National Museum Research Articles

Species Identification of Inuit Skin and Fur Clothing: Analyses of DNA, Hair Microscopy, and Macroscopical Identification

From approximately 1830 to 1940, through various expeditions to Siberia, Arctic North America, and Greenland, and through donations, the National Museum of Denmark acquired its collection of historical Inuit skin clothing. Unfortunately, original provenance information has been lost for 14% of the garments. In order to document the extensive collection, this study investigates three methods for species identification of animal skin: microscopy of hair, macroscopic identification, and DNA validation. Thus, the present study has two aims: first, to optimise and test hair microscopy for species identification by validating identifications by DNA analyses, and second, to use species identification to estimate the geographic and cultural provenance of Inuit skin clothing. Based on a dataset of well-documented clothing (for positive controls), this study describes an optimised species identification protocol via hair microscopy using transmitted light microscopy (TLM). We demonstrate that the TLM hair protocol is a reliable and inexpensive alternative to molecular approaches when macroscopic identification is doubtful and DNA validation or protein analyses are impossible. In this study we used photomicrographs to document the identifications of caribou (Rangifer tarandus), musk ox (Ovibos moschatus), species of the true seal family (Phocidae), domestic dog (Canis lupus familiaris), wolf (Canis lupus), Arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus), polar bear (Ursus maritimus), wolverine (Gulo gulo), ground squirrel (Urocitellus parryii richardsonii), ermine (Mustela erminea), and cattle (Bos taurus); these identifications can be used for future reference. We conclude that species identification analyses secure the documentation of garments and allow most objects to be contextualized by culture and geography. The studied garments are accessible at the museum website.

Aristotel, Organon, Veneția, Baptista de Tordis, 1484: de la incunabulul din Biblioteca Brukenthal la primele comentarii de logică în limba siriacă

The Brukenthal National Museum Library hosts an impressive collection of incunabula, one of them being Aristotle’s Organon, Venice, Baptista de Tordis, 1484. Initially, the book belonged to ‘The Chapel Library’ (Kapellenbibliothek), a library founded in the fourteenth century, and was transferred to the Brukenthal Library in 1879. One of the first scholars who wrote a commentary about Aristotle’s Organon – to be more precise: only on Categories – in Syriac language was Sergius of Resh’ayna, a sixth century physician and priest who studied in Alexandria. Sergius wrote two commentaries, but he did not translate the texts from Greek to Syriac simply because his audience, native in Syriac, had good knowledge of Greek. Later, when the contacts between Mesopotamia and the Late Roman Empire/Byzantium had decreased, original Aristotelian texts had to be translated into Syriac, because the local elites were not able to understand Greek. Such being the case, the translators played a major role, and two of them were Jacob of Edessa – he himself a bishop –, and George ‘the bishop of the Arabs’, who were active at the end of the seventh century and at the beginning of the eighth century.

BIBLIOTECA REGELUI FERDINAND DE LA PALATUL COTROCENI

The Cotroceni Palace was the permanent residence of the princely and then royal family Ferdinand and Marie. From the beginning of construction, the library was furnished in the French Henry IInd style and paneled in elm wood. Over time, the interior aspect of the library has not changed radically, housing a rich collection of books, as can be seen from the inventories made within this royal residence in the years 1930, 1938 and 1948. Prince and later King Ferdinand was anaccomplished book lover, passionate about botany, which he dealt with with the skill of a specialist, spending a lot of the free time he had at his disposal, in the library, to arrange his herbariumconstitutedas a result of his travels through the mountains, to Sinaia, on the Danube or after walks through the parks of the royal residences. After the death of King Ferdinand, the library continued to be used by Queen Marie, and later, after her death (1938) and then after the forced abdication of King Mihai and the establishment of the communist regime, the Cotroceni Palace suffered great destruction and the alienation of the heritage, including books from the royal library. The transformation of the Cotroceni Palace into the Palace of the Pioneers caused the interventions to change the interior appearance of the sumptuous royal halls, the library retaining its appearance from the royal period, but becoming a space for the political-ideological training of students and young people. After the restoration of the palace and the establishment of the Cotroceni National Museum, the library became part of the permanent exhibition, a space of spirituality, which exudes an atmosphere of sobriety that can only be found in the offices of great researchers and lovers of science.

Crocodile Rock! A Bioarchaeological Study of Ancient Egyptian Reptile Remains from the National Museum of Lithuania

Remnants of what was believed to be a single baby crocodile, originating from ancient Egypt and curated in the National Museum of Lithuania, have been recently assessed using noninvasive and nondestructive techniques. These had been donated in 1862 to the then Museum of Antiquities by the prominent Polish-Lithuanian collector Count Michał Tyszkiewicz. After careful investigation of the three mummified reptile fragments available, the authors were able to identify at least two individuals based on morpho-anatomical characteristics. This indicates that the two small crocodiles originally described in historic records are still present within the collection and that none of these items was lost during the different lootings perpetrated throughout the museum’s history. Information regarding the post-mortem treatment of these animals was also obtained. This is the first scientific study of animal mummies in the Baltic States, and it should be followed by proper conservation and display of these findings.

Dental caries in living and extinct strepsirrhines with insights into diet.

Dental caries is one of the most common diseases afflicting modern humans and occurs in both living and extinct non-human primates, as well as other mammalian species. Compared to other primates, less is known about the etiology or frequency of caries among the Strepsirrhini. Given the link between caries and diet, caries frequency may be informative about the dietary ecology of a given animal. Understanding rates of caries in wild populations is also critical to assessing dental health in captive populations. Here, we examine caries frequency in a sample of 36 extant strepsirrhine species (n = 316 individuals) using odontological collections of wild-, non-captive animals housed at the American Museum of Natural History by counting the number of specimens characterized by the disease. Additionally, in the context of studying caries lesions in strepsirrhines, case studies were also conducted to test if similar lesions were found in their fossil relatives. In particular, two fossil strepsirrhine species were analyzed: the earliest Late Eocene Karanisia clarki, and the subfossil lemur Megaladapis madagascariensis. Our results suggest that caries affects 13.92% of the extant individuals we examined. The frugivorous and folivorous taxa were characterized by the highest overall frequency of caries, whereas the insectivores, gummivores, and omnivores had much lower caries frequencies. Our results suggest that caries may be common among wild populations of strepsirrhines, and in fact is more prevalent than in many catarrhines and platyrrhines. These findings have important implications for understanding caries, diet, and health in living and fossil taxa.

A New Species of Chigger (Acari: Trombiculidae) from Indonesia and Current Differentiation of Trombicula Berlese, 1905 Sensu Stricto Group.

Two new species of chiggers in the two genera (Chiroptella Vercammen-Grandjean, 1960 and Rudnicula Vercammen-Grandjean, 1964) have been described in Indonesia since 2020. The checklist of all known bat-infesting chiggers has also been compiled for Indonesia. It summarizes 16 species in 9 genera of chiggers parasitizing 12 bat species belonging to 5 families collected on 8 Indonesian islands. Nine specimens collected in 2020 on Nusa Penida Island were not included in the checklist because of their uncertain taxonomy. In the current paper, we resolve the taxonomy of these specimens belonging to Trombicula sensu stricto group. We also revise the existing characters of this group and provide new characters helping with the clear definition of this taxa. Hosts and chiggers were captured in February 2020 in Nusa Penida Islands in Indonesia using standard bat-capturing and parasite-collecting methods. For the specimens examined in this study were provided drawings, measurements, and microscopy images. This type material is deposited in the Slovak and Czech National museums. In the paper, we describe anew species parasitizing diadem leaf-nosed batin the Goa Peteng cave on Nusa Penida Island (Lesser Sunda Islands, East Indonesia). This new species differs from all related species by the presence of avery long tarsala I (S1). A key to the larvae of all seven known Trombicula s. s. species is provided. The differentiation of Trombicula s. s. group is based on leg segmentation fsp = 6.6.6, rugose scutum with complete AM, AL and PL setation, and fT = 5B, 5BN or 4B2N. Anew species within the genus Trombicula, group minor has been described. The new species also increases the number of known chiggers in Indonesia and the number of species parasitizing the host species Hipposideros diadema. Trombicula s. s. has also been revised and more clearly defined.

Annotated type catalogue of Orthalicoidea (Mollusca, Gastropoda) in the Natural History Museum, London: A supplement

Recently a number of previously unrecognised type specimens representing 8 taxa were found in the general collection of the Natural History Museum, belonging to the Orthalicoidea. We have documented this material in this publication, as a supplement to previous papers published in 2011, 2012, 2014 and 2015. A corrected taxon index to all publications in this series is also part of this paper.

An updated distribution of the Andean swamp rat Neotomys ebriosus along the Peruvian Andes with notes on habitat use and taxonomy

Abstract The Andean swamp rat Neotomys ebriosus is a sigmodontine rodent restricted to the Central Andes of South America. A distribution map of the species in Peru have been previously drawn based on few of the localities where the species has been captured and collected. I update the distribution of the species in Peru based on new records from three different areas surveyed by the author, specimens at Museum collections in the United States and France from VertNet webpage, localities from the collection at the Natural History Museum of Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, and localities from the collection at the Natural History Museum of the Universidad Nacional San Agustín. The northern limit of the species distribution is increased based on new localities with collected individuals. Habitat used by N. ebriosus is mainly high Andean bogs; most individuals caught adjacent to the borders of Andean bogs and along streams near the bogs. Collected individuals leave unclear subspecies division and identity.

Early studies of the arms and armour collection in the National Museum of Slovenia

The study of historical arms and armour has no firmly established tradition in Slovenian scholarship. This may be attributed to various factors – on the one hand, the widely entrenched notions of Slovenia’s past reduced to a mythologised nation of peace-loving country folk, and on the other hand, the lack of representative arms and armour collections belonging to noble elites, such as may be found in the neighbouring political centres. A rather unreflective approach to military historical heritage could be observed during the formative period of the Carniolan Provincial Museum in Ljubljana, the precursor to the later National Museum, where this particular field remained largely uncharted until the end of World War II. Ljubljana’s museum experts ultimately recognised the true value of their arms and armour collection only towards the end of the 1950s, to a considerable extent or even mainly thanks to the interest of outside observers and foreign connoisseurs like the Viennese curator Dr Bruno Thomas. Within the National Museum, this shift finally stimulated the creation of a curatorial post devoted to arms and armour. Its tasks were entrusted to Ferdinand Tancik, Slovenia’s first specialist in the military heritage of the premodern era and, despite his brief career, a surprisingly influential local pioneer in arms and armour studies.

The InBIO Barcoding Initiative Database: DNA barcodes of Iberian Bees.

Bees are important actors in terrestrial ecosystems and are recognised for their prominent role as pollinators. In the Iberian Peninsula, approximately 1,100 bee species are known, with nearly 100 of these species being endemic to the Peninsula. A reference collection of DNA barcodes, based on morphologically identified bee specimens, representing 514 Iberian species, was constructed. The "InBIO Barcoding Initiative Database: DNA Barcodes of Iberian bees" dataset contains records of 1,059 sequenced specimens. The species of this dataset correspond to about 47% of Iberian bee species diversity and 21% of endemic species diversity. For peninsular Portugal only, the corresponding coverage is 71% and 50%. Specimens were collected between 2014 and 2022 and are deposited in the research collection of Thomas Wood (Naturalis Biodiversity Center, The Netherlands), in the FLOWer Lab collection at the University of Coimbra (Portugal), in the Andreia Penado collection at the Natural History and Science Museum of the University of Porto (MHNC-UP) (Portugal) and in the InBIO Barcoding Initiative (IBI) reference collection (Vairão, Portugal). Of the 514 species sequenced, 75 species from five different families are new additions to the Barcode of Life Data System (BOLD) and 112 new BINs were added. Whilst the majority of species were assigned to a single BIN (94.9%), 27 nominal species were assigned to multiple BINs. Although the placement into multiple BINs may simply reflect genetic diversity and variation, it likely also represents currently unrecognised species-level diversity across diverse taxa, such as Amegillaalbigena Lepeletier, 1841, Andrenarussula Lepeletier, 1841, Lasioglossumleucozonium (Schrank, 1781), Nomadafemoralis Morawitz, 1869 and Sphecodesalternatus Smith, 1853. Further species pairs of Colletes, Hylaeus and Nomada were placed into the same BINs, emphasising the need for integrative taxonomy within Iberia and across the Mediterranean Basin more broadly. These data substantially contribute to our understanding of bee genetic diversity and DNA barcodes in Iberia and provide an important baseline for ongoing taxonomic revisions in the West Palaearctic biogeographical region.

Whispering Shelves - Revisiting the Salar Jung Museum Library at Hyderabad in India

Libraries have always been about book collections, connections through knowledge dissemination and knowledge preservation. Since libraries are of different kinds, it would be interesting to know how a library which is an integral part of a national level museum in India, the Salar Jung Museum at Hyderabad, under the Ministry of Culture, Government of India, is serving society over 70 years. This article traces the birth and growth of an iconic library set up by royals, the Salar Jungs, prime ministers from the erstwhile Nizam rule of Hyderabad State (1724 – 1948 A. D) in the Deccan region of India. It also examines how the library has gone from being a private collection to a public library to a ‘special’ library accessible to the public, been a gift to the society it serves and continues into the 21st century.

Taxonomic notes on the genus Afghanicenus Heyrovsk, 1941 (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae), with the first record of Afghanicenus nuristanicus (Heyrovsk, 1936) from Pakistan.

Afghanicenus nuristanicus (Heyrovsk, 1936) is hereby newly recorded from Pakistan based on a specimen collected at the beginning of the 20th century and preserved in the collection of the Natural History Museum, London. High quality colour images of the type material (a male syntype of Purpuricenus nuristanicus and a female syntype of P. nuristanicus f. bisignata) are presented for the first time. Some literature information on the genus Afghanicenus Heyrovsk, 1941 is summarised, and taxonomic problems are highlighted and further discussed.

Exploring the potential of extreme citizen science with Danish high school students using environmental DNA for marine monitoring

Citizen science involves non-professionals assisting with scientific research, contributing data, and conducting experiments under professional guidance. In this paper, we describe the citizen science project DNA & life, based at the Natural History Museum of Denmark, which actively engages high school students in both fieldwork and advanced laboratory analyses by collecting and analyzing eDNA samples from marine environments across Denmark. The analysis is performed via species-specific real-time PCR and in a case study we present data gathered in the project from 2017-2023 with focus on the potential of eDNA detecting in use for species monitoring. The results include seasonal occurrence of Mnemiopsis leidyi and national distributions of selected species of particular ecological interest Perca fluviatilis, Anguilla anguilla, Neogobius melanostomus and Alexandrium ostenfeldii. In addition to the eDNA case study, we present a new way of conducting citizen science and eDNA analysis, as a development of the established DNA & life project. Local DNA laboratories are created to shorten the path from sampling site to laboratory facility, creating the possibility for Danish high schools to participate in a new version of the project. In close collaboration with the academic staff of the DNA & life project both teachers and students help develop facilities, protocols and laboratory analyses in an extreme citizen science and co-creation approach, where the participants are involved in a higher level of laboratory work and data analysis. Allowing high school students to perform intricate molecular lab analyzes through an extreme citizen science approach has demonstrated encouraging outcomes and potential for data of high quality in terms of sampling and analyzing eDNA with the purpose of species monitoring and conservation.

The Molina Family Latino Gallery: A PEAS Case Study

The Molina Family Latino Gallery: A PEAS Case Study

Cultural–Historical Activity Theory as an integrative model of socioscientific issue based learning in museums using extended reality technologies

ABSTRACT The transformation of natural history and science museums from receptacles (temples) to facilitators (forums) of knowledge fosters discourse around issues relating to science and society, known as social scientific issues (SSI). To assist guests with enhanced object-based learning, extended reality (XR) technologies are thought to leverage the leisure and social motivations of guests for greater object-based learning and SSI engagement. To model guests’ experiences using XR, this theoretical paper identifies and describes how a new conceptualization of Cultural–Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) to facilitate SSI outcomes through shared outcome spaces of interacting guest and museum activity systems, mediated by XR technology. We present two scenarios of forum-forward SSI-based learning utilizing this emergent CHAT model in: (i) scrutinizing the environmental and ecological consequences of human activity and (ii) unveiling the contributions of Indigenous Science Knowledge. Issues surrounding ownership and representation are discussed when ‘transforming’ singular objects into digital, decontextualized, and distributable entities.

'All this in their ignorance they called civilisation': Analysing the Relationship between Nationalism and the Display of Roman Archaeology in Britain's National Museums

This article evaluates how nationalist narratives affect the display of Roman artefacts in national museums. The unique nature of national museums as 'cultural constitutions' and arbiters of the 'Authorised Heritage Discourse' is discussed. This article builds upon previous work by demonstrating how nationalist influence affects the display of Roman artefacts, specifically through the use of two case studies: the British Museum in London and the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh. Museum displays are assessed for indications of nationalist influence through consideration of the use of space and collection composition as well as textual analysis of gallery signage and artefact descriptions. The two museums' divergent approaches to national narrative are then compared.

Националният природонаучен музей при Българската академия на науките – 14 години на повторно възстановяване под ръководството на акад. проф. д-р Иван Костов 1974 – 1988 г.

With the restoration of its legal independence in 1974, a new stage in the development of the National Museum of Natural History began. From 1974 to 1988, it was led by the noted mineralogist Acad. Prof. Ivan Kostov. Part of the geological, paleontological, botanical and soil collections that were taken out in 1947 have been returned to the museum and its multidisciplinary natural science (and not only zoological) character is restored. From the “Museum” Section of the former Zoological Institute, it became the National Museum of Natural History, which fully lives up to its name. The enrichment of the collections, the construction of new departments and expositions, the growth of the state, the first expeditions in the country and abroad to collect natural specimens and the expansion of its international contacts are presented. His active and versatile work for the natural science education of the population and the importance of the museum as a cultural institution until the last but one year (1989) of the totalitarian rule of Bulgaria are shown.

Preserving a Legacy: Ensuring the Access and Conservation of the Harold (Harry) G. Fowler (19502018) Ant Collection and Data.

Biological collections are important repositories of biodiversity, as they include various types of data potentially useful to different areas of science and can contribute to the establishment of biodiversity conservation policies. For a long time, scientific collections were considered only as physical databases; in this context Harold G. Fowler (19502018) built an ant collection at the Universidade Estadual Paulista, campus Rio Claro (So Paulo state, Brazil), over the course of a 34-year career, comprising around 20,000 ant specimens. Most specimens came from the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, but many others came from distinct locations in Brazil and abroad. After his death, the collection was left without the necessary curatorial care for a period of time, which required a project to be conceived for its recovery and conservation, with the goal of incorporating it to the Zoology Museum of the University of So Paulo (MZSP). In addition to applying modern technical curation protocols, other activities such as checking, material identification and digitization of the information contained on the sample labels were carried out, forming an accurate database. This process enabled the identification of new distribution records and the discovery of possible undescribed species and unpublished natural history data. After validating this information, we counted 524 valid species and 201 morphospecies belonging to 105 genera and 10 subfamilies. In addition, we integrated technical curation activities with scientific outreach to draw the general publics attention to the importance of biological collections, thus fostering interest in science, biodiversity and nature conservation. Our work highlights the importance of preserving the areas sampled by Fowlers research group. The preservation of vouchers using curatorial practices reinforces the role of scientific collections as important tools for the study, understanding and preservation of biodiversity.

Developing Creative Potential in School Children through Museums as Cultural Institutions: A Case Study in Madrid, Spain

This study has the aim of providing a theoretical–methodological strategy for the design and implementation of educational programs that favor the development of children’s creative potential in the context of museums as cultural institutions. It was carried out in two schools with the collaboration of the National Museum of Natural Sciences and the Royal Botanical Garden in Madrid, Spain, during an entire academic year. The emphasis of the procedure is based on multi-stakeholder participation and a multidisciplinary approach through workshops based on a collaborative methodology that promotes communication between the school as an institution, the teachers, and the museum facilitators, during the various phases of the intervention. The work with the children is supported by the creative problem-solving (CPS) methodology through the development of workshops in the museums, where the children were able to be the protagonists and manage their own learning process. The obtained results show the relevance of assuming a set of methodological principles and resources that can be replicated in future intervention programs, among which the school–museum collaborative communication, creative problem solving, the use of activity records, and the role of games and fantasy as mediators in the stimulation of creativity stand out.

Archaeology of the Ottoman Period (15th-19th centuries) and Museum Management, Sofia, Bulgaria

This article systematises the architectural and archaeological remains of the Ottoman presence in Sofia and describes the modus operandi reagrding their restoration and reconsideration within the context of the constant urban development of the Bulgarian capital. It shows the main approaches and methods applied by one of the leading national museum institutions in the preservation, presentation, and socialisation of the remains from the Ottoman period (15th-19th centuries).