Paleontology ‘a hotbed of unethical practices rooted in colonialism’, say scientists

The public image of palaeontologists could be updated. The study of ancient life is a breeding ground for unethical and inequitable scientific practices, which strip poorer countries of their fossil heritage, and devalue the contributions of local researchers.

An international team of palaeontologists argue in the journal Royal Society Open Science that there has been a steady drain of fossils from poorer countries into foreign collections.

The Araripe Basin in northeast Brazil is famous for its huge array of well-preserved prehistoric fossils, including giant winged pterosaurs, which are now housed in foreign museum collections.

Juan Carlos Cisneros is a paleonologist at the Federal University of Piau in Brazil. These countries have large and relatively unexplored basins with a lot of fossils.

Despite the introduction of strict permits to conduct scientific fieldwork or export fossils from Brazil, permit declarations were often missing from studied specimen, and many studies were based on fossils illegally held in foreign collections.

The exclusion of local experts was a common issue. More than half of the publications on Araripe fossils showed no evidence of collaboration with local Brazilian researchers, which is a legal requirement.

They argued that such practices amount to scientific colonialism, where lower income countries are seen as the main sources of data or specimen for higher income ones, legal frameworks are bypassed, and the contributions of local researchers are downplayed or omitted.

When we think of 19th-century ships sailing across the Atlantic, it might not be the colonialism we think of, but it is still a modern form of neocolonialism.

The team said that doing so hinders local scientific development and depletes resources that could sustain longer-term economic activities, such as tourism.

We are often seen as cute characters that wear Indiana Jones outfits, and could do no harm. One of Indiana Jones's slogans was "This belongs in a museum, not a museum in the country he's collecting the thing", which is a really good example.

We would love for individuals to change the way they work, to really focus on creating genuine partnerships that are built on respect for local communities and their interests.

The team called for more rigorous journal guidelines and education on research ethics, as well as greater enforcement of fossil laws, and sanctions against those involved in unethical practices. They said that fossils should be returned to the communities they were taken from.