalized parkland. A sledding KT
offers wintertime fun and a breathtaking view of the city. Families can stop
by the Children's Garden across from the Museum to play. Or pay homage
to our country's veterans at the 25()-foot-long water wall as you exit the
North Garage on your way to The Field Museum.
Thank you for your patience during the construction period.
We welcome you back to Museum Campus.
Lake
Michigan
9 Free Trolley Stop
'^f CTA Bus Stop
Handicapped
Parking
Parking Lots
WINTER 2003-2004 Deccmher-Febnuiry
FROMTHEARCHIVES
Tale of Two Thom psons
Stephen E. Nash, Head of Collections, Department of Anthropology
Every specimen was personally found by me and taken by hand. ..and the notes made
make the specimens. ..priceless and will give to the Museum at one blow the best
existing collection of the kind from the ruined groups of the Yucatan.
~ Edward H. Thompson
West courtyard and tower
of the palace at Palenque,
Mexico, built around
600 AD.
While capturing the 19th-century romantic spirit
of Edward H. Thompson (Edward), an early Field
Museum anthropologist, such flourish did litde to
validate his legitimacy as a Maya scholar in later
years. J. Eric S.Thompson (Eric; no relation to
Edward), a successor who also researched prehis-
toric Maya cultures, frequently expressed his
disdain for Edward's research techniques and
results. Their disparities,
however, say little of what
each man contributed
between 1890 and 1934
to our understanding of
Neotropic (New World)
cultures.
While working for the
World's Columbian
Exposition of 1893, Edward
created realistic, full-sized
papier mache reproductions
of Maya ruins that were
popular with the Fair-going
pubHc.They especially capti-
vated Allison Vincent
Armour, a Field Museum
trustee and young member
of one of Chicago's wealthi-
est families. In 1894,
Armour sailed his yacht to
the Yucatan to visit Edward and "assist" in collect-
ing. Under Armour's patronage, Edward added
considerably to the Museum's Maya collection
and gave credence to the Museum as a hub for
Mesoamerican studies. As an expatriate, Edward
spent the next four decades living and working
in the Yucatan.
While typical for the time, Edward's excavation
and collecting techniques are today considered
inadequate or worse. He gathered objects without
recording their archaeological context, saved only
what he considered to be museum-quality and sent
objects across international borders. He allegedly
gutted the High Priest's Grave and Sacred Cenote
at Chichen Itza, and the accuracy of his notes has
been questioned.
Regardless of Edward's practices, scholars are
still beholden to his collections, and museums still
display his photos and the artifacts he unearthed.
It is also often overlooked that living among the
Maya influenced Edward's progressive awareness of
the relationship between understanding the present
in order to reconstruct the past.
It is likely that Edward and Eric crossed paths
at Chichen Itza in 1926. Eric knew of Edward's
reputation and wrote in 1929 that there was only
"a fragment of truth hidden below the fantastic
embroidery of a lurid imagination. The romantic
mind of Mr. Edward H.Thompson pervades
[Chichen Itza] to make it useless for scientific
purposes."
A proponent of sound scientific classification,
Eric systematically collected nearly 1,000 Maya
objects. While most archaeologists focused on
temples at large sites, Eric excavated smaller, less-
glamorous sites to study the daily life of average
people. His collection includes a glorious range
of mundane, technological and artistic artifacts,
including elaborate ceramic effigy whistles, fiber
gourd carriers, decorative jade earplugs and eccen-
tric flint objects. The whole ceramic vessels he
found offer an unparalleled sequence of pottery
types that span a thousand years of history.
Eric himself was not above getting artifacts to
the Museum, whatever the circumstances. Most
government permits required that excavated arti-
facts be divvied up among museums with a vested
interest in the area. Eric reportedly disguised a vase
from British Honduras (now Belize) with ash and
soil to prevent the British Museum from selecting
it. Yet he also contributed greatly to Maya scholar-
ship. He published the first correlation of the Maya
and Christian calendars and produced one of the
first catalogues of Maya hieroglyphics. His still-
popular leaflet, Tlie Cimhzation of the Mayas, went
through 57 editions before his death in 1975.
Both Edward and Eric were caught, at different
times, in a classic battle between academia and
business, trying to collect and study while respond-
ing to a pubUc thirst for all things Maya. Their
story is but a small strand in a rich weave of schol-
arship, philanthropy, success, tragedy, chutzpah and
all the aspects that make life — particularly scholarly
Hfe — so interesting.
This article was inspired by Donald McVicker's contribu-
tion to Curators, Collections, and Contexts: Field
Museum Anthropology 1893-2002. Edited by Stephen
E. Nash and Gary M. Feinman, this new publication is
available in the Museum store.
IN THE FIELD
MEMBERSHIP/ ANNUALFUNDNEWS
Double Discount Shopping Days
The Field Museum stores are your one-stop-shop for distinctive holiday gifts.
On Dec. 8, 13 and 17, members receive 20 percent
off all Museum merchandise — an additional 10
percent over your regular discount. Explore three
stores, or visit http://store.fieldmuseum.org. Our
handcrafted gifts, colorful textiles, home accessories,
children's items and books will help you create
meaningful, educational holiday presents.
Proceeds support The Field Museum's education
and research efforts. Bring your membership card
to the Museum, or have your member number
handy if you visit the online store. i
New Annual Fund Website
Visit the new annual fund website at www.fmnh.org/annualfund. Learn more
about upcoming events and programs and how your generous support helps
the Museum expand its collection and educational offerings.
The Essential Year-round Gift
For friends and family who seem to have everything, a Field Museum membership
is the essential gift to enjoy all year.
CATHRYN C. SCOTT
Available at three levels — 160 for individuals, $70
for families or $100 to join the Annual Fund —
membership offers terrific benefits, including:
• Free basic admission every day;
• Free passes to 2004's special exhibitions. Splendors
of China's Forbidden City: The Glorious Reign of
Emperor Qianlong znA Jacqueline Kennedy: The White
House Years;
• A subscription to In the Field, our award-winning
member publication;
• Discounts on educational programs, food and
merchandise;
• Exclusive events and behind-the-scenes tours.
Give a Field Museum membership, and we'U give
you and your recipient an exclusive, Umited-edition
tote bag. To purchase the $60 individual or $70
family membership, call 866.312.2781. To purchase
an Annual Fund membership at $100, call
312. 665. 7777. You can also fill out the form below
and mail it in. Thank you for your support.
Yes, I'd like to give the gift of a
Field Museum membership.
(Copy this form for multiple gifts.)
Send the membership cards and
coupon for a limited-edition tote
bag to:
Gift from:
Mail to:
Membership Department
The Field Museum
1400 S. Lake Shore Dr
Chicago, IL 60605
D $60 Individual
D $70 Family D $100 Annual Fund
NAMES
ADDRESS
CITY
STATE
ZIP
PHONE
EMAIL
MEMBER NO.
NAMES
ADDRESS
CITY
STATE
ZIP
PHONE
WINTER 2003-2004 December-February
ItL iw
STOP^OUBm^
The Field Museum's Year of Biodiversity and Conservation
(YBC) explores the most pressing environmental topics of
our time through special lectures, exhibitions, opportuni
ties to interact with Field Museum scientists and
suggestions on hovj you can become personally engage
in conservation.
Look in this issue's calendar for programs on
island biodiversity in December, the Neotropics in
January and living waters in February. Or visit
www.fieldmuseum.org/biodiversity for a gorgeous,
nformation-packed look at what the
useum is doing — and what you can
-to understand and protect our
s rich plant and animal life.
At right, US Coiigressironhiii Judy Biiigcrt, Field Miiseiiin President and CEO John
McCarter and City of Cliicago Department of Eiwironmem Commissioner N. Marcia
Jimenez welcomed more than 500 participants and hundreds of supporters to the Race to
Stop Global Warming, the YBC kickoff event.
dnservation makes aTworld of differenced
'•DiMiMIfhftJj^irn I
Curator of Invertebrates
Department of Zoology
The Field Museum
DfTBieler's research focuses on marine
mollusks and diversity in island groups
such as the Florida Keys. His work with
colleagues from around the world has
_nearly tripled the number of mollusk
species known to inhabit the area.
Hear Dr. Bieler speak on
Saturday, February 14 at 2 p.m.
The Field Museum's Member
Spring 2004
March-May
Publication
Splendors of
Chinas
Forbidden City
FROMTHEPRESIDENT
Positive Steps Follow Challenging Times
Left: A neiv hook covers
the history and science of
Tsauo's lions.
Right: Terrace level of the
neu' Collections Resource
Center.
The past few years have been difficult for all of us, both outside and inside The Field
Museum. World events, a decline in the stock market and construction on Museum
Campus affected our endowment, donations, government support and attendance. But
we are rebounding. Whether you have just joined the Museum, increased your annual
support last year or are part of our invaluable 600-plus volunteer corps, you have
helped us get through a tough period.
We are poised to have an excel-
lent year in 2004.
• Our scientific efforts are flour-
ishing, as measured by new
species discovered, growth in
our collections and more criti-
cal environments conserved.
Among accomplishments
throughout the research
areas, Bruce Patterson,
PhD, MacArthur Curator of
Mammals, has just published
the definitive bool< on the best-
known lions of all time — The
Lions of Tsavo.
• We continue to be a museum
leader in receiving grants
from the National Science
Foundation and other major
grant-making organizations.
• The new central plant is opera-
tional, with improvements in
cost and energy efficiency. The
plant's updated heating and
cooling equipment allows us to
better control the temperature
and humidity in our collections
areas, while providing greater
comfort year-round for our
staff and visitors.
The remodeled James Simpson
Theatre, opening for the
National Geographic Live!
series in March, features ele-
vators, new seats and upgraded
acoustics. A handicapped entry
and seating and wider aisles
make it fully accessible to all
visitors.
We continue to develop classes,
fieldtrips, overnights and pro-
fessional workshops for learners
of all ages and backgrounds.
Take part in the remaining
Year of Biodiversity and
Conservation programs. Also
join expeditions@fieldmuseum
to witness the growth of pere-
grine falcon chicks from
nesting through flight.
• Three excellent exhibitions are
scheduled for 2004: Splendors
of China's Forbidden City; The
Glorious Reign of Emperor
Qianlong; Machu Picchu:
Unveiling the Mystery of the
Incas; and Jacqueline Kennedy;
The White House Years.
• The 170,000-square-foot
Collections Resource Center
is scheduled to open this fall,
providing state-of-the-art
research laboratories and
mobile shelving in a controlled
environment for more than two
million artifacts and specimens.
• Two new permanent halls will
open in 2006, Halls of the
Americas and Life Over Time.
Both tell stories that are
central to our mission — the
peopling of the Americas and
the process of evolution.
We are grateful to our members,
annual fund donors and other
Museum supporters who sustain
our mission to explore the Earth
and its peoples through public
education and scientific discovery
and conservation. Thank you for
keeping The Field Museum in
your life.
John W. McCarter, Jr.
President and CEO
aboiit I^^
4-U,
Fl£Ld?
For general membership inquiries, including address changes, call 866.312.2781. For questions about
the magazine In the Field, call 312.665.7115, email acranch@fmnh.org, or write Amy E. Cranch,
Editor, The Field Museum, 1400 South Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL 60605-2496.
INTHEFIELD
Spring 2004, March- May,
Vol.75, No. 2
Editor:
Amy E. Cranch, The Field Museum
Design:
Depke Design
♦^ In the Field is printed on recycled paper
■w using soy-based inks. All images ©The
Field Museum unless otherwise specified.
In the Field (ISSN #1051-4546) is published
quarterly by The Field Museum. Copyright
2004 The Field Museum. Annual subscriptions
are $20; $10 for schools. Museum membership
includes In the Field subscription. Opinions
expressed by authors are their own and do
not necessarily reflect the policy of The Field
Museum. Notification of address change should
include address label and should be sent to
the membership department. POSTMASTER;
Send address changes to Membership, The
Field Museum, 1400 South Lake Shore Drive,
Chicago, IL 60605-2496. Periodicals postage
paid at Chicago, Illinois.
Cover: Splendors of China's Forbidden City will
be at The Field Museum March 12 through
Sept. 12, 2004. Emperor Qianlong in formal
court robe, detail (1736). ©Palace Museum,
Beijing.
The Field IVIuseum salutes the people of
Chicago for their long-standing, generous
support of the Museum through the
Chicago Park District.
j:
fe
Field
useum
1400 South Lake Shore Drive
Chicago, IL 60605-2496
312.922.9410
www.fieldmuseum.org
2
Explore the hidden world of the Imperial
Court in Splendors of China's Forbidden City.
Top: Imperial golden dragon seal, Qing dynasty
(17th- 18th century).
4
A Field Museum scientist uses spiders'
complex genitalia to identify species.
Middle: Black and yellow argiope.
The Green Chicago symposium features
leaders in environmentally responsible build-
ing practices and home care.
16
Philippine rats help a Field Museum scien-
tist explain biological diversity on islands.
Bottom: Dwarf cloud rat, Carpomys phaeurus.
Correction: In the Einstein quiz on the front
page of the Winter 2003-2004 calendar. Sen.
Joseph McCarthy was incorrectly identified
as the head of the House Committee on
Un-American Activities.
Museum Ca
Shedd Aquarium Imagine a birthday celebration with more than
19,000 party animals. It's yours at Shedd Aquarium. Arrange a party
for a child or an adult, with catering, a visit from a costumed charac-
ter and an activity. Then spend the rest of the day at the aquarium
with family, friends and Shedd's fabulous animals. Really want to get
your feet wet? Try the new Trainer for a Day program, beginning in
April. Follow a marine mammal trainer as he or she prepares food,
feeds the animals and conducts a training session.
For details and registration information about either program,
visit www.sheddaquarjum.org.
Adier Planetarium As part of the Adier's coverage on the Mars
Rover mission, see a full-scale replica of the spacecraft through April.
In Tfie Future is Wi/d, scientists' forecasts help you imagine Earth
millions of years from now, when the continents have shifted, mass
extinctions have occurred and new species — such as fire-breathing
birds — dominate the planet. And on Friday and Saturday nights
beginning in March, Sonic Vision transforms alternative rock and
techno music into neo-psychedelic animation on the StarRider's
dome. It's a mind-bending, pulsing ride with such artists as
Radiohead, Goldfrapp, U2, David Bowie and the Flaming Lips.
Visitwww.adlerplanetarium.org or call 312. 922. STAR.
SPRING 2004 March-Mr
Above: Tlie Emperor
Qiaiiloiig hunting deer,
assisted by Rotigfei, one
of his wipes (ca. 1760).
Right: Elephant of cloi-
sonne on gilded bronze
(1746).
New Exhibition Gives Unprecedented Look
at 18th Century Imperial China
Amy E. Cranch, Editor
All images ©Palace Museum, Beijing
It was the largest empire the country has ever known, stretching from the Siberian
forests to the South China Sea, and from the mountains of Tajil<istan to Sal<halin north of
Japan. Its resources — gold and jade, rice and silk, livestock, land and priceless art —
made it richer than all of Europe combined. And at its zenith, one man held absolute
power for 60 years over 300 million subjects. This was China in the 18th century,
under the emperor known as Qianlong (cheeyen-loong).
Splendors of China's Forbidden City:Tlie Glorious
Reign of Emperor Qianlong, a new exhibirion
running March 12 through Sept. 12, 2004,
opens the door to the final, magnificent
flowering of hnperial China and the
man who guided its growth. To create
the exhibition. The Field Museum
borrowed nearly 400 treasures fi-om
Beijing's Palace Museum, formerly
called the Forbidden City, a 178-acre
walled complex that was the symbolic
heart of the Chinese empire. Most of
the objects have never been seen in the
United States, and many have never
traveled outside of the palace com-
pound. "Exelon Corporation is pleased
to support this remarkable exhibition and
help bring it to Chicago," said John Rowe, Exelon
chairman and a Field Museum trustee.
The idea for Splendors of China's Forbidden City
was born when Sophia Siskel, now vice president
of exhibitions and education, and anthropology
curators Chuimei Ho and Bennet Bronson were
in China preparing for last year's Pearls exhibition.
Enhance your exhibition experience with these offerings. Rent the audio tour,
available in an adult or family version. Look in the calendar for related family
and adult programs. Purchase the companion book, written and edited by the
exhibition's curators and co-published by Merreil Publishers, with contributions
from other Qianlong scholars. Or shop for exquisite items, including antique
tables and trunks and jade ceremonial objects and jewelry, all carefully chosen
and brought from China especially for The Field Museum.
Following lengthy negotiations and several trips
to handpick and prepare the objects, it is proof
of The Field Museum's superior knack for both
research and exhibitions.
Other Forbidden City exhibitions
have either been highly specialized —
focusing on jade or calligraphy, for
example — or "provided a good gen-
eral overview," said Ho, the
e.xhibition's lead curator. "We thought
American audiences were ready
for something more focused and
in-depth — and at the same time
engaging and beautiful." The
e.xhibition deals with a relatively
recent time, 1736 to 1795, and
everything connects to one extraordinary man.
A wise and learned leader
Any discussion of Qianlong must first recognize that
he was a Manchu, an ethnic minority, ruhng over the
Han Chinese majority. Yet he deftly intertwined both
cultures into his personal and poHrical life, incorpo-
rating Han Chinese symbols and colors into almost
everything he touched, including his clothes, dishes
and cushions. In one suggested palace environment,
you will see his gold-lacquered throne featuring the
five-clawed dragon, an ancient Han imperial symbol
reserved exclusively for the emperor.
To successfully rule the vast empire, Qianlong
had to excel across the board, from tireless bureau-
crat to hands-on administrator, and from expert
IN THE FIELD
huntsman to dedicated scholar and arts connoisseur.
"Qianlong was groomed from an early age to be a
great leader," said Francesca Pons, the exhibition's
project administrator. "His well-rounded abilities
helped China become the most powerful empire
in the world at that time."
Splendors of China's Forbidden City examines keys
to his accomplishments: his tours to review public
works and offer tax relief; his relationship with
other leaders; and his support and personal explo-
ration in all of the empire's languages and religions.
You will also see the tools of his talents, including
his writing desk, calligraphy brushes and weapons.
Infinitely inquisitive, Qianlong also cultivated his
artistic interests. He assembled massive coUec
tions and commissioned radical new works
for his time, while making notable efforts,
such as writing essays or creating cata-
logues, to understand the objects' cultura
context. Bronson, the exhibition's co-
curator, said Qianlong may be the
greatest collector who has ever lived: His
collections form the bulk of objects in
China's two major state museums. The
exhibition features selections from his
jade, snuff bottle and pottery collec-
tions. Such ventures backed his personal
passions while proving that he was a
superior ruler learned in all things.
A world of women
One tender aspect of Qianlong's life is
his relationship with Xiaoxian (sheeyow-
sheeyen), his first wife and empress. Married
as teens, they fell deeply in love over the years.
Tragically, she died at 33. Although Qianlong had
more than 40 wives and hundreds of court ladies
and maidservants, none held the same place in his
heart.
Qianlong seems to have thought it was important
that women be smart and fit. The famous painting
above, attributed to Jesuit artist Giuseppe Castiglione,
shows the emperor hunting deer with one of his
wives. Yet most of the time, the ^vomen lived in
small, closed areas, largely secluded from the rest of
the world. To ensure a pure bloodline, no men —
besides Qianlong and the palace eunuchs — could
stay the night. Once married to the emperor, the
women could never again live outside of the com-
plex. They could accept visitors and travel with
permission, and often visited the summer palace
for its gardens, festivals, market and other activities.
One painting of a court lady surrounded
by exquisite objects conveys the luxury — and isola-
tion — many women must have felt. The exhibition
developers have recreated this scene, using objects
thought to be the ones in the painting. But, as in
the Forbidden City, you cannot enter her chamber.
You can only peer through a window and imagine
her loneUness amidst the opulence.
Faith in the Forbidden City
Whether as a benefactor or practitioner, Qianlong
supported many religions. The exhibition fea-
tures four religions practiced inside the palace
walls — Tibetan Buddhism, Han Buddhism,
Shamanism and Daoism. Ritual objects
on view include mirrors, altars, musical
instruments and representations of deities,
such as statues, a tangka painting and
stupas, or spire-like monuments that often
contain holy relics. Visitors wiU encounter
a bronze statue of the ferocious
Yamantaka, "Slayer of the Lord of
Death," and an outstanding gold statue
of Guanyin, goddess of mercy.
Qianlong voluntarily stepped
down from the throne in 1795. When
he died four years later, the empire had
already begun to lose its splendor. The
exhibition concludes with Qianlong's
memorial throne, a tablet said to enshrine
his spirit and offering vessels. None of these has
ever been publicly displayed, even in the Palace
Museum. They are presented as a silent gesture of
honor for this man — artist, poet, scholar, warrior
and ruler — who, with his father and grandfather,
catapulted Imperial China to its greatest size and
power. Following a century of turmoil, China
reestablished itself in the 20th centviry, but the
glorious reign of China's emperors had ended
forever. ITF
Splendors of China's Forbidden City: The Giorious Reign of Emperor Qianlong
was developed by The Field Museum in cooperation with the Palace Museum^
Beijing.
Presented by Exelon, Proud Parent of ComEd.
Above: A court lady
at leisure (early 18th
century).
Left: Gold statue of
seated four-armed
Guanyin, goddess
of mercy (1748).
SPRING 2004 March-M.:
BIODIVERSITY
Barbs, Screws, Hoo<s and Hairy Legs
Dcpiirlniait of Zoolo^jy
The title of this article may remind you of a fascinating B-rated monster movie, but
for me, this is not a movie at all. It is my daily life.
As a curator in The Field Museum's insect division, I see a lot of hairy legs every
day. Whereas all true insects have only six legs, spiders have at least eight, and milli-
ive up to 3JflBj|J|||HMH's not their legs that intrigue me. It's their barbs,
screws aBjU^BBj^^^^Kaoramariiy bizarre yet incredibly utilitarian parts of their
genitalia. ^^^^^^^^
©2003 CAS/DONG
Ahovc:This colorful lynx
spider from Myanmar
has not yet been identi-
fied.
Below: Tliis millipede's
(Signioria sp.) striking
color warns others of the
nasty chemicals it exudes.
All spiders have a pair of "hands" next to their
mouthparts called palps that handle prey and silk
threads. In full grown males, though, these palps
contain extremely complex organs that transfer
sperm to the female receptacles — a fiinction that is
still mysterious in many ways. The male produces a
small triangular sperm web, then releases sperm
from his hind body onto the web. He dips his palps
into the seminal fluid to extricate the sperm. He
then inserts them, with their
hooks or other tool-like struc-
tures, into hoods and nooks in
front of the sperm receptacles
on the female's beOy. She
stores the sperm and deter-
mines when her eggs will
become fertilized based on
such conditions as weather
and the availability of food
and an ideal nesting spot.
A perfect fit
You may wonder why the love lives of spiders fasci-
nate me. It is exciting when males sometimes get
eaten or females sometimes become wrapped up in
silk. But their cannibalistic naaire is highly exagger-
ated. I studied North America's five widow spiders.
Most males do not get eaten, and some female
species even share her dinner.
My primary interest is in using genitalia to iden-
tify' species. Early research used spiders" shape and
color in identification, which was often incomplete
or incorrect. But incredibly, we now know, each
species — male and female — has a difl^erent set ot
genitalia. With 37.()00 known spider species, that's
74,000 sets of exclusive genitalia! Not only does a
male have to find a female with whom he perfecdy
fits in order to reproduce, but scientists have to dif-
ferentiate between all genitalia to identifs- spiders to
species level.
In one species offish-eating spiders from Afiica,
IN THE FIELD
the male genitalia carry a hook that engages in a
small but deep pit in the female genitalia. In another
closely related species, the tip of the hook is large
and shaped like a hammer. Accordingly, the female
has large pouches to accommodate the male's organ.
Technology lightens the load
It is impossible for me — or any researcher — to
memorize the minuscule, detailed genital structures
for 37,000 species. Historically, highly trained illus-
trators created images while looking through a
microscope. While illustrations are still a core piece
of the identification puzzle, technology is enabling
us to see these structures to acute levels of detail.
We are fortunate at The Field Museum to have
several superior laboratories.
The Field Museum's scanning electron micro-
scope (SEM) gets a lot of use, and we can now
make digital images through our light microscopes.
We also compare the specimens we collect with the
Museum's collection of about 20,000 specimens.
With so many species and such fine detail, it is not
surprising that we know very little about the spi-
der, millipede or beetle species right here in Cook
County, much less understudied parts of the world.
Field Museum curators travel to these unex-
plored places to add to our collections and to
determine the species diversity of habitats under
consideration for protection. Collecting techniques
can range fi-om setting up mass traps to roaming
around on our hands and knees, negotiating with
the birds and snakes as to who gets the spider!
We worked with Burmese students and mem-
bers of the forestry department on a recent
collecting fieldtrip to Myanmar (Burma) in
Southeast Asia, where spiders are everywhere. I col-
lected in rice fields for the first time and saw more
spiders there than I have ever experienced. Spiders
hunt on the water surface between the rice plants,
build webs among the rice leaves and run up and
down the rice plants in search of food. In fact, they
protect the rice from insect crop pests and are vital
to keeping the fields productive.
Misunderstood millipedes
About six years ago, I began working on those
strange, slow-moving worms
with legs — millipedes. Less
dynamic than their spider
counterparts, most millipedes
root around for rotten leaves in
the dark of night. Deciduous
forests would drown in their
own leaf litter if it weren't for
millipedes eating their way
through the debris. Yet their
cryptic nature has detracted
enthusiasts from studying them, leaving our knowl-
edge of millipedes far behind other groups. We don't
know how many species have been described and
have litde idea about who lives in our backyards and
what they are doing there.
About 10 years ago, the American National
Science Foundation began pushing for research on
neglected organism groups. At that time, there were
only five known millipede researchers in the world.
When I heard about the program, I discovered that
The Field Museum had a large and wonderful,
albeit dormant, collection. What a grand declaration
of building and maintaining collections over time,
as you never know when information will be
needed for urgent research.
While looking at the collection, I noticed that
the males had converted the legs of their seventh
ring into fantastic sperm transfer organs called
gonopods. These organs motivated a new field of
study. Since then, we have trained new graduate
students to specialize on milhpedes. In an eflirt to
replenish the vanishing scientific expertise, we have
produced catalogs of all existing millipede collec-
tions in the world and computerized the Museum's
collections. We are now creating a catalog of all
millipede species ever described. Several students
and volunteers have supported this task — impossi-
ble to do without them.
Of course, many millipede species await discov-
ery, which will be much easier to find once we
know what has already been described. Like a
road being built to reach a destination faster, we are
improving the scientific infrastructure for describ-
ing millipedes and their important ecological role
in our world's forests. ITF
Above: Collecting in
Myanmar was wet,
muddy and faced with
snakes and leeches.
SPRING 2004 March-May
INTHEFIELDFEATURE
Greener Snaces for Home and Work
Tifl'ciiiy Phuc, 1 1 'liter
Ever wonder how environmentally friendly your home and workplace are? Find out in
April, when The Field Museum hosts a symposium on "green" building and home care.
What is green architecture?
Developers, architects and builders are just catching
on to how to reduce waste, conserve natural
resources and improve air quality through their
projects. The U.S. Green Building Council pro-
motes buildings that are environmentally
responsible, profitable and healthy for living and
working. Through the Leadership in Energy and
Top: Tlie Tuthill building
resides on restored lands
and is constnicted of
etwironmentally friendly
materials.
Bottom: Rooftop sedum
on this house by EHDD
Architecture absorbs
storm water runoff.
bnvironniental Design (LEED) rating
system, buildings can be certified sil-
ver, gold or platinum based on their
inclusion of green attributes.
Because LEED is rather new and
involves lengthy documentation, rela-
tively few buildings are certified. The
Chicago Center for Green Technology,
for example, is the only platinum site in Chicago.
Credit-earning features include: the site's proximity
to pubhc transportation; use of low-emitting paints,
carpets and adhesives; storage space and shower
facilities for bicyclists; renewable energy systems;
water-efiicient landscaping; and use of sustainable
wood or recycled materials.
Though adapting to different building practices
and certification can be time consuming, green
architecture is on the rise. Government incentives
are increasing, and long-term energy and cost sav-
ings are becoming better understood. Above all,
rewards such as fewer to.xins and more green space
contribute to healthier, more productive and, ulti-
mately, happier humans.
How The Field Museum stacks up
One way the Museum can promote environmen-
tally forward thinking is to talk about what we are
doing to conserve the Earth's resources. To date, we
have installed 98 of 250 photovoltaic cells, or PV
cell panels, on the Museum's roof that convert the
sun's energy to usable electricity. A new central
plant contains energy-efficient heating boilers and
ice machines working overnight to help offset high
costs during periods of peak demand. The Museum's
600-person stafi" vigorously recycles paper, card-
board, packing materials, aluminum and glass. We
purchase recycled office supplies, and provide stor-
age and shower facilities for employees who bike to
work. On your next visit, look for signage sup-
ported by the Illinois Clean Energy Community
Foundation on our latest environmental initiatives.
What's inside counts, too
A building's environmentally friendly "shell" is only
the first step. Barry Bursak, an environmental con-
sultant, promotes eco-friendly home furnishings.
"There are non-toxic, environmentally sustainable
home furnishings being manufactured on a small
grassroots level," said Bursak. Vendors are creating
products that use sustainably grown wood, plant-
based finishes, organic cotton and hemp fabrics,
and non-to.xic, animal-free glues.
While not always easy to find or afford, more
products are becoming increasingly available, espe-
cially as consumers become educated and retailers
understand that the public is looking for them.
"Every time people consider buying home furnish-
ings, they should ask what the products are made
of, if they contain volatile organic compounds such
as formaldehyde, and if the wood came from a
managed forest," said Bursak.
PV cell panels may not be feasible for everyone,
but we can all make small changes in our daily
lives, whether through properly insulating our
homes or purchasing chemical-free cleansers. To
learn more, hear prominent building engineer
Guy Batde speak on April 22, or attend the Green
Architecture Symposium on April 23. Also stop
by the Eco-Friendly Homes Fair on April 24 fixjm
9am to 4pm. See the calendar for details. ITF
Green Chicago was organized in collaboration with the Chicago Architecture
Foundation and in partnership with AIA Chicago, and is presented with gener-
ous support from the Illinois Clean Energy Foundation.
IN THE FIELD
YBCSPOTLIGHT:TREEOFLIFE
They're as famous as Pavlov's dogs and Freudian slips. Darwin's finches, a flagship in
understanding evolution, include an estimated 13 to 14 species in the Galapagos Islands
and one on Cocos Island off the Pacific coast of Central America. Although similar in body
size and coloring, some bills look like short, thick cones, suitable for cracking seeds, while
others resemble a sliver of the moon, adapted to probing for insects.
Biologists presumed for years that Darwin's finches descended from a South American
species. Yet no rigorous studies had been done to substantiate that. Shannon Hackett, PhD,
a curator in the Museum's bird division, and two colleagues began asking where the finches
came from and how such beak diversity arose.
Dr. Hackett's team used traditional methods, such as measuring bills, combined with DNA
sequencing and powerful computer analyses. Most importantly, they gathered data from a
broad range of songbird species. They discovered, among many things, that Darwin's finches
are closely related to a group whose distributions are centered mainly in the Caribbean —
not simply the long-accepted South American connection.
Surprisingly, they also found that the Caribbean relatives exhibited even greater bill diver-
sity than Darwin's finches and had been inaccurately classified into three separate avian
families. While the Galapagos have long been considered a prime laboratory for natural
selection, the inherent potential of this songbird group to generate remarkably different
bills appears not just in the Galapagos, but in the previously unrecognized Caribbean radia-
tion as well.
Even when we think we know a lot, new findings can ruffle the proverbial feathers. Dr.
Hackett's team altered centuries-old assumptions about the origins of Darwin's finches,
while igniting further exploration into bill size, shape and function.
Dr. Hackett will lecture on May 15 at 2:30pm about Tree of Life, an inteniatioiuil project to determine the relation-
ships among all of Earth's species. She directs the avian segment.
SPRING 2004 March-.Miiy
V.
YBCSPOTLIGHT-.ASIANBIODIVERSITY
Lji:oii sluew-mouse,
Archboldomys
inusseri.
Remarkable Rats and the Origins
of Island Biolo gical Diversity
!/*-
Lawrence R. Heatiey, Curator of Mainmals, Department of Zoology
niustratioiis hy I'elizar Simeonorski ,
Biologists are an odd lot^we often get intensely excited about things that leave other people
shaking their heads. Who else would spend one to two months each year in remote tropical
mountain ranges, eagerly racing at dawn through fog-shrouded forest to see what beautiful
rats were caught in their traps overnight?
"What's that?" you might ask. "Did you say 'beautiful rats?' They stink, they're filthy,
they carry disease and they do massive damage! Surely you mean beautiful birds or butter-
flies!" But the rats of the Philippines are marvelous, and are a wonderful example of how
biological diversity is produced. There are at least 60 species, 58 of which live nowhere else,
and most of them look nothing like anyone's typical image of a rat
For at least 200 years, even before Charles
Darwin's famous visit to the Galapagos Islands,
scientists have known that oceanic islands usually
have unique — often bizarre — plant and animal
species. Oceanic islands are those that have had
no dry-land connection to a continent. When a
small animal or plant population reaches a group
of oceanic islands, it finds itself with abundant
resources and few or no competitors or predators.
Over millions of years, the original species increases
fiom one to many, evoUang in response to the
available (and often unusual) resources. A classic
example to illustrate this process, called adaptive
radiation, has emerged ftom our studies of the
weird and wonderfiil rodents of the Philippines.
Branches on the Tree of Life
Scientists classify species based on their position
in the Tree of Life. For more than 20 years, my
American and Fihpino collaborators and I have
been working to understand why the Philippine
archipelago has unusually large numbers of unique
species with distinctive ways of making a living.
Oiu: recent DNA studies have confirmed what
we tentatively suggested from anatomical studies
a decade ago: all 60 known species are technically
rats because they are on that branch of the Tree
of Life. But the DNA data also show us that
most of the 60 species are members of just
two groups (or two complete '"branches")
that are confined to the Philippines.
They are the descendents of two
different ancestral populations that
originally came from the Asian
mainland 10 to 12 million years ago.
Most members of one group,
\\ hich includes about 25 species,
live in the extremely wet forest high
in the mountains. Though they are
closely related, the only things they
have in common are a tendency to live
on the ground, to have fairly short tails
and to ear very htde other than earthworms,
which are tremendously abundant in the area.
While few rat species elsewhere in the world eat
earthworms, all 25 members of this group have
evolved ways to effectively use this abundant
resource.
One Luzon species, which we informally call
the tweezer-beaked hopping rat, hops along trails
that it clears through the moss and pounces on
worms at the surface, mostly at night. In the same
forest, the Luzon striped shrew-rat digs for worms
through the thick layer of decomposing moss and
leaves. A small mouse about the size of a Chicago
shrew flits ftom one log to another during the
daytime, in search of worms along the edges of
fallen logs. Several species that look like the wild
mice of American forests climb more actively.
Most amazingly, our DNA data tell us that all of
•I*
^
16 IN THE FIELD
i
these are closely related and are descended from
one ancestral population that reached the
Philippines from the Asian mainland
about 10 million years ago.
One day in early 2003, in the
high, wet, cool mountains of
northern Luzon, a local hunter
we had trained as a field assis-
tant returned to our camp, his
face lit with triumph. After
weeks of effort, he had caught a
dwarf cloud rat that was high in a
tree cloaked with moss, orchids,
and ferns, and woven into the canopy
in a web of vines. While we had seen ^^
the few existing museum specimens, nothing
prepared us for its thick, lustrous pelage, nicely
rounded face and furry tail. We could scarcely
believe its broad hind feet with "big toes" that
were as flexible as human thumbs. No wonder no
one had caught one in five decades: It seems per-
fectly adapted to living high in the canopy, with
two pairs of "hands" and soft, dense fur that sheds
water from the frequent thick fog.
This animal belongs to a second group of
about 15 species descended from an Asian colonist
that reached the Philippines about 12 million
years ago. Most live in the treetops, feed on ten-
der, young leaves and some seeds and fruit, and
have long, thick fur covering the body and tail.
Several species of giant cloud rats weigh up to
7 pounds. In many ways, this group
seems to be the ecological equiva
lent of some African and
South American monkeys.
Thus, from just two
successful movements of
a few rats from the Asian
mainland, about 40
species have evolved,
from tiny shrew-like ani-
mals to large arboreal
herbivores.
The birth of diversity
The history of life on
Earth, and especially the
increase in biological
diversity, is intimately
tied to geological his-
tory. The Philippine
Islands originated in the
Pacific Ocean, first pop-
ping above water far
from land, and have
never been connected
to the mainland (except
for one island near
Borneo). The islands are
isj'^^f*^'^C^*tMS^
of vastly different ages, from 300,000 to 20 million
years old. While some of the current islands were
once connected to one another, most have never
been connected to anyplace, even though they are
often separated by 20 miles or less. We have found
that each isolated island is a unique center of bio-
logical diversity. For example, about 80 percent of
the small mammal species on Luzon Island live
nowhere else on Earth. Thus, it's clear that an
islands isolation promotes the development of
unique species.
The fact that closely related species usually live
on nearby islands clearly shows that they occasion-
ally move between
islands. We believe this
happens during
typhoons, when
rarely — but
inevitably — a few
"^animals inside a
hollow log are
swept out to sea
and blown by
strong winds to
a nearby island. In
response to differ-
ent resources,
predators and
competitors, the
anatomy, behavior
and genes of the
isolated population
change, eventually
becoming a new
species on the new
island. Our latest
DNA studies show
that a given species'
is often within a
hundred thousand
Se
: *H-
Above: Luzon striped
shrew-rat, Chrotomys
whiteheads
Below: Tweezer-
heaked hopping rat,
Rhynchomys sori-
coides.
> > J
'^■\'^:^-
Ji
k:
BACKGROUND IMAGE ERIC A. RICKART
SPRING 2004 March-May
years of the island's age — a small difference in
geological time. In other words, our weird and
wonderful rats caught a ride on a log to each new
island shortly after it surfaced above the sea.
Sometimes these new species stayed on their
new island, but sometimes a few caught a log
back to the original island, increasing the number
there from one to two, and eventually more. Over
the 1 to 12 million years that rats have been in
the Philippines, the number of species on Luzon
has increased from the original two to 13 in the
earthworm specialist group and seven in the arbo-
real leaf-eater group (plus about five that arrived
separately from Asia). The same holds true for the
other islands, totaling to 58 unique species.
And so it becomes apparent why oceanic
islands have such large concentrations of rare
biological diversity: It is the seemingly inevitable
result of a geological setting interacting with
organisms' tendency to undergo genetic change
over time when they are isolated. With new meth-
ods of DNA analysis, we can study this at a level
of detail never imagined by Darwin, while still
addressing what he referred to as that mystery
of mysteries — the origins of species. ITF
Dti'dtf cloud rat, Carpomys phaeurus, niid its flexible \^
hind foot adapted to living high in the canopy. '^^
Act II: James Simpson Theatre
Following a five-month intermission, the curtains are being pulled back on the James
Simpson Theatre to reveal a brand new set. New seats, increased accessibility and
updated acoustics make this the premier venue for special events at The Field Museum.
Refurbishing James Simpson Theatre was made possible through generous support
from The Simpson Family and The Buehler Family Foundation, in addition to gifts
from friends of the Museum.
Since the 1 920s, the historic theater has welcomed
school groups, businesses, scientists and Museum
friends for an array of events. But its decades-old
seats and equipment required renovation. The
Museum will celebrate the theater's reopening in
March with the National Geographic Live! lecture
series. (See the calendar for details.)
The revitalized space has a new handicapped
entry at the rear and an updated lift at the stage.
New seats provide greater comfort and easier access
in and out of the rows. The center aisle has been
widened and handicapped seating added, and a
crossover aisle has been created for further accessi-
bility and flexible crowd circulation. An upgraded
sound system allows for better control and
enhanced acoustics. An additional control booth
improves the theater's video projection capabilities.
Box seats have been installed in the balcony, which
was previously unused.
The new theater, along with the adjacent west
lobby, lecture halls and classrooms, is the ideal
center for conferences and events. Institutions can
hold a general session for 700 guests, and then
use surrounding rooms for breakout sessions. The
Museum's approved caterer list offers a range of
food and beverage choices, from continental break-
fasts to boxed lunches to a formal dinner in Stanley
Field Hall. Call the special events department at
312.665.7600 to rent Simpson Theatre for your
next big event.
18
IN THE FIELD
OFSPECIALINTEREST
Planned Giving — Rea chin g Our Goals Together
Introduced to American philanthropy in the late 1960s, planned giving has become a
cornerstone of support for nonprofit institutions.
Planned gifts, which range from straightforward
wills to sophisticated trusts, offer many advantages
to both the donor and the recipient, from provid-
ing you with income and significant tax benefits to
helping ensure that your institution of choice ful-
fills its mission for years to come. Above aO,
planned gifts can be tailored to meet your family's
individual financial situation and philanthropic
goals.
There are numerous vehicles and combinations
that allow you to construct your gift plan, includ-
ing outright gifts, outright bequests, appreciated
stock, insurance policies, charitable gift annuities
and charitable lead trusts.
Whatever aspects of The Field Museum you are
interested in supporting, we encourage one-on-one
conversations to help you build a plan. Friends who
include the Museum in their estate plans are recog-
nized through the Edward E. Ayer Society, whose
namesake was the Museum's first president.
Thank you to those who already support The
Field Museum through planned giving. If you are
interested in designating the Museum as a benefi-
ciary, please contact Steve Hines, director of planned
giving, at 312.665.7775 or shines@fmnh.org. Hines
will work with you and your legal and tax advisors
to help you make a gift that you may not have
imagined possible.
^Yes, it's dark in here," a sign outside of the Hall of Jades read. Last renovated in
the early 1970s, the gallery's deteriorating lighting conditions left visitors not only
frustrated, but unaware that its beautiful jade collection is one of the best in North
America.
The renovated Hall of Jades., opening on March
12, presents more than 45(J artifacts from Chinas
long and distinguished history. It features fiber optic
lighting, an elegant, tranquil setting and a more
lucid storyline that incorporates contemporary jatie
scholarship.
While many museums' jade holdings cover one
or two periods. The Field Museum's Hall of Jades
highlights 6,000 years and relates the artifacts to the
times and cultures from which they originate.
Visitors will first learn about jacle mineralogy, how
the stone is ground and its meanings in other cul-
tures. Then they will move from Neolithic burial
sites; through the Bronze Age and formation of the
Chinese empire; through centuries of powert'ul
dynasties; to the early 20th century.
In the Neolithic section, carefully carved objects,
such as ceremonial weapons and disks with holes
called hi (bee), were buried with the dead. Jade later
became an unmistakable display of power and
wealth. Visitors will see the footplate of a wealthy
person's full-body jade burial suit from the Han
period (206 BC-AD 220). As dynasties flourished
and fell over the next 14 centuries, more styles
and functions of jade objects evolved,
including vessels, personal acces
sories and animal figurines.
During the Qing Dynast)'
(1644- 1 91 1 ). jade artistry
achieved new heights. The
gallery includes bells,
flutes and other musical
instruments, as well as
intricate desktop items
that held special meaning
for educated men. A 281-
pound jar carved from a
single boulder once stood in
Beijing's Imperial Palace
during the reign of Emperor
Qianlong.
The Museum has createei a fitting
home for its important collection. Stop by after Detail fnvii Qi
your visit to Splendors of China's Forbidden City, and (1644-191 1)
discover why jade is China's most enduring symbol screen.
of prosperity, power and virtue.
ng period
desk
SPRING 2004 March-M.i]
i9
YBCSPOTLIGHT:BACKYARDBIODIVERSITY
The Creatures of Mazon Crepk
Top: Dr. Eugene
Richardson overlooking
Pit U.
Bottom: A reconstruction
oJTully Monster.
David Dolak, Instructor, Department of Education, and Volunteer, Department of Geology
As Chicago settled into its annual deep freeze, I smiled with confidence that the season
would soon change. But during the Pennsylvanian Period 300 million years ago, today's
northern Illinois was a tropical swamp astride the equator, an alien world with giant
ferns and mammoth dragonflies. One season — a perpetual hot, steamy summer — sea
the senses.
>vVv%k- . ^i :^
The prehistoric life spread throughout The Field
Museum captivated me as a child, particularly one
fossil type — compact, beautifiil impressions of plant
and animal creatures from Mazon Creek, 50 miles
southwest of Chicago. When my family visited this
magical place, my siblings and I collected rocks,
smashed our thumbs and stared at the glories that
lay open before us.
Mazon Creek carves through a badland of aban-
doned coalmines. Extensive mining beginning in
the 1860s yielded waste piles seeded with 300
million-year-old fossil jewels. The largest and last
strip mine was Peabody Coal Company's Pit 11,
which operated until the mid- 1 970s. The Mazon
Creek area is a lagerstatten, a fossil mother load,
and is ranked among a handfiil of sites around the
w^orld that are famous for their organism diversity
and wondrous preservation.
Neatly pre-packaged in ironstone concretions
that resemble flattened eggs, the fossils can be split
into mirror-image halves. They are easy to spot as
they erode out of the hiUsides. Early fossil hunters
would wade along the creek barefoot, feeling for
smooth concretions with their feet!
The Field Museum's involvement with Mazon
Creek began in the 1940s. By the 1960s, largely
because of Eugene Richardson, PhD, curator of
fossil invertebrates, the Museum was recognized as
the preeminent repository of Mazon Creek fossils.
The Museum conducted research at Pit 1 1 through
the early 1980s. During the area's first systematic
fossil census, which the Museum coordinated,
dozens of buckets were stacked on the Museum's
roof, taking advantage of Chicago's seasonal freeze-
thaw cycles to aid in cracking the fossils open.
Dr. Richardson welcomed amateur collectors
to share their discoveries. When I met him, he
graciously assessed my unknown blobs and showed
me how to identify them. I discovered that I was
the proud owner of a jellyfish, sea cucumber and
coprolite (fossil dung)!
About 100 plant species and more than 300 ani-
mal species have been identified from the Mazon
area. At least 50 species have been named after local
collectors, and an additional dozen species are
named after scientists associated with The Field
Museum. While perhaps less appealing than other
prehistoric favorites, the preservation of soft-body
organisms at Mazon, especially jellyfish, is wdthout
scientific comparison.
The most illustrious Mazon fossil is the Tully
Monster (Tullimonstrum gregarium), named after its
discoverer, Francis TuUy, a soft-spoken farmer-cum-
collector. With a single-toothed jaw on one end, a
tail and r^vo fins on the other and two eyes that
projected out sideways, this foot-long denizen of
the swamp's marine bay is of uncertain lineage. It
may not have been monstrous, or even sociable, but
it is ours. It exists nowhere else on Earth, and was
designated as Illinois' state fossil in 1991.
Mazon Creek's collecting heyday ended by the
mid- 1 980s, but interest remains strong. Scientists
worldwide continue to reference our 50,000 speci-
mens, and the education department regularly
offers family fieldtrips to old Pit 1 1 . 1 invite you
to come along, crack a few rocks and explore this
ancient sUce of northern Illinois.
See the calendar section for upcoming fieldtrips on March
20 and April 24.
IN THE FIELD
MEMBERSHIP/ ANNUALFUNDNEWS
New Exhibition's Private Viewing s
Explore the hidden world of the Imperial Court in Splendors of China's Forbidden City
The Glorious Reign of Emperor Qianlong.
Annuaf Fund Preview and Reception
Wednesday, March W, 6:30 to 9:30pm
This wonderful private event includes a lecture by one of the exhibition's creators, along with light fare
and educational activities. Reservations are required. Call 312.665.7777 for information.
Membership Previews
March 11 from 9am to 5pm and March 14, 18, 21 and 25 from 5 to 10pm. Reservations required.
Call 866.312.2781 for information.
Hotel Packages for Family and Friends
With convenient locations, wonderful amenities and a range of budget options,
several Chicago hotels are offering special packages that include tickets to
Splendors of China's Forbidden City. Below is a snapshot of participating
partners. Check our website for further details.
Chicago's Essex Inn
800.621.6909
Days Inn Lincoln Park North
888. LPN. DAYS
The Drake Hotel
312.787.2200
Holiday Inn Chicago City Centre
312.787.6100
Hotel 71
800.621.4005
Park Hyatt Chicago
312.335.1234
Ritz Carlton
312.266.1000
Swissotel Chicago
312.565.0565
Whitehall Hotel
312.944.6300
The Field Museum With Friends
Bring your alumni group, book club or special group of friends to see Splendors of
China's Forbidden City. Discounted rates are available for 15 or more. Call the group
sales office at 312.665.7300.
Choose from two jam-packed itineraries. The Art of Chinese Jade includes a visit to the newly renovated
Hall of Jades, the Museum Store for its exquisite jade items, and Corner Bakery, where you can enjoy
green tea and almond cookies. China Immersion includes your own docent and a walking tour of
Chinatown to explore its old-world architecture and imperial-style restaurants.
Field Museum members now have two phone numbers for member services. Call
866.312.2781 for ail general questions about benefits or renewals. Call 312.665.7705 to
reserve your free tickets to special exhibitions. Ticketmaster will no longer be providing
this service.
In addition, due to rising operating costs, members will now be asked to pay $1
per item at the coat check.
-^^^^^■^^^^^^^^^■^'-^
i^SB^i.
SPRING 2004 Manh-May
nfthpYRC!
Don't miss the final days of the Year of Biodiversity and Conservation
(YBC). See the calendar for programs on Asia, backyard biodiversity
and the Tree of Life, or visit www.fieldmuseum.org/biodiversity.
Just added! Peregrine falcons, an endangered species in
Illinois, are returning to Chicago's high-rise buildings to nest and
raise their young. Mary Hennen, a Field Museum ornithologist and
head of the Chicago Peregrine Program, leads a team that monitors
their health and safety and bands the chicks for tracking. Because
peregrines are near the top of the food chain, the cumulative effects of
pesticides caused females to lay thin, fragile eggs that couldn't withstand
the weight of incubation. Active monitoring programs are recovering populations
throughout the United States. Though previously extirpated from Illinois, 10 breeding
pairs lived here last year.
Witness the falcons in their nest from development through fledging. Email
expeditions@fieldmuseum.org or visit www.fieldmuseum.org/expeditions to register
for Hennen's first-hand accounts on the falcons' progress.
All adult falcon nesting at the historic i'ptoutt Theater.
^JBa^?
toci&ibHiia
Curator
'DepartiTient of Botany
The Field Museum
I
, An^expert'on^Asia's flowering plants,
Dr. Wen studies the genetics and
geographical distribution of plants
that are economically important and
threatened by overexploitation.
She focuses on ginseng, used in
many Asian countries as a tonic for
strengthening those who are weak or ill.
Hear Dr. Wen speak on
Saturday, March 13 at 2:00 p.m.
INTHEFIELD
Summer 2004
June-August
The Field Museum's Member Publicatioi
"^■^
\
(. *
% Iff ''^'%«|2
^ Community and
Environment Alivd
in Calumet
The Beijing Eight
T
i^^H^i^
FROMTHEPRESIDENT
A Cool Place to Work
When Field Museum employees tell people where they work, the response is usually
something like, "Cool. What's it like?" This issue of Jn the Field shares some real-life
experiences our staff members have had. An ethnographer introduces us to Lake
Calumet residents who are striving to revitalize their communities and the environment.
An outreach educator describes a typical day teaching squeamish, curious school-
children about soil and the life in it. Exhibition professionals convey their experiences
in Beijing's Palace Museum preparing the objects you see in Splendors of China's
Forbidden City. And there's more.
John McCarter joins
Joanna McCaffrey to
chart Lake Calumet's
biological difersity, one
activity among his
duties as president.
For me, each day is different, but
here are six ingredients that char-
acterize many of my days:
1. Start with a good breakfast:
The "Breal<fast Club" meets many
mornings at IVIcDonald's.
(Remember Don IVIcNeil, light-
hearted host of the long-running
radio and television show?)
Curators and staff share the excite-
ment of discovery, and the
conversation occasionally deterio-
rates into a game of "Beat up the
President!"
2. Small is beautiful: People are
always amazed at how an institu-
tion so big — research activity in
90 countries, 22 million specimens,
an extraordinary lineup of exhibi-
tions, a grand Daniel Burnham
classical building — can be so
small. $59 million budget, 620
staff. The combination of complexity
and intimacy makes this a fascinat-
ing workplace.
3. Extramural: As soon as I
realized that I brought no "value
added" to the study of ichthyology
or vertebrate paleontology, I went
to work on deepening the Museum's
presence and impact in Chicago's
schools and ethnic neighborhoods,
and securing governmental support.
4. It's not about the money: But it
is. A mission to "Explore the Earth
and its peoples," advanced labora-
tories and equipment, the deferred
maintenance of a 1921 building,
keeping up with new information
technology, and large-scale exhibi-
tions that share the wonders of the
world and our collections with the
public. All of these require
immense capital, and anyone who
does not love raising money should
not be a museum director!
5. True believers: Our board of
trustees has expanded from 35 to
60 members over the past decade.
As new trustees grow to know this
place, their enthusiasm becomes
boundless, and working with them
is a joy. Involving trustees, building
on the range of talents and resources
each one brings, is critical to the
institution.
6. Intramural: Where else can
you travel through the tales of a
colleague from the depths of the
Pacific Ocean to the reaches of
the solar system? The scholarship
of the scientist, the creativity of
the exhibition designer, the
patience of the conservator, the
entrepreneurship of the adminis-
trator Each person here provides
an endless sense of knowledge
and wonderment.
And these are my Chicago days.
(My days in the field with cura-
tors — that's another story.) I
hope to see you at the annual
behind-the-scenes events on June
2, 3 and 4, when your family and
friends can explore the private
world of this Museum and meet
some of the remarkable people I
work with every day. If you can't
make this anticipated tradition,
please support our work with
the enclosed gift envelope.
Checkmark for point no. 4
above!
John W. McCarter, Jr.
President and CEO
nk ^bouyrmj^Field^
For general membership inquiries, including address changes, call 866.312.2781. For questions about
the magazine In the Field, call 312.665.7115, email acranch@fmnh.org, or write Amy E. Cranch,
Editor, The Field Museum, 1400 South Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL 60605-2496.
INTHEFIELD
Summer 2004, June-August,
Vol.75, No.3
Editor:
Amy E. Cranch, The Field Museum
Design:
Depke Design
jf^ In the Field is printed on recycled paper
^w using soy-based inl<s. All images ©The
Field Museum unless otherwise specified.
In the Field (ISSN #1051-4546) is published
quarterly by The Field Museum. Copyright
2004 The Field Museum. Annual subscriptions
are $20; $10 for schools. Museum membership
includes In the Field subscription. Opinions
expressed by authors are their own and do
not necessarily reflect the policy of The Field
Museum. Notification of address change should
include address label and should be sent to
the membership department. POSTMASTER:
Send address changes to Membership, The
Field Museum, 1400 South Lake Shore Drive,
Chicago, IL 60605-2496. Periodicals postage
paid at Chicago, Illinois.
Cover: Residents of the Lake Calumet region are
enlivening its sense of community and environ-
ment. Photos by Hannah Anderson.
The Field Museum salutes the people of Chicago
for their long-standing, generous support of the
Museum through the Chicago Park District.
Field
:i
fe
useum
1400 South Lake Shore Drive
Chicago, IL 60605-2496
312.922.9410
www.fieldmuseum.oi-g
Field Museum ethnographers investigate the
strengths of Lake Calumet communities.
Top:The Arcade Park Garden Club uses raised beds
to protect edibles from tainted soil.
4
A Field Museum botanist hunts for his favored
genus in the Galapagos Islands.
Middle: Nolana galapagensis.
16
The self-anointed Beijing Eight travels to
China to prepare for the exhibition Splendors
of China's Forbidden City.
18
Four Field Museum scientists venture to South
Africa seeking poorly known rove beetles.
Bottom: Fungi are home and food for some beetles.
Field Museum and Title IX Compliance
As an institution that provides education and training programs and
receives financial assistance from federal agencies, in accordance vyith
Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972, v^^e do not discrimi-
nate on the basis of sex in such programs. Should you have any
questions, please contact our Title IX coordinator in the human resources
department at 312.665.7271.
Museu rn Campus N ejqhbor^^^
Museum Campus IVluseum Campus Free
Week returns June 6 through 11. All three of
our world-class museums — The Field IVluseum,
Adier Planetarium and Shedd Aquarium —
offer free general admission during the
six-day kickoff to summer. Ticketed exhibi-
tions and Sky Shows are available at a
nominal additional fee.
AdIer Planetarium Voyage through a
Universe of excitement with astronomical
exhibitions, up-to-date coverage of NAS.A
events and Sky Theater and StarRider
Theater shows. Travel to a future world of
incredible beasts with The Future is Wild, or
see music transformed into animation in
Sonic Vision, playing on the weekends.
Explore the cosmic mysteries of ancient
Egypt in Stars of the Pharaohs, and iearn
about the Cassini mission to Saturn through
special programs scheduled all summer long.
For information call 312. 922. STAR or visit
www.adlerplanetarium.org
Shedd Aquarium Reach for the stars,
and a lot of other cool animals, at Sea Star
Quest. This new special exhibition opening
June 17 is Shedd's most hands-on production
ever. Kids will be able to high-five a live sea
star, tickle a sea urchin's tube feet and meet
moi'e than 30 other species of tiny, spiny-
skinned marine invertebrates at touch pools,
child-height displays and a play station. See
and do something everywhere you turn amid
one of the most diverse collections of echino-
derms in the world. For information, visit
wvwi/.sheddaquarium.org.
SUMMER 2004 June-August
INTHEFIELDFEATURE
Community and Environment Alive in Calumet
Madeleine Tudor, Communicatioiis Manager, Caiterfor Cultural Understanding and Change
The hot summer sun beat down as we talked with Frank Ramos amid a surge of flowers
near the Chicago Skyway overpass at 100th Street. Cars rushed overhead, and it was
hard to breathe without inhaling their exhaust fumes. Sweat ran down my face and
back as I jotted down notes to capture Frank's story — how a community garden came
to be in such a seemingly unlikely place.
Families flock to
Calumet Park to pioiit
and swim in Lake
Michigan.
With time and efibrt, Frank and his wife, Magdalena.
turned this unpromising patch of land in Chicago's
East Side neighborhood into a Uvely oasis of ecol-
ogv' and communin; Frank belongs to East Side
Pride, one of many local organizations concerned
with building comniunit)- in the region. Ha\ing
worked in the steel mills for more than 40 years, he
says that his early retirement was due to associated
health problems. He recalls when the mills were in
fiill swing and says they often dumped toxic debris
on land where homes now stand. He enjoys out-
door activities and nurturing something that's good
for the neighborhood.
Thus is the stor\- of the Lake Calumet region —
a complex of industrial remnants, municipal waste
sites, powerfi.ll personal histories, strong communities
old and new, and some of the richest biological
diversity- in Northern lUinois. I was introduced to
the region years previous, when I found myself dri-
ving through an area of Chicago that couldn't have
been more dramatic. On one side of a thoroughfare
laden with trucks was some of the last remaining
hea\-\- industry, and on the other side a weriand.
Down the road, historic Pullman homes lured mv
imagination into another time and place.
To outsiders, as I had been, this is an area of
paradox. Once one of the largest steel producers in
the United States, the region has become a "rust-
belt," "ghost town" or "armpit of the cit\" to some.
To residents, however, seemingly disparate pieces of
a puzzle come together to create home. Policy mak-
ers and funding agencies have identified the area for
environmental and economic revitalization and have
committed substantial hinds — S-^4 million — toward
that end.
I met Frank as pan of an ethnographic research
team investigating how local residents could be
efiectively engaged in reviving their commtmities,
economy and environment. Whereas common social
policy practices describe communities by their
deficits. The Field Museum's Center for Cultural
Understanding and Change (CCUC). with funding
fiwm the USDA Forest Service, identified Calumet's
conununitN- strengths — or social assets — and how
they are connected. We also examined what en\-i-
ronment means to the residents and how they
relate to it.
Social assets exist in all communities, but find-
ing their core — the intangible relationships, values
and ideas that helped create them — required
ethnographic, quahtative research and analysis.
From 20(1 1 to 2003, under the direction of Dr.
Alaka Wali. CCUC director and a curator in
anthropology, I managed two-person teams of
undergraduate and graduate interns who immersed
themselves in the Chicago communities of South
Deering, East Side, Pullman and Altgeld Gardens,
and in Hammond. Indiana. They essentially "hung
out" with the locals, but in a structured, systematic
way called participant observation. This corner-
stone method of ethnography helps us understand
a place fiom the insiders' perspective, while
translating this knowledge through our analytical
outsiders' objectivitv'.
Social assets are the building blocks of commu-
nit\", the relationships that people create to address
the needs of evervday life. We saw them ever\- day,
evervAvhere. At the area's waterways, where people
flock to swim, fish and picnic ... at the Pullman
Palace Car Company, where citizens are in "rescue
IN THE FIELD
East Side residents created a garden beueam
the Chicago Skyway at 100th Street.
mode" to save the historic fabric of this fire -struck
building ... at St. Kevin's Church in South Deering,
known for bridging ethnic divides among its cul-
turally diverse parishioners ... at the iconic Pierogi
Fest in Hammond, where a man dressed up as a
pierogi both pokes fun at the doughy pocket while
celebrating it as a common connection for the
area's Eastern European immigrants ... and through
such people as Roman Villarreal, who leads a
weekly drum circle in an old warehouse in
Hammond ... and Hazel and Cheryl Johnson, a
mother-daughter team in Altgeld Gardens who,
after watching many people die of cancer, have
been active in getting toxic sites cleaned up.
Our research also helped discern what environ-
ment means to the residents. For example, research
interns Hilary del Campo and Ines Lagos, who
both speak Spanish, celebrated Fourth of July at
Calumet Park, a popular spot for Latino residents.
As they roasted their tofu hotdogs, they solved a bit
of a mystery. Local environmental activists are
concerned about park patrons dumping their hot
cooking coals next to the trees, which kills the
roots, rather than in the assigned garbage cans.
Hilary and Ines realized that since the park is typi-
cally filled to capacity with families with small
children, hot coals at the base of a tree make it a
visual marker of caution. Children can't see hot
coals inside garbage cans, thus increasing the likeli-
hood of a dangerous accident. Therefore, rather
than specifically unclerstanding that hot coals
degrade the environment, families have a broader
perception of environment that includes making
choices based on health and safety.
These places, organizations, people and choices
are the tip of the iceberg. For every social asset
that's counted, layers of unseen strengths exist. And
it is through people connecting that things are
accomplished, organizations are formed, buildings
are built, biodiversity is conserved, the environment
is protected and community is strengthened.
Frank sat on an overturned crate in the shade
of the Skyway and offered us a cold soda from his
lunchbox. As I gratefully accepted, I could sense my
perspective on the area shifting toward an insider's
eyes. Frank shed Hght on a critical result of the
study: Contrary to popular assumptions about
Calumet being a dying or stagnant region, social
assets abound, and the environment is integral to,
not separate from, people's daily lives. ITF
Visit u'U'w.fieldinuseuin.oro/cahiinetfor a vibrant look
at the study and coituniinities. The Association of
American Geographers awarded this site the best
website of 2003.
SUMMER 2004 June-AugusI
INTHEFIELDFEATURE
Another Piece of the Nolana Puzzle
Story and Photos by Michael Dillon, PhD, Curator and Head of Flowering Plants, Department of Botany
It was my first day in the Galapagos Islands alone. Rather than being greeted by my
colleagues at the Charles Darwin Research Station (CDRS), I instead witnessed local
fishermen setting bonfires and denying access to the facility. They were unhappy with
the regulations that restrict commercial fishing of such delicacies as shark fins and lob-
sters in this heavily protected area. I was never able to enter the station during my field
research, but I had longed for this opportunity too long to dismiss my pursuit of Nolana.
Beloii': Iguanas sawr the
sweet, juicy leaves of
Nolana galapagensis.
Perhaps no other place on Earth evokes the same
emotions and questions among scientists as the
Galapagos Islands. Serving as both a sanctuary and
laboratory for studying animals and plants uniquely
shaped by their isolation, the islands have inspired
nearly 200 years of discovery since Charles
Darwin's legendary voyage. While 1 had led three
Field Museum tours to the Galapagos, my trip this
past February, funded in part by Barb and Gene
Schmitt and Sue and By Dickes, was for scientific
business. My "official papers" included a Cotwenio
de Cooperacion fiom the CDRS and memorandum
of understanding with Dr. AlanTye, the station's
head botanist. These papers gave me powers to
wield my clippers on only three of the islands'
nearly 650 species of flowering plants: Xolana gala-
pagensis and its near relatives, Lycium minimum and
Grabowskia boerliaainaefolia. 1 knew what they looked
Uke. and everything else was essentially ofi'-limits.
A lifelong attraction
Between you and me, this trip was really about my
ongoing love affair with the genus Nolana, part of
the Solanaceae or tomato family. Since 1 first laid
eyes on her in 1983, Nolana has inspired me to
search for, observe and describe new members, as
v,?ll as ferret out the relationships of this large
secies) and beautiful genus. Nolana had been
from six islands, and my mission was
to collect at least one sample for our molecular
systematic studies. Dr. Jun Wen, a curator in The
Field Museum's botany deparmient, is spearheading
the DNA sequencing efforts that allow us to e.xamine
relationships bet\veen representatives found on the
coasts of Peru and Chile and those found on the
islands. We had conducted preliminary studies with
a Nolana galapagensis sample taken from a herbar-
ium sheet that had been completely expended, and
attempts to isolate DNA from additional herbarium
samples also proved unsuccessful. There was only
one choice: Go to the Galapagos to retrieve a
viable sample. Collecting Lycium and Grabowskia
would be an added bonus.
After \isiting several sites on two islands, 1 was
both perplexed and discouraged. I found abundant
Lycium and Grabowskia, but not a single Nolana
galapagensis. Could goats and iguanas have eaten
its small, sweet, succulent leaves out of existence?
I had examined the entire holdings — three sheets —
in Quito's herbarium the week before. If I didn't
find Nolana in the last known spot, Isla Caamaiio, I
would return to Chicago in disgrace! This potential
regret motivated my last-chance quest.
A rocky, wet start
On the last day, I hired Capt. Armando Leon, a
water ta.xi pilot who services ships anchored in
the area. Several locals had never heard of Isla
Caamano, but Capt. Leon confidently said, "Ninguna
probkma," or "No problem!" My Geo-Positioning
System (GPS) told me exactly where the Nolana
had been collected on this teeny island less than
two miles south of the Equator and due east of
where we were located.
When we arrived around 6:30am, the tide was
receding. Capt. Leon motored to within 20 feet of
Isla Caamafio's rocky shore and admonished me to
"Salta," or "Jump." 1 threw my legs over the bow
and into the water. At that moment, a wave drove
the back of the boat into me, pushing me under
water. Capt. Leon threw the boat into reverse. 1 got
back to my feet in the surging surf and struggled to
shore, praying that my digital camera had survived
the dunking. I frantically opened the backpack and
found all but its innermost contents wet: The digi-
tal camera was dry! As I gathered myself, Capt.
Leon anchored the boat in deeper water and
snorkeled to shore.
As the excitement of the landing subsided, I
became aware of my surroundings. A quick review
showed a bruised and bloody knee and shinbone —
mere flesh wounds for someone on the verge of
finding the elusive plant of his desires. It was a sur-
real scene with sea lions, mostly females and pups,
and dozens of black marine iguanas lounging
about. I saw some shrubs several meters away and
cleaned my glasses, recognizing the distinctive shape
of Nolana galapagensis! Its leaves were so dense thaj:
the sinuous branches looked like fleshy, lime green
snakes arising from the body of the shrub. Within
45 minutes, I sampled more than a dozen individuals
over the entire island. 1 swam back to the boat with
some difficulty, holding my treasure-filled backpack
above my head.
Time and economic constraints forced me to be
content with one population, but future plans call
for sampling populations on every island to examine
DNA variation. Many Nolana species from Peru
and Chile have been sequenced in our preliminary
studies, allowing us to address such questions as:
What is Nolana galapagensis most closely related
to on the mainland? Where did it originate? How
long has it been isolated on the islands? How
genetically diverse is each island's population?
And the most intriguing question will never be
answered: How did Nolana galapagensis ancestors
arrive on these remote islands? '
Injuries and near-zero yields are part of the lot
for scientists in the field. But they're also what keep
us going, especially in such mysterious places as the
Galapagos Islands. We'd be out of a job if we weren't
driven by inquiry and unnerved by inconvenience.
The fishermen's strike prevented me from bringing
my collections back to Chicago, and my CDRS
colleagues are still rebounding from the event. But
we are planning a series of investigations in cooper-
ation with the CDRS, and I eagerly await my
return. ITF
For more on t^l Dillon 's research in the Galapagos
iJiafds, consult ipuw. sacha.org.
Left: Capt. Leon was as
excited as I was to find
Nolana galapagensis.
Below. A sea lion basks
near Nolana.
INTHEFIELDFEATURE
SAM and I
Jason Knight, left, and
Elah Brooks of Hoover
School in Cahmiet City
got a hands-on lesson
in dirt.
Todd Dresser, Environmental Outreach Specialist, Departmettt of Education
How many people do you know who play in the dirt for a living? As an educator with
the Soil Adventure Mobile (SAM), the outreach component of the Underground
Adventure exhibition, I bring educational programs about soil and the life in it to
children throughout the Midwest. SAM educators can present four one-hour programs
a day for up to 30 students each session. Dig into this account of a typical day:
6:30ani Beetles ... check.Worms ... check.
Direcrions to program site ... hmnini. Am I going
to Oak Park, Oak Lawn or Oak Brook? At some
point, 'Oak" should have been outlawed from town
names! Mapquest.com thankfiilly offers salvation,
and I am on my way.
7:30am Arrive at today's school. Traveling opposite
the rush-hour traffic is definitely a perk of the job.
Now, if I can just wedge my UPS-sized SAM into
the Honda Civic-sized spot reserved for it...
8:00am Roll the exhibit carts into the school.
Students will investigate soil ecology- with the crit-
ter cart, nutrient flow with the decomposer cart
and the inorganic parts of soil with the rock cart.
Or, as I tell the students, they'll learn about living
stuff, dead stuff and stuff that has never been ahve.
8:30am First class, third grade. The average age of
youngsters that SAM educates, third graders are
curious, excited and unafraid to touch things that
they will consider gross in a few years. Fortunately,
their teacher prepared them with the curriculum I
had sent a few weeks earlier. The students' synapses
are firing, and they are eager to delve deeper into
the "world beneath their feet."
9:30am Second class, sixth grade. It's a nice day,
and the teacher has just completed a soil ecology
unit. So, I grab my soU probe and take the smdents
outside to test samples. Using their background
knowledge and tidbits they have gathered from the
exhibit carts, we assess how the samples were made.
Students are asked how h\-ing organisms interacted
with parent material under a climate regime over
rime, and if the sample would be good for farming,
building a house, putting in a septic system and
other uses.
10:45am After downsizing the exhibit carts, it's
time for a ston,* and tactile soU exploration with
the kindergarteners. The beautiful thing about five-
year-olds is that they bravely plunge their hands
into the soil and discuss it, yet they are also daring
enough to put a worm in their mouths. Fortunately
for their taste buds — and me — we avoid that pitfall
and enjoy our time together.
11:15am Lunch. Is it casserole or pizza day? If it's
pizza day, I save my lunch for tomorrow. If not, I
stick to the peanut butter and jelly sandwich I
brought fix)m home.
12:15pm Last class, eighth grade. The abihty to
work in small groups must be hormonally Unked —
maybe in the pimple gland — because it surfaces
between sLxth and eighth grades. Each group
gathers soil samples along a hillside in the school-
yard, then we all reconvene to discuss the samples
and how the slope affected soU formation. Together
we try to identify organisms living in the soil.
1:15pm Bid adieu to the schoolduldren. Load the
exhibit carts back onto SAM.
2:30pm Arrive back at The Field Museum. Return
critters to the containers that prevent them from
roaming around the Museum. Push some papers,
and get directions to tomorrow's program. It's a
dirty job, and I'm happy to do it. ITF
If you'd like the Soil Advaiture Mobile to visit yotir com-
munity center or event this summer, call Todd Dresser at
312.665.7506 or email tdresser^fieldmusaim.org.
The Soil Adventure Mobile is sponsored by Monsanto. Additional supiiort
provided by The Albert Pick, Jr. Fund.
IN THE FIELD
YOURGUIDETOTHEFIELD
Calendar of Events for Summer 2004 June-August
Night Visions:
The Secret
Designs of
IVIoths
July 24, 2004-Jan. 9. 2005
Discover the surprising beauty of
moths through stunning, larger-than-
life images. In a small farm in New
York, artist Joseph Scheer has
collected more than 1,000 species
of moths. Using a high-resolution
scanner and magnifying images up
to 60 times their actual size, he
creates richly detailed prints that
reveal secrets rarely visible to the
naked eye.
Join Scheer for an insider's look at
this new exhibition.
Saturday, July 24, Ipm
Free with Museum admission
This exhibition was developed by The Field
Museum in coiiaboration with Joseph Scheer.
j:
fe
Field
useum
Splendors of
China's
Forbidden City
Through Sept. U, 2004
Explore the hidden world of the Imperial Court and experience the
Chinese empire at the peak of its wealth and power. This incredible
exhibition opens a window into the daily life of a Chinese emperor,
with all its spectacular ritual and awe-inspiring symbolism. Detailed
displays evoke the ambiance of palace chambers, transporting you to
the sumptuous private quarters of the emperor and his many wives.
You'll see a five-foot Buddhist stupa made entirely of gold, jade-
handled swords, embroidered silk robes, detailed paintings of court
life and nearly 400 other extraordinary treasures that were
once hidden from all but the highest ranking officials.
Splendors of China's Forbidden City: The Gionovs Reign of Emperor Qianlong was developed by The Field Museum in
cooperation with the Palace Museum, Beijing.
Presented by Exelon, Proud Parent of ComEd.
Additional support provided by the Elizabetr F. Cheney Foundation and the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation.
This exhibition is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities.
General Museum Information
Family and Adult Program Tickets and Information: 312.665.7400
Please note: Refunds wilt be issued by Field Museum staff, minus a $10 processing fee, for group and family overnights only. No
refunds or exchanges are permitted for any other programs. Fees for programs cancelled by The Field Museum will be refunded in full.
SUMMER 200'i June-August
Your Guide to the Field: Calendar of Events for Summer 2004 June-August
Examine the vibrant cultural history
of contemporary and ancient China.
Call 312.665.7400 to register for an exciting array of adult and family programs designed to
complement the Splendors of China's Forbidden City exhibition.
Inside China's Forbidden City
Discover the hidden world of China's Forbidden City! Understand Imperial China's religions, art
and court life, as well as its relationship with the Western world. The Field Museum and the
University of Chicago are co-presenting this lecture series.
Each lecture: $16, students /educators $14, members $12
Full series (save 15 percent): $82, students /educators $72, members $62
Any three lectures $44, students /educators $38, members $32
Bringing the Forbidden
City to Chicago
Dr Matt Matcuk, TFM
Exhibitions Dept.
Find out how a diverse
team of anthropologists
and exhibition specialists
brought the imperial court
18th-century China to life for IVluseum visitors.
of
Wednesday, June 30, 6pm
Religious Traditions of the
Forbidden City
Susan Naquin, Princeton Llniversity
IVlarvel at the diverse religious conventions
of the QIng imperial family. Learn about
their pilgrimages, how they supported
Daoist priests and Buddhist monks and
participated in Confucian rituals.
Hear how the exhibition's religious
objects are related.
Wednesday, July 7, 6pm
O PALACE MUSEUM, BEIJING
Beyond Chinese Borders: Relations with
the Western World in the 18th Century
Theodore N. Foss, Utiiversity oj Chicago Center for East
Asian Studies
Explore China's relations with the outside world under the
remarkable reigns of Kangxi, Yongjeng and Qianlong.
Examine negotiations between China and Russia over the
northern borderlands; the Jesuits' scientific, artistic and
religious activities; and the country's burgeoning trade.
Wednesday, July 14, 6pm
Living the Emperor's Life
Dr. Harold Kaliii, Stanford University
Contemplate the emperor's many roles — as gentleman
and scholar, poet and aesthete, warrior and hunter,
^^^^^^ husband and son, traveler, religious practitioner, judge,
^^^^^^^ and supreme administrator of
a multi-ethnic empire.
Wednesday,
July 21,
6pm
O PALACE MUSEUM, BEIJING
8 IN THE FIELD CALENDAR
General Museum Information: 312.922.9410; Family and Adult Program Tickets and Information: 312.665.7400
The Emperor's Ladies: Women
in Qing Court Society
Dr. Ei'clyti Raii'ski, Uiiwersity of
Pittsburgh
Examine the vast roles different
groups of women played, including
wives, servants and shamans, and
discover the political and personal
dimensions of their lives in court
society.
Wednesday, July 28, 6pm
Family Programs
Chinese Arts Festival
Expand your horizons! Build l<ites, learn about Chinese
calligraphy and instruments and witness dazzling dance
performances. Show off your new kite in a celebration on
the Museum's north side at 2pm.
Saturday, July 17, 1 lam -3 pin
Free with Museuin admissioti
Artists at the Field
Watch Chinese calligraphers demonstrate their striking craft,
then have your name or another special character created.
Saturdays, June 19, July 17, Aug. 21 and Sept. 11
Free with Museum admission
Story Time
Hear a story and make an art project — all in
just 20 minutes! One adult for every three
children, please.
Saturday and Sunday, 1:30pm
Daily in July and August
Free with Museum admission
Interpretive Stations
These hands-on stations let families delve
further into China's natural and cultural
history.
Daily in July and August, 10am— noon and
1pm -3pm
Free with Museum admission
Art and Identity:
Representations of
Emperor Qianlong
Maxwell K. Hearn, The Metropohtan
Museum of Art
Hear how Emperor Qianlong presented
himself as an archetypal monarch by
sponsoring a new synthesis of Chinese and
Western painting that resulted in ideal-
ized imperial portraits.
Wednesday, August 4, 6pm
Walking Tour
Chinatown
Explore a window into China, just minutes from downtown
Chicago! Visit a mural, a square filled with sculptures of zodiac
animals and Ping Tom Park's striking gardens.
By appointment. Please call the Chinatown Chamber of
Commerce at 312.236.5320.
Free, donation suggested
SUMMER laO'i June -August 9
Performance
Princess Magogo
Ravinia Festival opens its 2004 centennial season with an
American premiere of the first South African opera in Zulu
Princess Magogo. Composer Mzilikazi Khumalo and libret-
tist Themba Msimang based the opera on this popular Zulu
princess, herself a singer. The work was selected in part to
recognize the 10th anniversary
of democracy in South Africa.
Preview this enchanting opera at
the Museum with a Zulu choral
music program by the show's
performers.
Field Museum preview, Saturday, May 29, 1 1am
Free with Museum admission
Ravinia Festival performances, June 4—6
Tickets on sale at wiinv.rauinia.org.
Fieldtrips
Fossil Collecting at Thornton Quarry
Dare Dolak, Columbia Colic^^c
Reconstruct the Illinois landscape of 425 million years ago
when a shallow, subtropical sea covered the area. You'll
learn about the organisms that lived in this ancient environ
ment and discover techniques for finding the fossils that
time left behind. Limited to
40 adults.
Saturday, June 19, 8niii-3pni
$60, members $50
m
Big & Green Day
Clmaiio Architecture
Foundation (CAF)
Tour Chicago's greener side. See two CAF exhibitions. Big &
Green: Toward Sustainable Architecture in the 21st Century,
and Chicago Green; the Chicago Center for Green Technology;
and Loop buildings old and new that contain sustainable ele-
ments. Big & Green Day was planned by CAF in collaboration
with The Field Museum.
Tours iiicci at CAF, 224 S. Michigan Ave.
Saturday, June 19, Wam—2pni
Free admission. Check wuntKarchitecturcorg for event details.
The CAF exhibitions, featuring models and drawings of envi-
ronmentally friendly projects here and around the world, will
run through Sept. 12.
l».
,^\
Below is a calendar of cu.iv n and upcoming temporary exhibitions. Some dates may change,
fisit vwwv.fieldmuseum.org "9410 as the date of your visit nears.
Night Visions: The Secret Designs of Moths
July 24, 2004-January 9, 2005
The Natural Wonders of Madagascar: Photographs
by Harald SchiJtz
Through July 5
Family Overnight
Dozin' with the Dinos
Sue the T. Rex is having a sleepover! Explore ancient
Egypt by flashlight, prowl an African savannah w\th
man-eating lions and stroll through the Royal
Palace in Bamun, Africa. Then spread your
sleeping bag amid some of our most popular
exhibitions. The event includes an evening
snack and a light breakfast in the morning.
Families with children ages 6—12
5:45pm on Fnday,Jtine 25 until 9am on
Saturday, June 26
$47, members $40
Chicago Waterways %^'!'^
Dr. Iruiug Cutler, Professor Emeritus, Chka^ State University
Cruise Chicago's waterways for a unique perspective on the
economic, ecological and historical development of our
metropolitan area.
Saturday, July 10, 9am- 5pm
$60, members $50
Participants meet at the Wendella Boat Dock on Michigan Ave
Bring a lunch and beverage (no alcohol please). An alternative
route is planned if inclement weather prevents travel on Lake
Michigan.
Splendors of China's Forbidden City: The Glorious Reign of
Emperor Qianlong
Through September 12, 2004
Urban Expressions: Young Voices, New Technologies
Through January 17, 2005
I
Summer Camp
Limited Space Available
Summer Worlds Tour 2004:
Where Art Meets Science
With stops at all three Museum Campus insti-
tutions, summer camp l<ids will examine
telescopes, 18th-century Chinese art
and spineless sea creatures. Campers
will also explore exhibitions, make
art, play games and eat lunch by the
lake.
For children aj^es 5—10 only.
Choose one session: July 5— 9, July
i2-i6,July i9~23 or July 26-30.
Register through the Adler
Planetarium, 312.322.0329.
$220, members $200.
Family Adventures Tour
Want an easy way to teach your children about biodiversity and
conservation? Our newest Family Adventures Tour offers exhibition
highlights and intriguing questions that will get your group sharing
and having fun together. Learn how all plants and animals are
connected, and how even the youngest visitor can help protect our
environment. Download the tour from the Planning Your Visit
section ofwww.fieldmuseum.org, or pick
it up at the information desk.
Explore the Lost Mound National Wildlife Area
Alau Anderson, Ciiicago Audubon Society
Travel to the shores of the Mississippi River to explore Illinois'
largest contiguous remnants of sand prairie and savanna. This
expansive wildlife and fish refuge area provides diverse habitats
for a variety of threatened and endangered species. You'll study
native plants and search for late nesting birds and juveniles.
Limited to 40 people.
Saturday, July 17, 6am—6pni
$60, members $50
Reading the Landscape of Michigan's Upper Peninsula
Dr. Phil Janney, IFM Geology Dept., and Dr IVendy Taylor,
University of Chicago
Join geologists on a two-day fieldtrip to explore the rich geology
and history of the Keweewaw Peninsula of Michigan. Learn about
Copper Country, land formed before life existed on Earth's surface!
Visit working mines, geologic outcrops, historic villages and magnif-
icent national parks.
3:30pm on Friday, August 21 until 6pm on Sutiday, August 29
$215, members $200 '
I
Treasures of the Americas: Selections From the Anthropology
Collections of The Field Museum
Thr-^ijgh May 30, 2005
Life Over Time has closed to make way for an exciting new exhibition
opening In 2006 exploring the history of life on Earth — complete with
an expanded dinosaur hall! In the meantime, stop by Dino Zone near the
McDonald's Fossil Prep Lab for hands-on activities and a look at the
new exhibition's design concepts.
General Museum Information: 312.922.9410; Family and Adult Program Tickets and Information: 312.665.7400
Coming This Fall —
JACQUELINE KENNEDY
THE WHITE HOUSE YEARS
Selections from the
JOHN F. KENNEDY LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
influenced American statesmanship and diplomacy. More than 70 garments, along with photographs,
documents and film clips, reveal how the former first lady carefully shaped her image to reflect the
vigor, ideals and internationalism of her husband's administration. An extraordinary slate of lectures,
film screenings and panel discussions has been designed to complement Jacqueline Kennedy: The
White House Years. The exhibition runs Nov. 13, 2004, through May 8, 2005.
We'll kick off this fabulous lineup on Mov. 13 with
acclaimed historian and author Robert Dallek.
Dallek's landmark biography, An Unfinished Life:
John F. Kennedy 1917-1963, creates a dramatic,
vivid portrait of the bold, brave, human Kennedy.
On Dec. 1, Hamish Bowles, European editor-at-
large of Vogue and curator of Jacqueline Kennedy:
The White House Years, will investigate how Mrs.
Kennedy helped revolutionize the nation's taste and
fashion and became a leading promoter of
American arts and culture.
Jacqueline Kennedy: The White House Years— Selections from the John F. Kennedy Library and
Museum was organized by The John F. Kennedy Library and Museum and The Metropolitan
Museum of Art.
This exhibition is made possible through the generous support of The Grainger Foundation and
Marshall Field's.
Witness a Peruvian excavation
Join expeditions@fieldmuseum now to follow four
scientists excavating a mountalntop in remote
southern Peru throughout the summer. The team
Is Investigating how provincial dignitaries of the
ancient Tlwanaku state and the contemporary
War! empire of South America interacted in elab-
orate festivals. Sponsored in part by the National
Endowment for the Humanities, the team Is form-
ing the foundation for understanding the origins
of religious differences among the Andean
empires of 1,500 years ago. To register for first-
hand dispatches during the excavation, email
expeditions@fieldmuseum.org or visit www.fleld-
museum.org/expeditlons.
t *f M*
.u ..»■
Discover secret worlds and ancient relics.
Urban
Expressions:
Young
Voices, New
Technologies
TImtighJari. 17,2005
See and hear first-
hand accounts of young
Chicagoans reflecting on urban life.
This exhibition was developed by Street-Level Youth Media in collaboration with
The Field Museum.
Night Visions: The Secret
Designs of IVIoths
July 24. 2004-Jau. 9, 2005
Discover the surprising beauty of these night crea-
tures through stunning, larger-than-life images that
reveal secrets rarely visible to the naked eye.
This exhibition was developed by The Field Museum in collaboration with Joseph Scheer.
Treasures of the Americas:
Selections From the
Anthropology
Collections
of The Field
Museum
Tlmugh May 30, 2005
Witness the exquisite
craftsmanship and sophis-
tication found within the
Museum's extraordinary
collections — from cultures
as diverse as Arizona's
living Apache to Ohio's
ancient Hopewell.
The Field Museum salutes the people of Chicago for their long-standing, generous support of the
Museum through the Chicago Park District In addition, Museum programs are partially supported
by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, a federal agency, and by a CityArts Program 4
Grant from Uie City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and the Illinois Arts Council, a state
agency.
In accordance with Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972, we do not discriminate on
the basis of sex in our programs or activities. Should you have any questions or concerns, please
contact our Title IX coordinator in the human resources department, 312.665.7271.
^^^^^^
Getting Here: Soldier Field's North Garage is across the street from our
main entrance. Visit www.fieldmuseum.org for the latest information on parking
lots/rates, free trolleys and public transit.
Hours: 9am-5pm daily. Last admission at 4pm.
To get tickets: Splendors of China's Forbidden City is a specially ticketed exhibition. IVIember
passes can be reserved through the membership department (312.665.7705) or picked up at the
membership desk. Non-member tickets can be reserved through 866. FIELD. 03, www.tickets.com
or at Tickets.com outlets (service charges apply). Non-member tickets are also available at the
IVIuseum's admission desks while supplies last (no service charges).
Accessibility: Visitors using wheelchairs or strollers may be dropped off at the west entrance.
Handicapped parking and wheelchairs are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Call
312.665.7400 to check on the accessibility of programs that take place outside of the Museum.
Information: 312.922.9410 orwww.fieldmuseum.org
14 ; IN THE FIELD CALENDAR
SCIENTIST'SPICK
An. Intact Tomh
Last spring, during an excavation at the hilltop terrace site of El Palmillo in Oaxaca,
Mexico, Field Museum archaeologists uncovered an elaborate residence of rooms around a
sunken patio. But the lack of human burials was an enigmatic chink in the team's ongoing
efforts to reconstruct the site's prehispanic past.
Fate finally shifted when the team, led by Gary Feinman, PhD, anthropology department
chair and a curator, found a subterranean tomb. Would there be anything inside? How
would they enter it without disrupting the surfaces above? With so little time left on the
fieldtrip, could they excavate the tomb with proper care, or leave it unattended for another
year, fearing that it might get looted?
Once excavation was imminent, the team photographed the tomb's interior through a small
opening in the massive stone door. Astoundingly, neither looters nor nature had disturbed its
contents much since it was sealed 1,500 years ago. It took seven men to safely remove the
door. Inside were 25 ceramic vessels and three individuals, including one person in a cross-
legged position who seems to have worn a green stone bead, a symbol of high rank.
The more arduous work continues in the lab, where sometimes years of analysis, interpreta-
tion and documentation are required for each field season. The tomb turned out to be one of
the most elaborately constructed tombs found outside the ancient Zapotec capital of Monte
Alban, and the artifacts are revealing how people at the top of the hill lived differently from
those below.
Dr. Feinman's expedition was featured in a free program In which our scientists share
their field experiences through emails, photographs, video and other media. Email
expediti0n5@fieldmuseum.org or visit www.fieldmuseum.org/expeditions to sign up.
Removing the tomb
door carefully, and with
some trepidation.
Inset: Ceramic vessels
piled in a corner of the
tomb.
SUMMER 2004 Jiiiie-Aiigiist
INTHEFIELDFEATURE
The Beijing Eight: Working in the Forbidden City
Robin Groesbeck, Manager, Exhibition Coordination
On a brisk morning in January, a team of Field IVluseum exhibition professionals, clad
in bulky layers of polar fleece, examines exquisite imperial artifacts in the dim light of
the Wenhua Dian, or Hall of Literary Glory, in Beijing, China. Aspiring bureaucrats
once sweated over civil service exams here some 250 years ago, but the times and
inhabitants have changed dramatically.
Top: Felisia Wesson (left)
and Jill Plitnikas assess
the emperor's desk.
Bottom: Conservator
Betsy Allaire (far right)
and two Chinese
colleagues inspect a
national treasure.
Formerly the Forbidden City and exclusive home
to China's supreme rulers, this 1 78-acre walled
complex, housing more than 1 million objects, is
now the Palace Museum. And today, the Beijing
Eight, as we have anointed ourselves, has begun
examining and packing the objects that will travel
to Chicago for the exhibition Splendors of China's
Forbidden City: The Glorious Reign of Emperor
Qianlong.
Halls full of surprises
Electrical heating and lights are not allowed in the
Palace Museum in order to protect its ornate,
ancient wooden buildings from the ever-present
threat of fire. In our honor. Ding Meng, the Palace
Museum's project manager for this phase of the
exhibition, had a few bulbs temporarily installed,
and we applauded him before diving into work.
For 1 1 days, nearly 30 people from The Field
Museum, Palace Museum, the Chinese Bureau of
Cultural Relics and our packing and shipping
agent, Huaxie hiternational Fine Art Freight
Services, examined some 400 stunning artifacts,
including teapots, vases, writing instruments, armor,
garments and weaponry. We unrolled vividly pre-
served 39- to 75-foot-long scrolls and inspected
elaborate Tibetan Buddhist stupas that come apart
into 40 pieces. And we photographed, videotaped,
annotated and assembled incredibly detailed
records, called condition reports, that would
accompany every piece on its journey to The Field
Museum, The Dallas Museum of Art and back
home to Beijing.
While compiling the exhibition's object list two
years before. Field Museum curators Bennet
Bronson, PhD, and Chuimei Ho, PhD, selected
inany pieces that had never been on display —
even at the Palace Museum. For example. Palace
Museum curators expressed surprise when Drs.
Bronson and Ho asked to borrow the emperor's
funerary tablet, which they found in a storage area.
In fact, our Palace Museum colleagues studied
many pieces during the condition reporting process
for the first time — not unusual in this compound
of nearly 10,000 rooms.
Angle Morrow, exhibitions registrar, and
Francesca Pons, project administrator, organized the
trip's logistics. Pons explained, "As soon as we
arrived, I realized my fears had been groundless.
The Palace Museum staff and the Hall of Literary
Glory were totally organized and ready for us to
begin." Workstations had been set up, and new
yellow packing crates were stored nearby. The
Palace Museum staff had also spent weeks preparing
custom-made, traditional silk-lined inner boxes for
many pieces.
We formed three teams that each included an
interpreter, curators, conservators and note-and-
picture takers. We pored over each object, noting
every loose thread, tiny dent or missing inlay, before
trained art handlers skillfijUy, carefully wrapped and
packed it. This process was repeated nearly 400
times over 11 straight days of work!
To help sustain this intense activity, the Palace
Museum generously served elaborate lunches each
day. Morrow, who subsists largely on Nutter Butters
and Peeps Marshmallow Treats in the States, broad-
ened her culinary horizons as she sampled "fish
with many paws" (baby octopus), steamed lotus
BACKGROUND: PAVILION OF RAINING FLOWERS/MATT MATCUK
IN THE FIELD
root and many varieties of mushrooms. "The hot
lunches really got us through the day," she said. We
were treated to as many as 20 dishes each noon,
very few of which were repeated during the trip.
Our responsibilities didn't end with condition
reporting. As figurehead of The Field Museum's
delegation, Vice President and General Counsel
Felisia Wesson attended meetings and banquets,
presented gifts and advised the team on legal and
insurance issues. But these duties played second
fiddle to Wesson's main job — helping the team
photograph and document the objects, day after day.
Wesson reflected, "The trip gave me the chance
to get out from behind my desk and participate in
fieldwork. As a result, I feel more connected to the
Museum and have a real appreciation for what goes
into these exhibitions."
Field Museum conservators Ruth Norton, Betsy
Allaire and Jill Plitnikas relished the chance to
closely examine an extremely wide variety of
materials, including porcelain, jade, gold, silver,
ivory, bronze, wood, lacquer, kingfisher feathers,
cloisonne, water-based and oil paintings, calligra-
phy, pearls and textiles.
"I loved examining the pieces! My Chinese
colleagues, Mr. Zhao and Mr.Tu, talked about the
nature and history of the objects as we worked,"
said Allaire. "I really appreciated learning so much
more about Chinese art.
At first it was slow going, but as we began to
understand the condition issues that were important
to each of us, the process went more smoothly,"
Allaire continued. "For example, my Chinese
colleagues noted recent changes such as dents or
scratches, while I was looking for active corrosion
in metal, lifting paint in lacquer, brittle areas —
weaknesses that could lead to issues down the road."
Challenges onboard
Packing and transporting the objects required con-
siderable teamwork and ingenious problem solving.
To move an intricately carved jade boulder, "The
Nine Elders of Huichang," for example, we used
carefully placed straps and a customized shipping
crate to protect the delicate surfaces of the one-ton
object.
After packing, the crates were loaded onto
trucks and taken under police escort, with sirens
blaring, to the Beijing airport. Ensuring that airport
personnel treated the crates gently provided the
trip's most difficult moments for Morrow. ,
"The hardest part was the last few days when I
had bronchitis and had to stand out on the open
tarmac in wintry weather, or sit in a truck for
hours on end, watching our crates being grouped
onto pallets for air transport. Unfortunately I don't
speak Chinese, so at times it was hard to communi-
cate with the airport crew," Morrow said.
Later, members of the Beijing Eight accompa-
nied each bright yellow shipment home to
Chicago. Morrow, who has flown as a courier for
more than 30 exhibitions, took the toughest leg,
which included 30 hours aboard an air freighter
and stops in Anchorage and New York. She had to
guarantee that every crate was loaded back onto
the aircraft after each landing. In New York, airport
personnel wanted to give Field Museum cargo
space to another client, yet Morrow refused to let
the plane take ofl^ until our shipment was safely
back on board.
After each airplane arrived in Chicago, the crates
were delivered to the Museum's loading dock and
transferred into the exhibition hall. Production
Supervisor Nel Fetherling, whose team built and
installed the exhibition, remarked, "It was a relief to
finally get the crates, to have our coworkers back
safe and sound and to realize the quantity of arti-
facts was actually ^«iYe."
The physical chaOenges and pressure we had
faced faded into the background as the Beijing
Eight surveyed a sea of crates, now securely
ensconced in The Field Museum.
Morrow concluded, "We enjoyed a feeling of
great accomplishment after doing something that
seemed so daunting — seeing it all come together.
And how many people get the opportunity to
work in an amazing place like the Palace
Museum?" ITF
Splendors of China's Forbidden City riws thnmgli
Sept. 12, 2004. See the calendar for exciting programs
that complement the exhibition.
Top: Ruth Norton, chief
conservator, and Zhang
Guangwen examine the
emperor's saddle.
Bottom: Palace Museum
staff exercise regularly
during breaks.
■f^'f
SUMMER2004 June-August
ATURE
Arrowinus, an odd
germs restricted to Soutli
Africa.
Southern Beetle Quest
Margaret K. Thayer, PhD, and Alfred F. Newton, PhD, Curators of Coleoptera, Department of Zoology
Our latest beetle-collecting trip started with unwelcome news after a 14-hour flight from
New York to Johannesburg: Our luggage hadn't come with us. Eight big pieces, contain-
ing countless pounds of field gear and clothes for four people on a six-week trip in South
Africa! Fortunately^ our visit began with a scientific conference for biologists and geolo-
gists in bustling Cape Town, and our gear caught up with us a day and a half later.
ALFRED F. NEWrON/200402;
What brought this Httle group 9,500 miles from
wintry Chicago to summer on the far side of the
world? We're both curators of insects (especially
beetles) in The Field Museum's zoology depart-
ment, and were accompanied by Alexey
Solodovnikov, PhD, our post-doctoral research
associate, and Dave Clarke, our University of Illinois
at Chicago graduate student. This expedition to
explore the poorly known rove beetles (the family
Staphylinidae) that live in temperate parts of the
southern continents was our second trip under a
five-year research and training grant from the
National Science Foundation's Partnerships for
Enhancing Expertise in Taxonomy (PEET) pro-
gram. The grant involves research in the southern
countries of Chile, Australia and New Zealand as
well. While the two of us have repeatedly visited
those three countries since 1980 — totaling 16
months and extending over most of our married
life— this was the first trip to Africa for all four
of us.
Fieldwork requires lots of advance planning and
preparations: learning about different habitat types;
getting maps and travel literature; selecting areas in
which to collect; seeking advice about good sites;
planning visits with South African and other
museum colleagues; planning our itinerary; applying
for collecting permits — yes, even for insects — after
finding out, sometimes with difiiculty, where to
apply; buying and preparing field equipment;
purchasing plane tickets; renting a vehicle; and
booking some accommodations.
Of some 48,000 species of rove beetles world-
wide, about 1,150 species have been scientifically
named from South Africa. Little is known about
most of them, and many more species are still
unstudied and unnamed. Our trip turned up
even more, both in the field and in museums.
The four of us are doing separate research
projects on different groups of rove beetles with
varied habits, but our usual array of collecting
methods, used in appropriate places, is effective
IN THE FIELD
at catching them all. Most are predators and live in
forests or other moist places. Flight intercept traps
catch beetles flying about in search of their favored
foods or breeding sites, and carrion-baited pitfall
traps attract beetles that seek carcasses, often eating
the maggots there rather than the carrion itself. We
installed both kinds of traps at 16 sites, sifted leaf
litter at those and other sites for smaller beetles and
hand-searched through many microhabitats to find
out exacdy where our beetles are and what they
may do for a living. Rove beetles are found under,
on, or in a variety of materials, including the bark
of logs, mushrooms, flowers, leaf litter, ant or ter-
mite colonies, and dung and carrion, but the habits
of many remain a mystery.
Alexey and Al were especially interested in find-
ing Arrowinus, an odd, evolutionarily isolated genus
that is endemic, or restricted, to South Afi-ica.Just
before our trip, they had finished a scientific paper
naming and describing three new species in the
genus — only one was known before — and describ-
ing the larvae of one species for the first time.
Beetle larvae, including those of rove beetles, have
been found and studied much less than the adults
they grow to be. Yet knowledge of larval features is
essential to understanding their biology and useful
in deciphering the evolutionary relationships of
different species and genera. Almost nothing was
known o{ Arrowinus' biology from previous speci-
men labels. We hunted around in many places near
where the few existing museum specimens had
been collected before we finally found adults of
one of the new species near a stream.
Better yet, since our return, Al has quickly
scanned through our leaf litter collections. Growing
up to 35 millimeters (1.3 inches), Arrowinus is not
hard to spot among its smaller relatives, which are
mostly less than 6 millimeters (0.25 inches) long.
Although it will take us a few months to fiilly sort
and process the samples, he discovered that we had
collected more adults of all three new species
described in the paper and larvae of all four
Arrowinus species! Happily, Alexey and Al were able
to add this new information to their paper before it
is published later this year.
Keeping thorough, accurate records is as essential
as collecting. We log our collections in a field note-
book during the day, and in the evening label the
samples with where, when, how and by whom
they were collected. That information wUl get
transferred to each and every pin and vial so that
anyone studying the specimens in the future will
have it. Without such data, the specimens are of
little scientific value. Many old museum specimens
have vague labels. For example, "Cape" in South
Afi-ica may refer specifically to the Cape of Good
Hope, to the region around Cape Town or to
more than half of South Africa (the former Cape
Province), which is almost as large as Illinois,
Indiana, Wisconsin, Iowa and Minnesota together.
Many very different kinds of habitats exist through-
out that area, so a label that says "Cape" is
unhelpful to biologists.
The unaccustomed presence of dangerous
animals, such as crocodiles, hippos and poisonous
snakes, and destructive animals, such as baboons,
weasel-like animals and small cats, raised concerns
for both our personal safety and the security of our
traps. We saw most of these from a distance, but
only one carrion trap was disturbed, and we saw
only two snakes during the whole trip. Spiny trees,
shrubs and vines proved to be more hazardous,
causing numerous scrapes and punctures to all!
Through 5,000 miles of driving, sifting 509
pounds of leaf litter and collecting perhaps as many
as 100,000 beetles, our worst mishaps were three
flat tires. We returned to Chicago (with luggage!)
on a very long February 29th, a leap year day to
remember. ITF
Visit www.fteldmuseum.org/peet_staph for more
information on this project.
Left: Dave Clarke, Charlotte Hardy, Margaret Thayer, Al Newton and Peter Hlavac peer under bark for beetles. Middle: Alexey Solodovnikov
inspects a flight intercept trap. Right:The team labels every .sample it collects.
DSCN2214/ALEXEY SOLODOVNIKOV
20O4O227N01/ALFRED F, NEWTON
DSCN1997/ALEXEY SOLODOVNIKOV
SUMMER 2004 Jiitie-Aii^i;iiii
FROMTHEARCHIVES
She Married a Dinosaur
Paul Briiikniaii, Ltbrar)' Assodatc
At the turn of the 19th century, The Field Museum entered into a furious competition
with rival institutions to collect dinosaurs. In 1900, paleontologist Elmer Riggs led an
expedition with his Indiana cousin, Victor Barnett, and photographer Harold Menke to
a new Jurassic locality near Grand Junction, Colo. At the time, Elmer was courting
Helen Mosher, a Chicago schoolteacher. Fortunately for historians, their correspon-
dence provides a rich array of otherwise unrecorded details about his fossil fieldwork.
Curious locals visited
the dinosaur collecting
team 's campsite near
Grand Junction, Colo.
Creating what Elmer called "an oasis in the desert,"
the parr\^ built its acconiniodarions at an abandoned
stone shelter that enclosed a spring flowing into a
crude stone trough. "The spring and house were
soon put in order and a camp planned so cozily
that we all claim credit for it," Elmer boasted, eager
to impress Helen with his eflicient domesriciry.
The team pitched its tent opposite the shelter
and stretched a tarpaulin between the two to create
an enclosed porch. "At the west end near the house
we placed the camp stove. The mess chest ... serves
a[s] cupboard, while its falling door does duty as
kitchen table. ... [T]he loosened door 6x>m the
spring-house was... made to do duty as dining
table. Inside the spring-house the crates of canned
goods are stacked against the wall with one side of
each opened to afibrd easy access. The ... trough
[preserves our perishables], while its lower extremity
^^»
«
does famous duty for washing photographic plates.
An inverted box serves Menke as developing table,
while the whole, curtained and used at night forms
a first-rate dark room with running water. ..."
Nobody lingered in the tent. "Everybody sleeps
in the open air by preference, and for a sitting
room the porch ... is much pleasanter. Even now
Menke is at one end of the improvised dining table
writing many letters to his best girls ... while I with
a candle ... am stru^Jing between wind and the
flapping canvas at my elbow ... to write something
that may interest a young lady who expects much
in the way of letter- wTiting."
Though comfortably situated, Elmer s first few
weeks were "the most discouraging... period that I
have known in seven years collecting." But luck
changed in early July, when his party collected
several tons of valuable fossils, including the type
specimen of the gigantic Bracliiosaurus. Helen was
impressed:"! am very glad you are having so much
success. ... It is a pity that you were unsuccessfiil ...
[at] first... and if I were not sure of an indignant
denial I might add a little homesick too ... good
luck has cured all that. ..."
Good luck also attracted the locals, and the
team s solitude gave way to a tiresome procession of
\isitors. During a Sunday picnic arranged for local
fanuUes, "Fifiy-odd souls besides ourselves lunched
on the sand-stone ledge back of the spring-house.
The women were shy of coming in, probably
because Victor was baking pies beside the entrance,
until a sudden shower came on and then the tent
was fijll of sodden millinery." Elmer enjoyed
explaining things to the visitors, but became fiTJS-
trated v\nth idlers and "souvenir fiends" who pried
off fossils when the team wasn't around.
Elmer withheld data until the work was finished,
not wanting to "give the shop away" to other fossil
collectors. While the news leaked nonetheless,
Elmer's team netted 38 crates filled with more than
six tons of fossils. The following year, he collected
another immense Colorado dinosaur — the hind-
most half of an Apatosaurus — and continued to
write Helen. They married in September 1901.
While the vivid details subsided, Elmer's earUer
courtship of Helen proves how history can be
exposed in the most intimate places.
IN THE FIELD
MEMBERSHIP/ ANNUALFUNDNEWS
XRT93 Presents Play thp Fipid
Mix culture with cocktails. Experience the best bands.
Explore our exhibitions. And view Chicago's
spectacular skyline — all for a discount.
PbytheField
TheFielc
Museum
.^^
Tickets to Play the Field, a popular monthly concert series
presented by XRT93, are $10 at the door for Field Museum
members with an ID. Summer shows are held on our terrace,
giving you a front-and-center view of the skyline, as well as
access to the Museum. Each ticket includes a complimentary
cocktail.
Play the Field has featured such favored bands as Poi Dog
Pondering's Frank Orran,The Commitments and Michelle
Shocked. On June 24, Liquid Soul, Grammy-nominated in /■'
2000 for Best Contemporary Jazz Album, will have you
grooving immediately with its irresistible mixture of jazz
and urban dance music.
The event is usually the fourth Thursday of each month from 6 to 10pm and is 21 and over. For
a schedule of performers and dates, visit www.fieldmuseum.org.All proceeds benefit the Museum.
Don't Forg et Your Benefits
Thank you to all our annual fund supporters. Please take
advantage of your free admission, special exhibition tickets
and guest privileges. Your invitation to the third annual
Donor Appreciation Night will arrive soon. What a wonder-
ful way to celebrate the end of summer and have one last
chance to view Splendors of China's Forbidden City: The
Glorious Reign of Emperor Qianlong. For information
about the annual fund, call 312.665.7777 or email annu-
alfund@fieldmuseum.org.
©PALACE MUSEUM, BEIJING
Bloomingdale's Sho pping Benefit
Snag the best in fall fashion and home accessories, while supporting The Field
Museum.
On Wednesday, Sept. 1, shop at Bloomingdale's with the Field Associates, the
Museum's young professionals group. When you buy a $10 ticket through the Field
Associates, Bloomingdale's will offer 15 to 20 percent off every purchase at all city
and suburban locations, as well as the Bloomingdale's Home & Furniture Store. Some
exclusions apply at each store.
The Field Museum will receive 100 percent of all ticket sales. In addition, the Field
Associates will get an extra $5 for each ticket presented at Bloomingdale's doors on
Sept. 1. Email field_associates@fieldmuseum.org or call 312.665.7133 to purchase
your shopping benefit tickets.
SUMMER 2004 li,iu-Aii;^ii
Rf^buildin g Your Museum
It may not pique journalists/ but The Field Museum's new central plant is one of
the hottest — and coolest — stories of the year.
Our heating and cooling systems had exceeded
their life expectancies, challenging varied
climate needs in our million-square-foot
building that continues to expand.
Whereas organic materials in our
collections and exhibitions require
precise temperature and humidity
levels, visitor and staff needs depend
on Chicago's erratic weather!
The complex central plant
has a switchgear electrical vault;
chillers that make ice during off-peak
hours; 48 4,000-gallon ice storage
tanks; low-pressure steam boilers; a fire
detection and protection system; and
automated controls, among many advanced
features. The renovations also cost less, save
energy and are built to accommodate future growth,
upholding the Museum's commitment to environmentally responsible action.
All of this was delivered on time, on budget and while maintaining faultless
24-hour operation of the Museum. Now that's a headline story!
Tlw condenser pumps (right) and ice chillers (above).
The central plant renovation was generously funded in part by ttw
Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity and the
Illinois Department of Natural Resources.
■-v:-*J:>/.VW.
;V
T h o r ; r. i ,[ If.
ir
lELD
Fall 2004
September-
November
■jss*
Jacqueline Kennedy:
The White House Years —
Selections from the John F.
Kennedy Library and Museum
•—
u r
/'
1
FROMTHEPRESIDENT
New Doors Opening Amund the Museum
The Field Museum was teeming this past summer with construction and field research,
opening new doors both to the Museum and to understanding our natural world.
It has been easy to get caught in a jumble of construction barricades, cabs, schoolchild-
ren and picture takers as you enter The Field Museum. The chaos will wane when a new
entrance opens this fall on the Museum's east side. Previously, the only entrance acces-
sible to visitors with special needs was on the Museum's west side, since impressive but
daunting marble steps lead to both the north and south entrances.
Tire east entrance's most
attractive feature is a
42 feet by 42 feet glass
skylight.
Traffic and parking for IVIuseum
Campus have been rerouted to
accommodate the new Soldier
Field. The reconstruction
requires that schoolchildren and
disabled patrons be dropped off
in a new bus staging area on the
Museum's east side. If we hadn't
built the entrance there, they
would have had to walk or be
assisted for about a third of a
mile around the Museum to the
west side. Not only is this dan-
gerous during the winter, it also
sends an unacceptable message
that special needs are not con-
sidered.
Disabled visitors and families
with strollers can now be conve-
niently dropped off or picked up
at the new ADA-compliant
entrance. It provides the
300,000 children who visit the
Museum each year with a direct
route to the Museum's group ori-
entation area. It improves access
to key visitor amenities and more
directly connects guests to Shedd
Aquarium and Adier Planetarium.
The entrance was funded in part
with a $5 million grant from the
Illinois Department of Commerce
and Economic Opportunity.
Summer Is the prime season for
scientists to conduct fieldwork
around the world. We had con-
servation biologists in Ecuador
and Bolivia, zoologists in Utah
and Australia and archaeologists
in Mexico and Peru, to name a
few examples.
My wife Judy and I took two
trips to Wyoming with Field
Museum geologists. We joined
Peter Makovicky to excavate
sauropod and ornithopod bones
from llO-million-year-old rocks
near Lovell. Makovicky just pub-
lished his research on the age
and growth patterns of Sue and
other tyrannosaurs in Nature
magazine on Aug. 12. Sue, it
turns out, was 28 years old at
the time of death.
We also visited Lance Grande
in the Green River Formation,
known for its beautifully pre-
served fossils of a 52-million-
year-old extinct lake community.
For more than 25 years, Grande
has conducted paleontological
excavations in Wyoming for his
research on the early develop-
ment of North American fish
fauna. He was recently promoted
to vice president for collections
and research.
During both trips, it was fasci-
nating to work alongside such
geology team members as Matt
Brown, Jim Holstein, Akiko
Shinya, Lisa Bergwall, Sebastian
Apesteguia, Connie Vanbeek and
Nathan Kley. Gourmet fare
included bison burgers, elk stew,
pad thai, spaghetti and pineapple
cobbler washed down with Moose
Drool and Fat Tire beers — quite
different from our usual food
options, but fun and memorable
aspects of life in the field.
Come back this fall for a whole
new way to get into the Museum,
and keep reading In the Field to
learn how our scientists are
opening new doors to compre-
hending the world we live in.
John W. McCarter, Jr.
President and CEO
[< a b ontl
For general membership inquiries, including address changes, call 866.312.2781. For questions about
the magazine In the Field, call 312.665.7115, email acranch@fmnh.org, or write Amy E. Cranch,
Editor, The Field Museum, 1400 South Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL 60605-2496.
INTHEFIELD
Fall 2004, September-November,
Vol.75, Mo. 4
Editor:
Amy E. Cranch, The Field Museum
Design:
Depke Design
OIn the Field is printed on recycled paper
using soy-based inks. All images ©The
Field Museum unless otiierwise specified.
In the Field (ISSN #1051-4546) is published
quarterly by The Field Museum. Copyright
2004 The Field Museum. Annual subscriptions
are $20; $10 for schools. Museum membership
includes In the Field subscription. Opinions
expressed by authors are their own and do
not necessarily reflect the policy of The Field
Museum. Notification of address change should
include address label and should be sent to
the membership department. POSTMASTER:
Send address changes to Membership, The
Field Museum, 1400 South Lake Shore Drive,
Chicago, IL 60605-2496. Periodicals postage
paid at Chicago, Illinois.
Cover: Jacqueline Kennedy: The White House
Years vi/ill be at The Field Museum Nov. 13,
2004, through May 8, 2005. Senator and Mrs.
Kennedy, Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, 1959.
© Mark Shaw/Photo Researchers
The Field Museum salutes the people of Chicago
for their long-standing, generous support of the
Museum through the Chicago Park District.
Field
X
fe
useum
1400 South Lake Shore Drive
Chicago, IL 60605-2496
312.922.9410
www.fieldmuseijm.org
2
Jacqueline Kennedy's style and spirit helped
redefine the American identity.
Top: Ole^ Cassini. Evening dress in celadon silk
jersey, 1962.
4
Field Museum scientists engage Bolivian com-
munities in preserving their lands.
Middle: A Bolpebra teen solves an educational
puzzle.
Conservators restored an enormous silk
tapestry for a traveling exhibition to Japan.
16
A Field Museum graduate student hunts for
frogs in the Brazilian rainforests.
Bottom: Ana Carnaval recently discovered this new
species o/^Hyla.
Museum Campus Neighbors
Museum Campus For express entry to
Museum Campus, exit onto eastbound 18th
Street from Lake Shore Drive. Follow the
signs to Museum Campus Drive, which takes
you to Soldier Field's IMorth Garage on the
left, where you can park for The Field
Museum or Shedd Aquarium. To access the
Adier Planetarium lot, continue north on
Museum Campus Drive to Solidarity Drive.
Both lots cost $12 during the day. Public
transit is also a great alternative. Visit
www.museumcampus.org for further trans-
portation details.
AdIer Planetarium Take a virtual 3D
tour of the pyramids and temples of ancient
Egypt in Stars of the Pharaohs. You'll learn
about the important role astronomy played in
Egyptian culture, architecture and politics. On
Oct. 30, walk like an Egyptian, and dress like
one, too, at Haunted Planetarium, The Curse
of the Pharaoh. Children wearing costumes
will be admitted free with a paid adult. For
more information, visit www.adlerpianetar-
ium.org or call 312. 922. STAR.
Shedd Aquarium Looking for fun, food
and more fun? Visit Sea Star Quest, the
hands-on special exhibition for children on
live sea stars and their cool relatives. October
is National Seafood Month, and during
Columbus Day weekend, Shedd will serve up
free samples of sustainable seafood and hand
out seafood wallet cards and tips on how to
enjoy seafood and protect the health of our
oceans. Celebrate Halloween with Spooky
Seas on Oct. 27 to 31, and wear your best
costume to the Spooky Seas overnight, Oct.
29. For details, visit vvww.sheddaquarium.org
or call 312.939.2438.
FALL 2004 Scptcmha -November
INTHEFIELDFEATURE
Oleg Cassiiii. Dress in
apricot silk ziberline,
1962.
Jacqueline Kennedy^"he Woman Behind the Style
Dcbra N. Maiicoff, Arts Author and Adjunct Associate Professor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago
All images ©fFK Library Foundation andfFK Library and Museum
An image of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy is etched in the American imagination.
Youthful, poised and impeccably dressed, IVIrs. Kennedy lent a fresh face and striking
presence to the spirit of optimism and promise that defined her husband's administra-
tion. She understood the semantics of style, and her signature mode of dress — clean
lines, clear colors, fine fabrics, superb construction — reflected the shift in American
identity that distinguished the all too brief tenure of the Kennedy presidency.
Jacqueline Kennedy: Tlie Wliite House Years — Selections
from the John F. Kentiedy Library and Museum is
on display Nov. 13, 2004, through May 8, 2005.
Supported by The Grainger Foundation and
Marshall Fields, the exhibition pre-
sents the style and spirit of that
memorable time in American history.
More than 70 items of clothing, as
well as letters and rarely seen
photographs, provide a view of the
Kennedy years through the lens of
Mrs. Kennedy's distinctive taste and
insight. Along with these intimate
objects, video excerpts from her tele-
vised tour of the restored White House
and a recreation of the Red Room wiU
celebrate Mrs. Kennedys commit-
ment to preserving national heritage
and promoting national culture.
Exploring the substance behind
the "Jackie Style," the exhibition
offers a vivid portrait of the
woman whose intelligence,
energy and image recast the
traditional role of the first lady
as the embodiment of mod-
ern American idealism at
home and abroad.
From the public's first
glimpse of her during her
husband's campaign for
the presidency, Jacqueline
Kennedy attracted atten-
tion. A profile in LIFE magazine,
covering their swing through Wisconsin in the
summer of 1960, declared that the crowds were
eager to greet the candidate's "striking wife," and
that "Women crane to see what she is wearing."
Well educated and accomplished, Mrs. Kennedy
soon demonstrated that her appearance was only
one facet of what she could bring to the White
House. Through her studies atVassar, the Sorbonne
and George Washington University, where she
earned a degree in French literature, she honed her
intellectual curiosity and developed a passion for
history and the arts.
In fact, Mrs. Kennedy's distinctive sense of
style developed in tandem with her education and
fascination with French culture. She appreciated
the spare lines and easy fit of classic
suits made by the House of Chanel,
which had reopened in 1954 to
provide an alternative to the confin-
ing garments of the post-war "New
Look." Even more appealing were
the understated designs of Hubert de
Givenchy, who, inspired by his muse
Audrey Hepburn, had redefined
French couture for a younger client,
creating simple dresses with precise
decorative touches, such as a perfecdy
placed bow or set of fabric buttons.
Prior to the campaign, Mrs.
Kennedy developed a mode of
dress that was sleek and modern —
garments that never restricted
movement, that expressed sophis-
tication and decorum, and that
enhanced, rather than distracted
from, the woman who wore
them.
As a student of art and
culture, Mrs. Kennedy under-
stood the role that personal
appearance played in the
perception of public identity.
The day her husband
accepted the presidential
nomination from the Democratic
Party, a front-page editorial in Women 's Wear Daily
described the flair of the young candidate's wife,
who seemed to be "running for election on the
French Couture Fashion ticket." The Associated
Press picked up the story, and Mrs. Nixon
announced that she preferred American designers
and always bought off the rack in Washington, D.C.
Within a few weeks, Mrs. Kennedy wrote to Diana
Vreeland, fashion editor of Harper's Bazaar, "I must
start to buy American clothes and have it known
where I buy them."
IN THE FIELD
Mrs. Kennedy collaborated with American
designers to translate her French preferences into a
new national vernacular that became known as the
"Jackie Style." She supplied them with suggestions,
swatches and her own sketches, and made her pen-
chants clear: "I like terribly simple, covered up
clothes," she wrote to Vreeland, and she required
that her clothes skim rather than contour her figure
to allow her to move with ease. On the bitter cold
morning of Inauguration Day, Mrs. Kennedy stood
next to her husband on the podium in a greige
wool coat designed by Oleg Cassini and a plain
pillbox hat made for her by Halston. Her simple
ensemble marked a bold contrast to the dark furs
and elaborate garments worn by the other women
in attendance and represented a new image for
America — fresh, clean and looking forward to a
new phase of national endeavor.
Mrs. Kennedy played an active role in creating
her public image. She disliked wearing hats, which
covered her face and flattened her hair, but
respected prevailing traditions. So she chose a sim-
ple, domed pillbox, whimsical yet decorous, that she
tipped back over the crown of her head. Her White
House wardrobe featured a distinctive set of style
lines — the A-line silhouette, the boat neck, the
collarless jacket and the sleeveless bodice — that
cast a consistent image of her own personality as
practical, elegant and demure.
Throughout her years in the White House, Mrs.
Kennedy used the nuance of style in what she
called the "State Wardrobe" to give meaning to
every event. She dressed with absolute simplicity
for formal dinners and receptions, relying upon the
exquisite cut and drape of her gowns — rather than
ostentatious jewels — to mark the occasion. In
France, she wore French designs, recalling the
American founders' respect for French culture. As
part of her attentive preparation for her "Goodwill
Tours," along with studying history and culture,
she selected garments that expressed an aesthetic
response to her host nation, such as the "sun color"
garments made for Mexico and the brilliant silk
dresses worn in India. Richard Martin, late curator
of the Metropolitan Museum's Costume Institute,
characterized Mrs. Kennedy's style as "a way of
living, not simply adorning herself but expressing
her vision of beauty in the world." And even today,
nearly a half-century later, the meaning of "Jackie
Look" endures as fresh, contemporary and unmis-
takably American as the woman who gave it her
name. ITF
Debra Mancoffmll be speaking at the member previews
on Nov. 8, 9, 10, 14 and 28. See the calendar for other
programs, or visit unvw.fieldmuseum.org/jkennedy. Also
stop by the specialty store to purchase the beautiful com-
panion catalog.
This exhibition was organized by The John F. Kennedy Library and IWuseum
and The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
This exhibition is made possible through the generous support of
The Grainger Foundation and Marshall Field's.
Left: Jacqueline Kennedy
and Lee Radziwill on
Lake Pichola, India,
March 17, 1962.
Right: White House
Nobel Laureate dinner,
April 29, 1962.
Coat by Oleg Cassini
in greige wool melton
with sable muff, 1961.
Pillbox hat by Bergdof
Goodman in beige felt,
1961.
(
FALL 2004 September-November
INTHEFIELDFEATURE
Bolivian Communities Working
Toward Conservation
try lain. Writer
An excited man gestures wildly as he imitates a rodent trying to break open a nut
and swings from side to side as if carrying a lieavy load. The man is from Bolpebra,
a small community in the extreme northwest corner of Bolivia, deep in the heart of
the Amazon. Seamlessly intertwining Spanish and Portuguese, he tells Anne Umali,
an international programs coordinator for The Field Museum's Environmental and
Conservation Programs Department (ECP), the story of the ]och\, or agouti, a
common rodent legendary for its ingenuity in cracking open the castafia, or Brazil
nut {Be\-iho\\et\a excelsa). Like the squirrel, the ]och\ hoards nuts in its mouth and
paws, burying them where other animals cannot access them.
Anne L'liiali, standing at
right, leads a discussion
on Amazon forests.
The abundant myths surrounding the joclii under-
score the important relationship between the rodent,
the Brazil nut, the local population and the envi-
ronment. The jochi is the only known seed disperser
^^Z''
of Brazil nuts, its jaws strong enough to break the
shell. Luckily, the joclii often forgets where it buried
the nuts. New trees sprout fi-om its secret treasure,
providing the farmers with their main source of
income, harvesting Brazil nuts.
Science in action
The jochi story is just one of many that Umali and
her ECP colleagues have learned through their
community outreach efforts in the state of Pando,
Bolivia, where ECP works as part of an interna-
tional team that includes scientists, teachers and
students from the Universidad Amazonica de Pando,
and the Centre de Investigacion y Preservacion de
la Amazonia. The team, based in Pando's capital of
Cobija, is creating an array of programs that address
how we can all act together — from the university
biologist to the Bolpebra farmer — to preserve this
area of high biological diversity.
Since 1999, ECP has
conducted rapid biological
inventories of Pando's plant
and animal species in three
different areas and established
that this area has some of the
highest biodiversity in
Bolivia. However, surveys
alone do not ensure the
species' lasting protection.
Alliances must be made from
the community level to the
highest ranks of government,
and extensive education and
technical support must be
provided to translate science
into conservation action.
Starting in 2001, Field
Museum and Bolivian
researchers mapped out the
strengths, or social assets, of
29 communities in western Pando to understand
how best to engage them in conserving their lands.
The results are still being tabulated, but recommen-
dations will eventually be made to the government
to establish municipal conservation areas that local
communities can manage. This lofty plan will
require training the communities in how to oversee
their own protected lands in a sustainable manner,
and will eventually be replicated throughout Pando.
New approach to outdated practices
The people of Pando want to safeguard this beauti-
flil area, yet are wary of researchers and officials
who quickly survey the area and leave with empty
promises of economic development. Shattering the
image of the distant observer, ECP has a number of
initiatives that reach out to the communities them-
selves and to the university teachers and students in
Cobija who will eventually work with the commu-
nities to develop sustainable forestry.
In one initiative, ECP is creating visually
dynamic educational materials on such topics as
agroforestry systems, which are diverse, productive
landscapes, and how to implement and monitor
conservation plans. These simple and direct visual
aids often serve as the center point for active dis-
cussions, a more appropriate method for rural
audiences than a high-tech video or the Internet.
In another project, ECP is developing a book,
Descubre Tu Bosque de Pando (Discover your Pando
Forest), that contains colorful illustrations, games
and puzzles in a comic-like format. The communi-
ties of northern Bolivia provided input on the
book.
Each outreach effort is part of a long, multi-lay-
ered process called capacity building: increasing the
ability of diverse local people and institutions to
develop and implement their own conservation
programs. For example, preparing the university
teachers and students involves getting donations of
used computers, offering technical assistance and
providing courses in how to communicate about
conservation. The people of Pando know the land,
and the students are learning the science. ECP
helps them organize and present the information
in useful ways.
Since community work has only recently begun,
ECP is addressing such challenges as arduous travel
along unpaved roads, adjusting to the farmers' unpre-
dictable schedules and communicating in areas
without electricity. Yet despite the difficulties, ECP's
efforts continue to expand. For example, the U.S.
embassy in Bolivia has asked the Museum to help
develop a small traveUng exhibition about sustainable
forest products and harvesting rubber and castanas.
Bolpebra families gathered in the small school to
Deje la area abajo del arboi en su estado
natural — no llm|)ie la vegetaeion.
«
Ares Limpiada
Coeos
Infectados
Area Natural Sin Limpiado
►.MOORE ^TcS,i
Castafias, or Brazil nuts,
the main source of income
for many Pando commu-
nities.
welcome Umali's team. They shared stories of the
jochi, lamented over the lack of educational
resources and expressed great interest in Descubre
Tu Bosque de Pa« Jo. Together they solved a puzzle,
guiding the jochi through hunters, fires and defor-
ested wasteland toward its much-desired castana
tree. In some ways, the relationship between the
jochi and the Bolpebra families reflects the relation-
ship between the people of Pando and ECP, each
working together to ensure that the Pando way of
life, and the lands they inhabit, will thrive. ITF
An illustration from a
technical manual about *^
preventing mold from
damaging a Brazil nut
harvest.
i# >-«^ ^
Something Important is Happening
Five students from the Universidad Amazonica de Pando visited
The Field Museum last year to train in collections management
and education. Their experience helped sparl< 30 students to
enroll in the university's biology program, following two years
without a single new registrant. Students i
know "something important is happening," —
according to faculty, as word has traveled >
about the Museum's efforts to involve them in
our research, education and outreach initia- J
tives throughout Pando. • -.
With this renewed interest, the university
reopened its natural history museum and has
since welcomed more than 2,000 visitors,
including school groups from across the river *
in Brazil. In addition, several Field Museum zoologists have led
short courses at the university on such topics as taxonomy,
biodiversity and how to collect and prepare Amazonian fishes.
''We are fortunate to have such strong resources in the
I States," said Phil Willink, a Field Museum
ichthyologist who taught one of the work-
shops. "The Pando students are hungry for
information and support, and it was a great
opportunity to visit with them." Other Field
Museum staff members may go to Pando this
year to lead additional trainings on exhibition
production and taxidermy.
I Field Museum ichthyolooisi Phil
i trains university students in Cob
a management.
FALL 2004 September-November
INTHEFIELDFEATURE
Tapestry Restoration the Experience of a Lifetime
Amy E. Cranch, Editor
Katheritie Ridgway
mends a massive
Japanese tapestry
made for the World's
Columbian Exposition
of 1893.
It was a 23 by 13 feet dream job for a textile conservator.
An enormous silk tapestry made for the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893,
and since then part of The Field Museum's anthropology collections, was restored this
past spring. The hand-stitched masterwork is the signature piece in an exhibition trav-
eling to Osaka, Tokyo and Nagoya on Japanese objects commissioned for three
19th-century expositions. Designed by Jinbe Kawashima of Japan's oldest and most
famous manufacturer of decorative fabrics, the tapestry depicts more than 1,500
men — each one's facial features, costumes and gestures distinctly different — partici-
pating in a religious festival at the temple of Nikko. Phoenixes, chrysanthemum blooms
and other plants intricately frame the lavish scene.
The weavers used a precise
and demanding technique in
which they filed their finger-
nails into a saw-toothed
pattern to press the fine sUk
threads into place. Despite
the tapestry's unmatched
craftsmanship, time and
human activity, such as dis-
playing it without protection
for 17 years, had caused Spy-
ing, stretching and tears and
holes. Once the Japanese
exhibition developers chose
the tapestry, the Museum s
conservation team had less
than four months to plan
and execute its comple.x
treatment.
Katherine Ridg%vay, the
team s manager, hsted some
logistical challenges they had
to work through: "What
room is big enough to
accommodate this large tapestry? Who can we
release fix>m other projects to focus on this? How
do we position the tapestry so that all areas can be
reached? How do we mend it without creating
more harm? It was quite overwhelming!"
To prepare the team, chief conservator Ruth
Norton led a course on repairing holes using sev-
eral stitching techniques. "The type of stitch and
the size and color of thread are critical to making a
mend that will support the original tapestry threads
and visually blend in," said Norton.
The first challenge was umoUing the tapestry
one section at a time so that the facade faced out-
ward and the center, suspended between tables,
could be accessed fixjm above and below.
Meticulous attention was paid to matching the
mending thread to the original color. Each section
had to be completely stabilized before the rolls
were undamped and the
tapestry was rotated to the
next section.
"Stitching down gold
thread was the most difficult
part," said conservator
Carolyn Powell. "It is hard to
see and even harder to repair
since the thread used for
mending it is about as thick
as a strand of human hair and
very slippery."
Once all the mending was
completed, the team unrolled
the entire tapestry onto a
plastic-covered floor with the
reverse side up to attach strips
f of fining that could be hung
I on a pole and bear the weight
^1 5 of suspension. Long basting
± stitches temporarily held the
^ strips in place, and since this
g required some walking on the
^ tapestry, protective sheets were
laid over the tapestry to distribute weight and pre-
vent the weave fix)m stretching. Then the tapestry
was rolled again with the facade facing outward,
and each lining piece was secured with 1 1 tows
of thread in the appropriate color.
Nearly everyone in the conservation department
worked on the tapestry at some point, even mem-
bers of an employee/volunteer handiwork club.
Tatsumi Brown, a volunteer who donated more
than 200 hours to the project, said, "I couldn't have
imagined a more rewarding volunteer opportunity
than working with professional conservators on a
gorgeous tapestry."
In the end, repairing this one artifact took rougjily
500 hours and a dozen people. Everyone agreed
that since this is the Museum s only large Japanese
tapestry, conserving it was an experience they will
likely never repeat at the Museum again. ITF
IN THE FIELD
YOURGUIDETOTHE FIELD
Calendar of Events for Fall 2004 September-November
Inside: E x h i b i t i o n s Festivals Family Programs Adult Programs
An Evening with
Isabel Allende
Join world-renowned author Isabel Allende as
she recounts a life of love, writing and years
spent in politically unstable South America.
Ailende's childhood — following her stepfa-
ther's diplomatic career through
Chile, Bolivia, Europe and the
Middle East — exposed her to a
range of cultures and politics that
shaped her extraordinary imagina-
tion. She'll share memorable
personal experiences, reflecting on
family relationships and the larger
societal and political forces that
shape our lives. She has written
numerous bestsellers, including The
House of the Spirits, which was made
into a major motion picture.
Monday, Oct. 25, 7pm
Reserved seats: $24, members $22
General admission: $20, members
$18, students /educators $15 (limited
supply
- ISABEL^'
S ALLENDEL-i^
JACQUELINE KENNEDY:
■^ THE WHITE HOUSE YEARS
Selections from the
JOHN F. KENNEDY LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
November 13, 2004-
May 8, 2005
Revisit an era of style
and grace to explore how
Jacqueline Kennedy's
taste, intelligence and
charisma influenced
American statesmanship
and diplomacy. More than
70 garments, along with
photographs, documents
and film clips, reveal
how the former first lady
carefully shaped her image
to reflect the vigor, ideals
and internationalism
of her husband's adminis-
tration.
An Afternoon with Robert Dallel<
Acclaimed historian and author Robert Daliek will examine critical issues rich in rele-
vance to our current domestic and international crises. Dallek's landmark biography
of President Kennedy, An Unfinished Life: John F. Kennedy 1917-1963, tells the dra-
matic story of his life and times, creating a vivid portrait of a bold, brave, human
Kennedy, once again a hero.
Saturday, Nov. 13, 2pm
Reserved seats: $28, members $26
General admission: $24, memiiers $22, students /educators $15 (limited supply)
This exhibition has been organized by The John F. Kennedy Library and Museum and The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
This exhibition is made possible through the generous support of The Grainger Foundation and Marshall Field's.
General Museum Information: 312.922.9410
Family and Adult Program Tickets and Information: 312.665.7400
Please note: Refunds will be issued by Field Museum staff, minus a $10 processing fee, for group and family overnights only. No
refunds or exchanges are permitted for any other programs. Fees for programs cancelled by The Field Museum will be refunded in full.
FALL 2004 September— November
Your Guide to the Field: Calendar of Events for Fall 2004 September-November
Explore the fascinating history
of Machu Picchu.
r
d out more about this
of history through these dynamic programs. Call
'^ " " " Trough Feb. 13, 2005.
Machu Picchu: UnveiJing the Mvsterv of the Incas was organi?ed by the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History.
Presented by SAP
The exhibition is made possible by support from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Nationai Science Foundation, the Connecticut Humanities Council, Yale University,
and the Heritage Wark Foundation.
Family Programs
Performance
Machu Picchu
Hear the enchanting music of Peru! Come listen to the band
Machu Picchu perform traditional Peruvian music, and
learn how the environment has shaped the beautiful and
vibrant sounds of this South American country.
Saturday, Oct. 16, 12:30pm
Free with Museum admission
-4.j^
Workshop
Traditions of the Incas
This fascinating workshop series explores the daily life of
the Incas. Make your own knotted quipu, learn about the
ancient use of archaeoastronomy, examine Incan mummifi-
cation practices, and discover the enchanting mythology
and craftsmanship of Inca culture.
Families with children ages 6—12
Saturdays, Oct. 30-Nou 20, 10-1 1:30am
Each workshop: $15, members $12
Workshop series (four classes): $45, members $36
sg
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UJ cc
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■JS^^T*
8 ! IN THE FIELD CALENDAR
General Museum Information: 312.922.9410; Family and Adult Program Tickets and Information: 312.665.7400
Adult Programs
Course
People of the Andes
Robin Coleman, Northwestern University
Examine the sacred traditions that have shaped — and
continue to shape — the lives of the Andean people. You'll
discover the cities, culture and fascinating rituals of the Inca
Empire within a historical context.
Tuesdays, Oct. 19-Nov. 9, 6:30-8:30pm
$70, members $60
Lectures
Lecture Series: Andean Civilizations
Presenters include Jonathan Haas, Donna Nash and
Patrick Ryan WiUiams,TFM Anthropology Dept.
Checl< vvww.fieldmuseum.org for a complete list of presenters.
Interested in learning more about this remarkable ancient
culture? Meet Field Museum experts and their colleagues
who are studying the long, complex history of Andean
civilization. Each week will feature a
different scientist who is dissecting
important cultural elements of different
time periods in the dynamic history of
this South American people.
Fridays, Oct. 8— Dec. 3, 2pm
Free with Museum
admission
An Evening with the Curators
Dr Richard L. Burger and Dt Lucy Salazar,
Yale Peabody Museum
Get a rare glimpse of the ancient global wonder Machu Picchu
through the eyes of the exhibition developers. Learn about the
research and commitment behind this magnificent exhibition,
and enjoy an exhibition walk-through prior to the public opening.
Tliursday, Oct. 14, 6pm
$16, students /educators $14, members $12
Excavating the Andes
Dr. Maria Cecelia Lozada,
University of Chicago
Discover Dr. Lozada's unique research
in bioarchaeology in the history-rich sites
of the Andes, and the invaluable insights
it provides on pre-Columbian Andean
lifestyles.
Thursday, Nov. 20, 1:30pm
$16, students /educators $14, members $12
FALL 2004 September- November 9
Family Workshops
Bring Yourself Up To Street-Level:
An Immersive Workshop in Video Storytelling
Learn the art of video storytelling, and take your cues from the pros!
Experts from Street-Level Youth Media will guide you through an expio
ration of the Urban Expressions exhibition, and then help you write and
tape your own short narrative.
FiViiilies with children ages 8—16
Saturday, Sept. 25, 10-11 :30atn (for 8- to IZ-year-olds),
l-2:30pni (for 13- to 16-year-olds)
$15, members $12
©CAROL BECKWITH/ANGELA FISHER
Lectures
NATIONAL M ■» ^ #
GEOGRAPHIC » mm Jj^" m
Faces of Africa
Carol Bcckwith and Angela Fisher, Authors
Join these renowned photographers and writers on a
voyage through the circle of African life as they celebrate
the release of their new book. Faces of Africa, a follow up
to their visual masterpiece African Ceremonies. You'll get a
rare glimpse into their personal perspectives of 30 years of
work on the African continent — a journey that has taken
them more than 270,000 miles on foot, camelback, mule
train, dugout canoe and four-wheel-drive vehicle to Africa's
remotest corners.
Tlmrsday, Sept. 23, 7:30pin
Reserved scats: $30, iiicwbers $28
General admission: $24, members $22, students /educators S15
(limited supply)
Below is a calendar of current and upcoming temporary exhibitions. Some dates may change.
Visit our website at www.fieldmuseum.org or call 312.922.9410 as the date of your visit nears.
Machu Picchu: Unveiling the Mystery of the Incas
October 15, 2004-February 13, 2005
Jacqueline Kennedy: The White House Years —
Selections from the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum
November 13, 2004-May 8, 2005
Family Overnight
Cultural Connections
Dozin' with the Dinos
Sue the T. rex is having a sleepover! Join us for a night of family
worl<shops, tours and performances. Explore ancient Egypt by
flashlight, prowl an African savannah w/ith man-eating lions and
take a stroll through the Royal Palace in Bamun, Africa. Then
spread your sleeping bag amid some of our
most popular exhibitions. The event
includes an evening snack and a light
breakfast in the morning.
Families with children a^cs 6—12
5:45pm on Saturday, Nov. 21
until 9am on Sunday, Nou 28
$47, members $40
CATHRYN C SCOTT/GN90451 1 5C
Narratives: Doorways to Our Communities
Narratives — such as murals, dance and storytelling — educate,
entertain and help shape and maintain a community's rules and
values. They often depict social and historical topics or examine
the human condition. Throughout the 2004-2005 program year,
visit the city's diverse cultural museums for different perspectives
on how we tell stories. The kickoff event at The Field Museum
will feature live performances and ethnic foods.
Kickoff on Tuesday, Sept. 21, 6— 8:30pm
Register through 3 12. 665. 7474
Adult Course
Fieldtrip
Ancient Egypt: Hieroglyphs and History
Tom Mudlojf, Hgyptologist
Unlock the secrets of the past as you develop a basic knowledge
of the remarkable language of ancient Egypt. You'll study the
hieroglyphic language and explore
actual hieroglyphic records
historic events. Beginners
welcome, but be prepared
to do some homework!
Class limited to 20
people.
Wednesdays, Sept. 29-
Nov. 3, 6-8:30pm
$85, members $72
The Great Hawk IVIigration
Alan .Anderson. Audubon Society
Investigate the migration of diurnal hawks at Illinois Beach
State Park — one of Illinois' top hawk-watching sites. Observe
how experts watch and record the migrations of such hawks as
buteos, falcons, accipiters and more. You'll also visit Middlefork
Savanna Forest Preserve, an excellent spot for viewing ducks,
shorebirds and grassland birds.
Saturday, Oct. 16, 8:30am— 3pm
S60, members $50
Splendors of China's Forbidden City:
The Glorious Reign of Emperor Qianlong
Through September 12
Night Visions: The Secret Designs of Moths
Through January 9, 2005
Symposium
A Dream Deferred: Remembering
Haiti's Revolution, Exploring Its
Future
Dr. Lisa Brock, Columbia College; Dr
Jewima Pierre, VIC; Michelle Agins,
Photographer; and Michael Bracey,
Photographer
Explore the dramatic history of the Haitian Revolution. Along
with the Harold Washington Cultural Arts Center, the Museum
will commemorate the bicentennial anniversary of Haiti's indepen-
dence with a slate of lectures, performances and screenings. The
afternoon will bring Haitian writers and scholars together to
discuss work by and about them, as well as the economic and
social factors that shape life in Haiti.
Saturday, Oct. 23, 1 i:30am-4pm
$16, members $14, students /educators $12
Check wuw.Jieldntuseum.org for a complete program schedule.
An Evening with Ladysmith Black Mambazo
This legendary band has inspired people throughout the world
with its captivating harmonies and interpretations of tradi-
tional South African culture. The event celebrates 10
years of South African democracy, and proceeds go
toward Shared Interest, a not-for-profit social invest-
ment fund that catalyzes social and economic change
in South Africa. Join the pre-concert reception to
learn about this valuable organization.
Tuesday, OctAl9'
Rcccpridn 6:30pin. coiurn 7:30pm
Coa.rrt only: $5U in advnmc (312.665.7400), or $60
<n !lic ihor
Rarprion and concert: S150. Tickets auailable through
infoia^haredint^rest.org.
Between Past and Future:
New Photography and Video from China
At the Museum of Contemporary Art and the Smart Museum
Don't miss this major exhibition featuring contemporary photogr
phy and video from China. Ambitious in scale and experimental i
nature, the work included in this groundbrea
ing project offers a range of highly
individual responses to the unprece-
dented changes in China's economi
~--^ social and cultural life in the pas
decade.
Oa. 2, 2004-Jan. 16. 2005
This exhibition is co-organized and circulated
the David and Alfred Smart Museum of Art,
University of Chicago, and the International
Center of Photography, New York, in collabor
tion v^ith the Asia Society, New York, and the
Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago.
Urban Expressions: Young Voices, New Technologies
Through January 17, 2005
Treasures of the Americas: Selections From the Anthropology
Collections of The Field Museum
Through May 30, 2005
Special Programs to Enhance
Your Exhibition Experience
Jacqueline Kennedy: The White House Years — Selections
from the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum
Screening of film PT 109
Check out this suspenseful, fact-based 1963 drama
about the youthful John F. Kennedy and his wartime
experiences, including the sinking of the PT boat he was
captaining.
Second Saturday and Sunday of
every month from
Dec. U-May 8 1:30pm
(Running time: 2 lirs. 20 min.)
Free until Museum admission
Lecture
Defining Style: Jacqueline Kennedy's White
House Years
Hamish Boti'les, European Editor-at-Larqe ofVogue
Investigate Mrs. Kennedy's enthralling approach to style.
Bowles, a guest curator of the exhibition, will explore how the
first lady carefully shaped her image to convey her primary
interests and concerns. Learn how her style extended beyond her
wardrobe as she used her passion for the arts and history to ele-
vate American culture.
Wednesday, Dec. 1, 7pm
Reserved seats: $ 24, members $22
General admission: $20, members $18, students /educators $15
(limited quantity)
New Hall of Dinosaurs
Behind the Scenes
Discovering the New Dinosaur Hall
Richard Kissel and Todd J. Tubutis, TFM Exiiibitions Dcpt.
Where have all the dinosaurs gone? Witness the evolution of our
new exhibition, opening in 2006, that will tell the history of life
on Earth. Designers and content specialists will give you a
behind-the-scenes look at models, drawings and designs.
For famiUes with children ages 6—12: Friday, Oct. 22, 6— 8pm
Adults: Saturday, Oct. 23, 10am— noon
$15, members $12
The renovation of Life Over Time is made possible, in part, with support from the illinois
Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, the U.S. Department of Housing and
Urban Development, the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Department of Education.
Night Visions: The Secret Designs of Moths
Behind the Scenes
Moths and Butterflies
Look closely at the enchanting diversity found in moths.
Decipher the differences between moths and butterflies with
an expert on Lepidoptera, the order in which these vibrant
insects are found.
For families with children ages 6-12: Friday, Nof. 5, 6-
Adults: Saturday, Nov. 6, lOam-nooii
'$15, members $12
8pm
Witness luminous creatures and
stunning artifacts.
Night Visions:
The Secret
Designs of Moths
Tliroiii^h January 9, 2005 **
Discover the surprising beauty of these night
creatures through stunning, larger-than-life images
that reveal secrets rarely visible to the naked eye.
This exhibition was developed by The Field Museum in collaboration with Joseph Scheer.
Urban Expressions:
Young Voices, New
Technologies
Tiirough January 17, 2005
See and hear first-hand accounts of young
Chicagoans reflecting on urban life.
This exhibition was developed by Street-Level Youth Media in collaboration
with The Field Museum.
Grand Reopening:
Pawnee Earth Lodge
Opens Sept. 7, 2004, in its new location in the
Native American exhibition lialls
Explore this full-scale reconstruction of a traditional
Pawnee dv\/elling. The new lodge will examine the
history of the Pawnee people and explore issues that
21st-century Native Americans face.
^^jiifl
isitor inrormation
Getting Here: Soldier Field's parking garage is open across the street from
our main entrance. Visit www.fieldmuseum.org for the latest information on new
parl<ing lots/rates, free trolleys and public transit.
Hours: 9am-5pm daily. Last admission at 4pm.
Admission and Tickets: Member passes can be reserved through the membership department
(312.665.7705) or picked up at the membership services desk. For non-members, The Field
Museum's new gold pass, which includes general admission plus one special exhibition, ranges in
price from $7 to $17, depending on your age category and whether you are a Chicago resident.
Please bring your ID to receive the appropriate ticket price.
Tickets are available at the Museum's admission desks, or in advance via www.fieldmuseum.org
or 866. FIELD. 03. For all admission and ticket details, visit vwwv.fieldmuseum.org.
Accessibility: Visitors using wheelchairs or strollers may be dropped off at the west entrance.
Handicapped parking and wheelchairs are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Call
312.665.7400 to check on the accessibility of programs that take place outside of the Museum.
Information: 312.922.9410 orwww.fieldmuseum.org
rfor their long-stanrfing, generous support of the Museum through the Chicago f
irtment of Cultural Affairs and the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency.
T ^fcc^Vdafice with Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972, we do not discriminate on the basis of sex in our progr;
iUe !X Coordinator in the human resources department, 312.665.7271.
IN THE FIELD CALENDAR
SCIENTIST'SPICK
RprKP;^tinn;5l Rpsp;^i^rh
MARK WIDHALM/Z94408 02D
It's a fish-eat-fish world. Each year about 3,200 tenacious anglers and 100,000 spectators
descend upon Dauphin Island for the Alabama Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo. Participants
compete for the biggest catch in more than 30 categories, including king mackerel, tarpon,
shark and "most unusual."
A stingray from ihc rodeo
that's now part of the
Musewn collections (left);
rodeo spectators (inset).
"The fishermen aren't interested in keeping what they can't eat," said Phil Wiilink, PhD,
a collections manager in The Field Museum's fish division. That's good news for scientific
opportunists. No occasions exist beyond this rodeo in which researchers can obtain such
numbers and diversity of fishes from the Gulf of Mexico.
Dr. Wiilink and Eric Hilton, PhD, a post-doctoral research scientist who studies the skele-
tons of live and fossil fishes, attended the tournament to replenish the Museum's Gulf
collections, last updated in the 1950s, and gather specimens for research and education
programs and events. Making the Dauphin Island Sea Lab their home, they prepared
enough remarkable finds to fill five barrels. Dr. Willink's prize discovery was an inch-long
stingray spine lodged in the upper lip of a 343-pound bull shark.
Coincidentally, Dr. Wiilink is part of a cross-disciplinary team studying the use of stingray
spines in Maya bloodletting rituals. Stingray toxins can cause tissue necrosis, even death.
Since the Maya likely knew the dangers, the team's research, co-authored by Helen Haines,
PhD, of the Museum's anthropology department, hypothesizes that the spines were used
specifically in severe or intense rituals. In other words, the more grave the situation neces-
sitating the ritual, such as political instability, the greater the devotion, and hence the risks,
to attract the gods. Further research is in the works.
FALL 2004 Scptcmher-Wnrmhci
15
INTHEFIELDFEATURE
Forest Tales of a Brazilian Graduate Student
Ana Carolina Carnaval, PhD Candidate, Department of Zoology
I couldn't avoid laughing when my guide screamed after his flashlight illuminated the
foot-long female Labyrinth frog I had been searching for since dusk. After all, Severino
had been specially designated to protect me during my nightly herpetological expedi-
tions in northeastern Brazil.
Hylomantis granulosa
I had arrived at that sugarcane plantation a few days
earlier. Dr. Jose Guilherme, the landlord, skeptically
asked what a young carioca like me (a native of Rio
de Janeiro) was doing in such a remote area of
Brazil. I explained that I was pursuing a doctorate
degree from the University of Chicago Committee
on Evolutionary Biology and The Field Museum,
and was searching for field sites in the 5,000-acre
forest fragment that still remained amid his sugar-
cane fields. Amused with my unusual request to set
up camp and catch frogs at night. Dr. Guilherme
arranged for a pick-up truck to take me and two
other Brazilian biologists to a nearby forest site. He
also told me to find a local sugarcane worker to
help as a bodyguard and guide. That's how I met
Severino, a kind, quiet plantation employee who
was wise enough to ensure my safety but, as I found
out, absolutely terrified of frogs!
Forest fragmentation, frogs and DNA
Severino's story is just one unforgettable memory
I have from my research experiences. Since 1999,
under the orientation of Field Museum associate
curator and chairman of the zoology department.
John Bates, PhD, I have been
studying frogs from northeastern
Brazil's endangered Atlantic rain-
forest. Strongly affected by
environmental changes, amphib-
ians are important models for
ecological and evolutionary stud-
ies and invaluable indicators of ecosystem health.
Additionally, some amphibian populations are
declining worldwide, motivating further studies of
this group. Working in the Neotropics reflects not
only my background, but also a desire to generate
new information about this hugely diverse, yet
poorly known region.
The Atlantic rainforest lies along the coast of
Brazil. Home to nearly 22,000 species of plants and
tetrapods (four-legged animals) — 9,000 of which
occur nowhere else on the planet — it ranks among
the world's top priority areas for conservation.
Sadly, human activities such as logging and road
building have severely fragmented the area, and
today's remnants barely add up to 8 percent of its
original extent. Approximately 350 species of frogs
and toads inhabit this biodiversity hotspot, roughly
300 of which are endemic to the region.
One of my main goals is to assess the effects of
long- and short-term habitat fragmentation on the
genetic structure of BraziUan amphibians. I collect
two species of frogs in both human-made forest
fragments that are less than 500 years old, and in
older, naturally isolated forests within a semi-arid
IN THE FIELD
region known as the Caatinga. I harvest a small
amount of tissue for biochemical analyses from each
of the 10 to 20 individual frogs I gather per site. The
tissue samples can be taken from either the liver,
which is removed after the animal is anesthetized
and sacrificed, or from the tip of a toe, after which
the frog is immediately released back into its natural
habitat. Toe-clipping works well because small cuts
heal rapidly, allowing field biologists to distinctively
mark each individual for future identification.
Thanks to permits issued by the Brazilian and
US governments, I do all my genetic analyses
in The Field Museum's Pritzker Laboratory for
Molecular Systematics and Evolution. By comparing
low genetic variability is the result of natural
processes that occurred before humans arrived, such
as forests retracting in response to climate change.
New friends in the field
An exciting aspect of being a student here is that
my field and laboratory work can extend beyond
my doctoral thesis. My trips to previously unknown
forest sites have yielded new frog species that I am
now describing, and I am able to train Brazilian
undergraduate and graduate students in field tech-
niques and herpetology. Most rewarding are my
experiences of meeting and learning from the
simple rural people that live near my sampling
iliiieata
DNA sequences of frogs from different forest frag-
ments, I can study how genetically distinct and
diverse each population is. For instance, my work
on the ground-dweller frog Proceratophrys boiei has
shown that each of the seven sampled populations
in northeastern Brazil is genetically unique. Some
of these frog populations have been isolated from
each other (not exchanging migrants) for thousands
of years. Therefore, if conservation efforts were chan-
neled toward protecting only a few populations, we
could lose others that are genetically distinct and
hence reduce overall diversity in this species.
Another interesting result of my work is that
frogs in naturally isolated forests within the
Caatinga show significantly lower levels of genetic
variability compared to those in human-made
fragments. These populations have become inbred,
which could affect their long-term survival. Their
sites — people like Severino and his family.
When I first started my fieldwork, the local chil-
dren were shy and the elder village men couldn't
understand why I had left my family to spend
months in the forest looking for frogs. In these rural
communities, women are often raised to take care
of their relatives, husband and children. Today my
returns are cheerful, and the children can't wait to
help me find tadpoles. With a mix of pride and sad-
ness, one of my field guides just told me he decided
to support his daughter's wish to move to the near-
est village. "She wants to go to school to become a
lawyer," he said, "or a doctor, just like you. Ana."
Then he added, "Perhaps one day she will help you
save this forest from being logged. " I smiled. I know
my work alone isn't enough to change the environ-
mental and social scenario of Brazil's rural areas.
But it's a start. ITF
Ana Carnaval with her
field assistants in
Maranhao (top), and with
Jaciel and Toni, local chil-
dren from Rcserm Fret
Caneca (bottom).
ANA CAROLINA CARNAVAL
FALL 2004 Seplcmhcr-Soi'cmhcr ^!l7;;f)
OFSPECIALINTEREST
In Full View: New Lab Visible to Public
If you had 1.2 million things in your house, how would you take care of them?
Re^ensteiti Laboratory
consermtors will work oti
such nrtifacts as this bowl
from the north coast of
Papua New Guinea.
JOHN WEINSTEIN/An4365.01D
A new 1 ,600-square-foot facility, the Regenstein
Laboratory, is now open in Trauclini^ the Pacific. As
with the McDonald's Fossil Preparation Laboratory,
visitors can observe our anthropology
conservators and collec-
tions staff working on
artifacts from all over
the world. The lab also
displays objects from the
Pacific Islands and explains
key tenets of managing
anthropology collections.
"The Regenstein
Laboratory provides needed con
servation space to accommodate
our expanding collections," said John
Edward Terrell, curator of Pacific anthro
pology. "It also brings work that is normally
performed behind the scenes to our guests so they
can see the depth of what we do to take care of our
treasured collections."
A permanent display case includes such splendid
things as a necklace and armband that George
Dorsey, one of the Museum's first anthropologists,
purchased in 1908 from a South Seas
plantation director, and a
crocodile-shaped canoe
prow that honors the spirit
world.
Visitors can also learn
about the Museum's four-phase
process for collections: registra-
tion, which involves recording
detailed descriptions of each object
and how we obtained it; conservation,
such as how we treat damaged items;
management, which includes how artifacts
are housed, organized and handled; and use.
Few people know that The Field Museum exhibits
less than 1 percent of its collections. The rest is
available for study, or to loan out for research and
public exhibitions done elsewhere.
icm Structures in Macro View
Field Museum scientists are seeing unseen worlds with new laboratory instruments that
keep them at the head of research and swiftly changing technology.
An SEM ima(;e of the
underside of a croton leaf.
Magnifying surfaces 10 to 200,000 times Hfe-size,
the new scanning electron microscope (SEM)
creates 3-D images that reveal levels of detail and
complexity impossible
to acquire with
conventional light
microscopes. It has
the largest chamber
available for viewing
sizeable specimens and
objects, such as skele-
tons or fossil plants,
and it can analyze
an object's elemental
composition by mea-
suring the X-rays that
are emitted from the
sample. In one project, archaeologists are studying
Inca metal objects to determine what alloys the
Inca used in different parts of their empire.
Funded in part by the National Science
Foundation (NSF), an upcoming elemental analysis
facility will house a plasma mass spectrometer that
complements the SEM and a geochemistry labora-
tory used to examine meteorites and terrestrial
rocks. With speed, accuracy and minimal destruc-
tion, this spectrometer can evaluate more than 30
trace elements at once, often at the level of parts
per billion. It etches a micro-thin line with a laser,
allowing different components of one ceramic, such
as the paste, paints and slip, to be tested individually
and compared to other sources.
Another NSF grant has helped purchase an
additional automated DNA sequencer, tripling the
Pritzker Laboratory's capacity to accommodate the
more than 60 Museum and visiting scientists who
use it annually in their molecular biology and
systematic studies. Former methods were tedious
and time-consuming, but automated sequencers
are faster and yield longer DNA sequences than
previous methods. The sequencer and its attached
computer both analyze and store the data, decreas-
ing the likelihood of inaccuracies, and increasing
scientists' ability to understand and preserve
Earth's tremendous diversity of life from the
genetic level up.
18
IIM THE FIELD
OFSPECIALINTEREST
Get An Early Jump on Children's Holiday
Celebration Tickets
The Field Museum's holiday season begins Thursday, Dec. 2 when The Women's Board
hosts its annual Children's Holiday Celebration. Children of all ages are invited to
explore and celebrate the diverse cultures of Chicago and the world through crafts,
stories and entertainment at this festive event.
Hear holiday favorites performed by the Stu Hirsh Orchestra, marvel at the gravity-defying Jesse White
Tumblers and enjoy the grace of the Ballet Chicago Studio Company. Delicious food, special appearances
by such favorite characters as Ronald McDonald and a visit with Santa Claus will create a memorable
afternoon.
Reservations are limited and tickets will not be sold at the door. For tickets or further information call
312.665.7145.
The Women's Board thanks Sears, Roebuck and Co. for its generous support of this event.
Donor Groups Support Museum's Science
Kate Porick, Writer
A South African student uses The Field Museum's labs to assemble
DNA data on a poorly known group of birds. An anthropology
curator leads fervent collectors through rows of ancient pottery.
An ethnographer tells stories about working in Chicago's diverse
neighborhoods. If you are interested in these activities, or support-
ing the science behind them, join one of The Field Museum's special
interest donor groups.
The Council on Africa brings African and Malagasy culture and biology to you,
while supporting Field Museum research on the continent and training for its next
generation of scientists. Up to 10 African students visit the Museum each year to
learn and assemble data for their graduate school applications or dissertations.
"They don't have access to the same resources in their homeland," said John Bates, chair of the zoology
department. "Their stays here empower them to become better scientists and strengthen the relationship
between Africans and Malagasy and the Museum."
Education, housing, health care, the environment and leadership are critical issues faced by communities
everywhere. The Center for Cultural Understanding and Change (CCUC) Council brings together
CCUC curators and constituents, community activists, government officials and others who value cultural
differences. "The world is getting smaller by the moment. This council will help us better understand how
we're all connected, and how to appreciate and support cultural diversity," said Laura Washington, a board
member and co-chair of the CCUC Council.
Imagine visiting the glittering church of Santo Domingo in Oaxaca, Mexico, attending the opening of
the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian or delving into the anthropology depart-
ment's storerooms. Members of the Cultural Collections Committee (CCC) participate in extraordinary
events like these annually. "As an avid collector myself, the CCC teaches me about the objects I love and
how to care for them," said Kathleen Rummel, a member of the CCC. "And I can learn about the
Museum's e.xceptional collections, or travel for a private look at other collections."
Other member organizations include the Field Associates, which gathers young professionals to support
education initiatives, and the Friends of the Field Museum Library, which raises money to preserve and
enrich the library's collections that are central to the Museum's research and education mission. New groups
are continuously forming, including one dedicated to the botany department's collections and research.
Wherever your passions lie, join a Field Museum donor group for distinctive opportunities to grow as
an individual while contributing financially to science. For more information, call 312.665.7130.
The Council on Africa
supports such activities
as training Congolese
students on how to
identify the region's
small mammals.
FALL 2004 Svpiiiiih,'r-\\^irii:hn
19
FROMTHE ARCHIVES
Louis Agassiz Fuertes — A Rare Bird Himself
Secretary bird,
Sagittarius serpentarius
Siijata Rdiii Singhal, Writer
"Louis Agassiz Fuet-tes was an artist, sensitive, ardent, impetuous, full of almost boyish
enthusiasm..."
This statement by Wilfred Hudson Osgood, a former curator and chair of The Field
Museum's zoology department, sums up the preeminent bird illustrator of the 20th cen-
tury. Intensely interested in the natural sciences since childhood, Louis Agassiz Fuertes
(1874-1927) taught himself the art of illustration by studying John James Audubon's
monumental Birds of America. He imitated Audubon's meticulous sense of detail and
depiction of birds in their natural habitats, eventually surpassing Audubon in his ability
to freely illustrate what he observed.
won the backing of Osgood,
Museum president Stanley Field,
and the Chicago Daily News.
Osgood led the expedition, the first
of its kind by a modern museum to
Abyssinia.
Unfortunately, Fuertes' luggage
never arrived in Abyssinia. Adjusting
to borrov^'ed clothing and equipment,
he still fervently collected and pre-
pared his specimens during the day,
and sketched and painted at night by
lantern light with an unfamiHar kit
he had purchased in Addis Ababa.
His genius rose to the occasion, as
SecTicroTM/Bi** jjg Qfjgjj finished each watercolor
within an hour.
"The change Fuertes brought to
bird illustration arose fham his ability
to render what the eye actually sees,
not what the mind expects to see or
thinks it sees," said Ben Williams, the
1 Museum's head librarian. So acute
were his observations and memory
that he could accurately paint a scene years after he
saw it, yet his impressionistic artistry was never lost
in the details.
Osgood hired Fuertes as a collector rather than
an artist, which meant that Fuertes owned what
he created. In a sad twist of fate, this fact saved
Fuertes' family from losing the art when he died
shortly after the expedition in a train-automobile
accident. C. Suydam Cutting, a wealthy volunteer
member of the expedition, purchased 115 Abyssinia
paintings and drawings ft-om Fuertes' widow and
donated them to The Field Museum. Selections
from the collection still grace the walls of the
library's Mary W. Runnells Rare Book Room.
Tlie Friends ofllie Field Museum Library supports
the developmettt of its natural history research materials
and enjoys special programs on such topics as how to
collect and consent rare books. To join, write
library_Jriends^ieldmuseum.org, or call 312.665. 7137.
jnar.
Fuertes' skills eventually brought requests to join
expeditions for the American Museum of Natural
History and the National Museum of Natural
History (the Smithsonian), among others. His most
notable work was done on a Chicago Daily News-
Field Museum expedition to Abyssinia (now
Ethiopia) in 1926 and 1927. By that time, Fuertes
had established a new standard in ornithological
illustration. Many people consider the fruits of this
expedition — his longest, farthest and last — to be the
essence of a career that spanned more than 30
years.
James E. Baum, a wealthy Chicago writer, con-
cocted the trip. He wrote in a letter to Fuertes: "If
a man should come to you and ask, 'What is the
strangest country in the world today? Where is
the bird life the most curious and plentifial?'
you would unquestionably answer both by one
word — Abyssinia." Baum and Fuertes successftiUy
IN THE FIELD
MEMBERSHIP/ ANNUALFUNDNEWS
Private Viewings of Jacqueline Kennedy Exhibition
Annual Fund Preview
Sunday, Nov. 7. For information, visit www.fieldmuseum.org/annualfund, call 312.665.7777 or email
annualfund@fieldmuseum.org.
Membership Previews
Monday, Nov. 8 (llam-10pm);Tuesday, Nov. 9 and Wednesday, Nov. 10 (9am-10pm); Sunday, Nov. 14 and
Sunday, Nov. 28 (5-1 0pm).
How to Get Tickets Beyond the Previews
Since we anticipate a high demand for tickets throughout the exhibition's run, we encourage you to
reserve advance tickets. The tickets you use for the members-only previews (dates above) will be subtracted
from the total number of free passes you may obtain during regular public hours. Family members can
receive up to four passes, and senior, student, individual and National Affiliate members get two passes.
For tickets, call 312.665.7705, or stop by the membership services desk while supplies last. For general
membership information, call 312.665.7700.
Hotel Packages for Family and Friends
Do you have out-of-town guests interested in seeing Jacqueline Kennedy: The White
House Years? They'll receive non-timed, non-dated tickets if they stay at one of our
wonderful hotel partners below. See the Planning Your Visit section of www.fieldmu-
seum.org/jkennedy for hotel phone numbers and package details.
Chicago City Centre
Holiday Inn
Chicago's Essex Inn
Days Inn Lincoln Park North
The Drake Hotel
Fairfield Inn and Suites
The Fairmont
Four Seasons
Hilton Chicago
Hotel 71
Hotel Burnham
Millennium Knickerbocker
Palmer House Hilton
The Raphael
Ritz Carlton
Swissotel Chicago
Tremont Hotel
Whitehall Hotel
New Select Series Offers Ultimate
Jac queline Kennedy Experience
Hear a lecture by an esteemed Kennedy expert, see the exhibition, shop in our
specialty store and enjoy a cocktail reception featuring menus inspired by the
former first lady's White House events — all in one day! The Field IVIuseum's new
Select Series lets you purchase general admission tickets for $110 or reserved
seats for $120. Tables of 10 are available. Call the special events department
at 312.665.7600.
/
An Afternoon with
Robert Dallel<
Acclaimed Historian and Author
Saturday, Nop. 13
Lecture 2— 3:30pm, exhibition viewing 4-6pm,
reception 5:30— 7pm
Defining Style: Jacqueline Kennedy's
White House Years
Hamish Bowles,
European Editor- at-large qfVogue
Wednesday, Dec. i
Exhibition viewing 4— 6pm, reception
5:30-7pm, lecture 7— 8:30pm
If you're unable to attend a Select Series event, discounted rates are available for groups of 15 or more to
see the exhibition only. Call the group sales department at 312.665.7300.
JFK LIBRARY FOUNDATION
FALL 2004 Seplemher-November
21
1
Rebuilding Your Museum
The Field Museum is unlocl<ing more doors to fun and learning.
A new entrance is opening on the Museum's east side this fall. Partly necessi
tated by reconfigurations to Museum Campus that followed the renovation of
Soldier Fields the entrance primarily will serve the 300,000 schoolchildren that
annually make a Museum pilgrimage, as well as guests with special needs and
strollers. Flowing into the heart of the Museum, the entrance provides a straighter
route to key amenities, while
also linking visitors more
directly to our Museum
Campus neighbors.
The new entrance, designed
in keeping with the original
neo-Classical architecture,
was funded in part with a $5
million grant from the Illinois
Department of Commerce
and Economic Opportunity.