Yale Bulletin and Calendar

August 29, 2003|Volume 32, Number 1|Two-Week Issue

Fossils such as the one pictured here are among the objects on view in "The Burgess Shale: Evolution's Big Bang." The Burgess Shale is a Canadian rock formation dating from the Cambrian period, the earliest of the great fossil eras.

Exhibit offers look at ancient forms of life on Earth

"The Burgess Shale: Evolution's Big Bang," a new exhibition on view at the Peabody Museum of Natural History Aug. 30-Nov. 23, offers visitors a chance to look inside a geological "time capsule" to see some of the strange creatures that once inhabited the Earth -- many that are unlike anything alive today.

The Burgess Shale is a Canadian rock formation dating from the Cambrian period, the earliest of the great fossil eras. At that time, there were four continents instead of seven, and there were no plants or animals on land. However, the seas were teeming with life and, in an underwater mud bank off the coast of Canada (then just south of the equator), a complex ecological community was flourishing.

Suddenly, 505 million years ago, there was an enormous mudslide that smothered everything in its path and preserved the remains of those animals and plants as fossils. Successive mudslides added layer upon layer of sediment and even more ancient creatures to create what is now the fossil layers of the Burgess Shale.

Over the millions of years since its formation, tectonic forces thrust the Burgess Shale two miles into the air to become part of the Canadian Rockies. Although the fossils were discovered in 1909 by Charles D. Walcott, it was only in the 1970s, that their significance was recognized by Harry Whittington of Cambridge University and two of his graduate students, Simon Conway Morris and Derek Briggs. Now one of the leading authorities on the Burgess Shale, Briggs is a professor at Yale and the curator of the Peabody's exhibition. He is also co-author of the book "The Fossils of the Burgess Shale" with Frederick J. Collier of Harvard University and Douglas H. Erwin, curator of the Smithsonian's Burgess Shale traveling exhibition.

The Burgess Shale is considered unusual because it preserves not only organisms with hard skeletons but also soft body tissues and even some internal organs. The creatures encapsulated within it lived during a period in Earth history when a burst of evolutionary activity generated a sudden increase in the complexity and variety of animal life. This "Cambrian Explosion," occurring 543 to 490 million years ago, saw the first appearances of familiar prehistoric animals such as trilobites, as well as many bizarre forms with no known descendents. These include the Wiwaxia, which has been likened to an armored slug with two rows of spikes along its back; the Hallucigenia, which had long-clawed walking tentacles and spiky armor; the Anomalocaris, which was over a meter long and the largest predator of its time; and even a very early ancestor of vertebrates.

"The Burgess Shale: Evolution's Big Bang" explores current theories about the explosion and presents highlights from the story of early life on Earth. It features detailed descriptions and illustrations of the creatures found in the Burgess Shale, as well as the tales and methods of the paleontologists who have studied them.

The exhibition, produced by the Smithsonian Institution, is enhanced with material from the Peabody's own Burgess Shale collections that has never before been exhibited. Included are Cambrian fossils from Pennsylvania, Utah and Nevada, and examples of rare Precambrian life forms from Namibia, Newfoundland. The exhibition will also include specimens on loan from other U.S. museums.

In conjunction with the exhibition, the Peabody Museum will host a special family event on Saturday, Sept. 20, which will offer a variety of activities for all ages, and feature a talk by Briggs. Further information will appear in future issues of the Yale Bulletin & Calendar.

The Peabody Museum of Natural History, located at 170 Whitney Ave., is open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Saturday, and noon-5 p.m. Sunday. This year, the museum will be open noon-4 p.m. on Labor Day.

Admission is $5 for adults; $3 for children (3-15) and seniors (65 and over); and free to museum members and those with a Yale I.D. Parking is available in the Peabody Visitor Parking Lot, entrance off Whitney Avenue one block north of the museum; follow signs inside the entrance. For directions, events, or other information call (203) 432-5050 or visit the website at www.peabody.yale.edu.

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