The ROM celebrates the centennial of this landmark discovery with an exhibition of vintage photos, artifacts and personal items from the famous palaeontologist
One hundred years ago a discovery was made that drastically changed our view of the history of life on Earth. The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) presents A Fossil Paradise: The Discovery of the Burgess Shale by Charles D. Walcott, an exploration of the Burgess Shale’s early excavations, including vintage panoramic photos, site artifacts and a profile of the man who made the great discovery as told by his personal field notes and letters. Considered one of the most important finds in palaeontology, the Burgess Shale was humankind’s first view into some of the most ancient and bizarre animals to inhabit our planet 500 million years ago. From January 31, 2009 to April 26, 2009, the exhibition will be presented on Level 2 of the Hilary and Galen Weston Wing, next to a display of fossils from the ROM’s own storerooms, the largest and most diverse collection of Burgess Shale specimens in the world.
“The origin of today’s animal diversity can be traced back to half-billion years in the superbly preserved fossils of the Burgess Shale,” said Jean-Bernard Caron, Associate Curator, Invertebrate Palaeontology. “The period when these animals lived shortly followed a time of massive evolutionary changes and experimentations, known as the Cambrian Explosion. Today, these fossils continue to marvel scientists and public alike in providing important clues on this unique chapter in the history of life.”
The Burgess Shale is located in the UNESCO World Heritage Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks, near the town of Field, British Columbia. The spot contains some of the world’s most spectacularly preserved fossilized remains of soft-bodied organisms that evolved in the Cambrian Period, 500 million years ago. Concealed within layers of rock are fine details of their anatomy, allowing a greater understanding of the ecology, diversity and evolution of animal communities during that period. American Charles Doolittle Walcott (1850-1927), discovered the most important of the Burgess Shale sites in 1909 while serving as the Fourth Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., and regularly returned to the Burgess Shale until 1924 when, at the age of 74, he had collected over 65,000 specimens.
Vintage Photography
Walcott used photography to document his scientific work. While this was an important means of documenting scientific findings, field photography in the early 1900s was extremely cumbersome. Walcott preferred glass-plate negatives, which meant hauling heavy glass over the mountains by horse. It was also often necessary to send test photo shots all the way to Washington, D.C. to be developed and back before he knew whether to adjust the camera. Despite these hardships, by the time of his last expedition, Walcott had taken 650 photographic panoramas of the Canadian Rockies. A Fossil Paradise includes eight of these oversize vintage panoramic photographs that demonstrate the scenic grandeur of the area and document a geologist at work in the early 20th century. Also on display is a 2.5 metre (over 8 feet) wide panorama taken from Burgess Pass by Walcott in 1911, the largest photograph ever published by National Geographic. Visitors can also see a circa 1908 R.B. Cirkut camera of the type used by Walcott.
Artifacts
Included in the exhibition are actual artifacts from Walcott’s campsite, consisting of some items discovered by former ROM curator Desmond Collins in 1975, during the Museum’s first expedition to the Burgess Shale. A camp stove door was also uncovered, along with other meal-time implements such as a cup, a bottle, and a water jug. Tools recovered from the excavation pit are also displayed, including a chisel, a leather glove as well as a stack of newspapers originating from Washington, D.C. and used for packing fossils. The latter were found in a block of ice in 1995 by a ROM crew digging at the debris which had fallen in the Walcott Quarry.
A Fossil Paradise also explores one of Walcott’s field journals. His 1909 field notebook is displayed opened to the date when he discovered the main Burgess Shale site, with sketches and observations of fossils, in particular that of Marrella splendens. Also included is a letter about the discovery dated Nov. 27, 1909. It was written from Walcott to then University of Toronto professor William Arthur Parks, who went on to become the Royal Ontario Museum Palaeontology’s first director in 1915. The letter states “…I had a few days collecting in the Stephen Formation [today’s Burgess Shale] in the vicinity of Field in September, and found some very interesting things.”
About Charles Walcott
In addition to Walcott as a celebrated scientist, A Fossil Paradise provides a glimpse of Walcott as a man. His expeditions were often family affairs, with his wife and children accompanying him along the perilous journey into the heart of the Rocky Mountains. Included are several images of Walcott and his family, comprising his wife Helena, and three of their four children, photographed during various geological explorations. Walcott’s children joined in the work of splitting rocks in search of fossils and, on one occasion, Walcott named one of the newly-discovered animals Sidneyia, after his son Sidney, who discovered the first specimen in 1910. After Helena’s tragic death in 1911, Walcott went on to remarry Mary Vaux, a talented artist, photographer, and mountaineer who often assisted Walcott in the field by developing his negatives in camp.
ROM’s Burgess Shale Collections:
The ROM is a major contributor to the study of the Burgess Shale and the fascinating creatures found therein. The Museum has led dozens of field explorations and excavations since 1975, and now holds the world’s largest collection of Burgess Shale specimens, over 150,000 specimens in total. Today, ROM curator Dr. Jean-Bernard Caron continues to lead field expeditions and to conduct research on Burgess Shale fossils. The ROM's Burgess Shale Collection will be on permanent display in the future Peter F. Bronfman Gallery of Early Life.
Admission to A Fossil Paradise is included with paid general admission. Adults: $22; Students and Seniors with ID: $19; Children (4 to 14 years) $15; Children 3 & under are free. Half price admission prices, presented by Sun Life Financial, apply on Friday nights from 4:30 pm to 9:30 pm. Groups of 10 or more adults may call Mirvish Productions Group Sales at 416.593.4142 or 1.800.724.6420 for information on special rates and private guided tours. Schools and student groups should visit www.rom.on.ca/schools/ or call the ROM’s Education Department at 416.586.5801 for more information.
A Fossil Paradise: The Discovery of the Burgess Shale by Charles D. Walcott is an exhibition by the ROM adapted from Beauty in service to Science, The Panoramas of Charles D. Walcott -- a Smithsonian Institution Archives exhibit presented in 2003 at the Canadian Embassy in Washington, D.C.