Search Constraints
Search Results
-
Journal article
First large‐scale quantification study of DNA preservation in insects from natural history collections using genome‐wide sequencing
Insect declines are a global issue with significant ecological and economic ramifications. Yet, we have a poor understanding of the genomic impact these losses can have. Genome-wide data from historical specimens have the potential to provide baselines of population genetic measures to study population change, with natural history collections representing... -
Journal article
Signatures of increasing environmental stress in bumblebee wings over the past century: Insights from museum specimens
Determining when animal populations have experienced stress in the past is fundamental to understanding how risk factors drive contemporary and future species' responses to environmental change. For insects, quantifying stress and associating it with environmental factors has been challenging due to a paucity of time-series data and because detectable population-level... -
Journal article
Novel mtDNA haplotypes represented in the European captive population of the Endangered François’ langur (Trachypithecus francoisi)
Assessing the genetic diversity of captive populations of endangered species is key to the successful management of conservation-breeding programs. In this study, we sequenced a 393-bp fragment of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control region of 23 captive individuals of the Endangered François’ langur ( ) to assess the mtDNA diversity...Farré, Marta ; Johnstone, Cameron ; Hopper, Jane ; Kitchener, Andrew C ; Roos, Christian …
Captive populations, mtDNA , Conservation genetics , and François’ langurs
-
Journal article
Psittacopedids and zygodactylids: The diverse and species-rich psittacopasserine birds from the early Eocene London Clay of Walton-on-the-Naze (Essex, UK)
The Daniels collection of fossil birds from the early Eocene London Clay of Walton-on-the-Naze (Essex, UK) contains multiple specimens of the Psittacopedidae and Zygodactylidae, which are here for the first time studied in detail. The Psittacopedidae include Parapsittacopes bergdahli, Psittacomimus eos, gen. et sp. nov., ?Psittacopes occidentalis, sp. nov., and...Mayr, Gerald ; Kitchener, Andrew C
Psittacopasseres, evolution, fossil birds, Aves, and systematics
-
Editorial
David Grimaldi—appreciations
The previous issue of Palaeoentomology brought the first set of papers honoring David A. Grimaldi on the occasion of his 65th birthday. With the current one, it is continued, in recognition of his impact on the fields of amber studies, palaeontology, palaeo- and neoentomology, and evolutionary biology. After the success...Azar, Dany ; Evenhuis, Neal L ; Labandeira, Conrad C ; Penãlver, Enrique ; Penney, David …
amber studies, evolutionary biology, palaeo- and neoentomology, and palaeontology
-
Journal article
Gerhard Bersu in Scotland, and his excavations at Traprain Law in context
Bersu’s excavations on the hillfort of Traprain Law in south-east Scotland are reviewed in the light of his British and Irish digs and other work on the hill itself. It differs from the rest of his British excavations, which mostly focussed on houses, but is entirely in keeping with his...Hunter, Fraser ; Armit, Ian ; Dunwell, Andrew
Scotstarvit, League of Prehistorians, hillfort , O. G. S. Crawford , Traprain Law, Vere Gordon Childe, and roundhouses
-
Journal article
Experiment, Experience and Enchant: Knowledge sharing between museums and contemporary practitioners
Knowledge sharing between contemporary practitioners and museum professionals can be more than just investigating how something is made. It is also about working together to understand why an object was created, and by whom; how each artefact has a story to tell, of its journey through time and the places...Maldonado, Adrián ; Rothwell, Sarah
sculpture, knowledge sharing, The Glenmorangie Commission, contemporary practitioners, museums, and Simone ten Hompel
-
Journal article
GLASS BANGLES IN THE BRITISH ISLES: A STUDY OF TRADE, RECYCLING AND TECHNOLOGY IN THE FIRST AND SECOND CENTURIES AD
Glass bangles are found in southern England and Wales from the mid-first century and become common in the north of England and southern Scotland in the late first century, before their numbers decline a century later. British bangles develop at a time of change, as Roman glassmaking practices were introduced...Paynter, Sarah ; Crew, Peter ; Campbell, Richard ; Hunter, Fraser ; Jackson, Caroline
Late Iron Age , Roman , glass bangle , artefact and material culture studies , archaeometry , and Britain
-
Other
Former Museum Staff: Finding List
Thomas Archer: Director of the Industrial Museum of Scotland and Edinburgh Museum of Science and Art from 1860-1885. A S Clarke: Keeper of the Royal Scottish Museum (RSM) (joined staff in 1954) Alexander Robert Hutchieson: Papers of Alexander Robert Hutchieson, Keeper of the Department of Technology, RSM, from 1934 to...National Museums Scotland
Library, Royals Scottish Museum, Edinburgh Museum of Science and Art, museum administration, Industrial Museum of Scotland , and Archives
-
Journal article
A curated DNA barcode reference library for parasitoids of northern European cyclically outbreaking geometrid moths
Large areas of forests are annually damaged or destroyed by outbreaking insect pests. Understanding the factors that trigger and terminate such population eruptions has become crucially important, as plants, plant-feeding insects, and their natural enemies may respond differentially to the ongoing changes in the global climate. In northernmost Europe, climate-driven...Nyman, Tommi ; Wutke, Saskia ; Koivisto, Elina ; Klemola, Tero ; Shaw, Mark R …
population regulation, parasitoid , molecular identification, barcoding , insect outbreaks, and metabarcoding
-
Blog post
Collecting contemporary Scottish whisky / A’ cruinneachadh uisge-bheatha Albannach an latha an-diugh
Plenty of people collect whisky, but how many can say that they collect whisky for a museum? PhD student Laura Scobie has the enviable job of expanding our whisky collections. In this blog post, Laura explores the ways that whisky brands adopt a sense of place and explains how collecting...Scobie, Laura
-
Journal article
A kingdom in decline: Holocene range contraction of the lion (Panthera leo) modelled with global environmental stratification
Aim We use ecological niche models and environmental stratification of palaeoclimate to reconstruct the changing range of the lion (Panthera leo) during the late Pleistocene and Holocene. Location The modern (early 21st century) range of the lion extends from southern Africa to the western Indian Subcontinent, yet through the... -
Journal article
’A place where eternally blossoming roses grow’: The garden in Iranian textiles
In his monumental epic poem, the Shahnameh, or ‘Book of Kings’, Ferdowsi (b. 940) compared his homeland Iran with the abundance of a garden in spring, full of pomegranates, apples and quinces, and a place where eternally blossoming roses and narcissuses grow. (1) Gardens are a frequent topic in Iranian...Voigt, Friederike
-
Journal article
New linguliformean brachiopods from the lower Tremadocian (Ordovician) of the Brabant Massif, Belgium, with comments on contemporaneous faunas from the Stavelot-Venn Massif
Lower Ordovician brachiopod macrofaunas in Belgium (Avalonia) are seldom collected and studied due to the poor preservation of material. Here we describe a new fauna of linguliformean brachiopods from the Chevlipont Formation (lower Tremadocian) in the Brabant Massif. The fauna is of low diversity (at least three species belonging to...Candela, Yves ; Marion, Jean-Marc ; Servais, Thomas ; Wang, Wenhui ; Wolvers, Mark …
Brachiopoda, Avalonia, low diversity, palaeogeography, and Chevlipont Formation
-
Journal article
The remarkable biology of a new species of Gelis Thunberg, 1827 (Ichneumonidae, Phygadeuontinae), a solitary endoparasitoid of fresh eggs of Timarcha (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae)
A new species, Gelis timarchae Schwarz, Shaw & Kan, is figured and described from specimens reared as a solitary endoparasitoid of fresh eggs of Timarcha nicaeensis in the south of France. Oviposition behaviour of the adult parasitoid, directly into the host cytoplasm, is described and links to videos are given....Shaw, Mark R ; Kan, Pieter ; Kan-van Limburg Stirum, Brigitte ; Schwarz, Martin
Gelis timarchae, oviposition, first instar larva, France, Cocoon, plastic phenology, diapause, and egg
-
Journal article
Pendraig milnerae, a new small-sized coelophysoid theropod from the Late Triassic of Wales
We describe a new small-bodied coelophysoid theropod dinosaur, Pendraig milnerae gen. et sp. nov, from the Late Triassic fissure fill deposits of Pant-y-ffynnon in southern Wales. The species is represented by the holotype, consisting of an articulated pelvic girdle, sacrum and posterior dorsal vertebrae, and an associated left femur, and...Spiekman, Stephan N F ; Ezcurra, Martín D ; Butler, Richard J ; Fraser , Nicholas C ; Maidment, Susannah C R
Coelophysoidea , Theropodabody, body size evolution, Triassic, and Pendraigosteology
-
Journal article
Mycobacterium leprae diversity and population dynamics in medieval Europe from novel ancient genomes
Hansen’s disease (leprosy), widespread in medieval Europe, is today mainly prevalent in tropical and subtropical regions with around 200,000 new cases reported annually. Despite its long history and appearance in historical records, its origins and past dissemination patterns are still widely unknown. Applying ancient DNA approaches to its major causative... -
Journal article
Peelhill Farm: a possible Late Bronze Age weapon sacrifice in Lanarkshire
The hoard of bronze weapons found in 1961 at Peelhill Farm in South Lanarkshire remains one of the most remarkable discoveries of Late Bronze Age metalwork from Scotland, its importance reflected in the detailed account of the find published by John Coles and Jack Scott in 1963. In the present...Mörtz, Tobias ; Knight, Matthew G ; Cowie, Trevor ; Flint, Jane
Late Bronze Age, Hoard, Conflict, Ritual, and Weapons
-
Journal article
Professor John Morton Coles
Professor John Coles, who died on 14 October 2020 aged 90, had a long and distinguished career as a prehistorian, experimental archaeologist and wetland archaeologist, and he made substantial contributions to Scottish archaeology, as well as to European and world archaeology more generally.Sheridan, Alison
-
Journal article
New records of Diptera from the Republic of Mordovia, Russia
A list of 55 species of Diptera from families Tanypezidae (1 species), Megamerinidae (1), Acroceridae (1), Psilidae (5), Lonchaeidae (8), Strongylophthalmyiidae (1), Ephydridae (21) Scathophagidae (17 species) collected in the Republic of Mordovia is given. Of them Protearomyia withersi MacGowan, 2014 and Lonchaea baechlii MacGowan, 2016 are recorded from Russia... -
Journal article
Hugh’s printing protégé becomes his publisher. The story of Alexander Strachan or Strahan, publisher of The Life and Letters of Hugh Miller
I am researching Hugh Miller’s unusual publishing arrangements, including the frequency with which his firm, Miller & Fairly, printed his books for their Edinburgh publishers before and after his death. The obvious exception is Peter Bayne’s family-approved The Life and Letters of Hugh Miller (1871), printed in London for Strahan...Taylor, Michael A
-
Podcast
The Galloway Hoard: Artfund podcast
Ben [Miller] explores the story of one of the most significant discoveries of rare Viking-age objects ever found in Britain. The Galloway Hoard lay undisturbed for a thousand years before being unearthed by a metal detectorist in 2014. Ben learns more about this exceptional find from experts Martin Goldberg and...Goldberg, D Martin ; Downham, Clare
-
Book
The Galloway Hoard: Viking-Age treasure
Published to accompany the exhibition of the same name held at the National Museum of Scotland, 29 May - 12 September 2021.Goldberg, D Martin ; Davis, Mary
-
Journal article
Enigmatic vertebrate trackway from the Scalby Formation (Middle Jurassic) Yorkshire, United Kingdom, with discussion of archosaur and ‘mammal’ trace fossils
We describe a new and unusual vertebrate trackway from the Middle Jurassic Scalby Formation of the Cleveland Basin, Yorkshire, United Kingdom. The Enigmatic Burniston Trackway (EBT) is the first and only example of such a trackway known from this region. The best preserved EBT print, belonging to a pentadactyl tetrapod,...synapsid, Sederipes, Synaptichnium, Ravenscar Group, and Footprint
-
Journal article
Fit for a Queen: The Material and Visual Culture of Maria Clementina Sobieska, Jacobite Queen in Exile
Tracing its manifestation across three phases in her biography — marriage, separation and funeral — this article considers the image of Maria Clementina Sobieska (1702–35). Examining the objects and portraits which surrounded Clementina’s life and death offers a new historiography for the Jacobite queen in exile. It reinstates her place...Vullinghs, Georgia
queenship, Jacobites, Stuarts, royal image, and material culture
-
Book chapter
Equestrian tiles and the rediscovery of underglaze painting in Qajar Iran
The thirteen articles in this volume were originally given as presentations at the symposium of the same name organized in June 2018 by the Musée du Louvre and the Musée du Louvre-Lens in conjunction with the exhibition The Empire of Roses: Masterpieces of 19th Century Persian Art. The exhibition explored...Voigt, Friederike
-
Journal article
An optimised small-scale sample preparation workflow for historical dye analysis using UHPLC-PDA applied to Scottish and English Renaissance embroidery
A sample preparation workflow for historical dye analysis based on 96 well plates and filtration by centrifugation was developed. It requires less sample and the introduced error is decreased, making it useful for culturally important objects. A sample preparation workflow for historical dye analysis requiring less sample has been developed....Sandström, Edith ; Wyld, Helen ; Mackay, C Logan ; Troalen, Lore G ; Hulme, Alison N
-
Book
Crucible of nations: Scotland from Viking Age to Medieval Kingdom
This third book from The Glenmorangie Company Research Project, following Early Medieval Scotland and Scotland’s Early Silver, will also appeal to readers of The Galloway Hoard. It takes a new look at National Museums Scotland collections covering the period 800-1200: the fall of the Pictish kingdoms and rise of the...Maldonado, Adrián
-
Journal article
The Cold War in European museums – filling the ‘empty battlefield’
Recent historical research has analysed the Cold War as an ‘imaginary war’, an interpretation that poses specific challenges for displaying the conflict in museums. In contrast to well-established representations of the First and Second World Wars in exhibitions, we find that the nature of the Cold War in Europe and...Alberti, Samuel J M M ; Nehring, Holger
-
Journal article
Applying genomic data in wildlife monitoring: Development guidelines for genotyping degraded samples with reduced single nucleotide polymorphism panels
The genomic era has led to an unprecedented increase in the availability of genome‐wide data for a broad range of taxa. Wildlife management strives to make use of these vast resources to enable refined genetic assessments that enhance biodiversity conservation. However, as new genomic platforms emerge, problems remain in adapting...von Thaden, Alina ; Nowak , Carsten ; Tiesmeyer, Annika ; Reiners, Tobias E ; Lyons, Leslie A …
-
Journal article
Range-wide patterns of human-mediated hybridisation in European wildcats
Hybridisation between wild taxa and their domestic congeners is a significant conservation issue. Domestic species frequently outnumber their wild relatives in population size and distribution and may therefore genetically swamp the native species. The European wildcat (Felis silvestris) has been shown to hybridise with domestic cats (Felis catus). Previously suggested...Tiesmeyer, Annika ; Ramos, Luana ; Lucas, José Manuel ; Steyer, Katharina ; Alves, Paulo C …
-
Journal article
Parasites: Battle for survival
A look at Scotland's historic - and current - role in medical research around tropical parasite diseases. By Sophie Goggins, Curator of Biomedical Sciences at National Museums ScotlandGoggins, Sophie
-
Journal article
Italian pottery in Scotland
John Hurst, in his seminal paper on Italian pottery imported into Britain and Ireland, stated that ‘pottery datable between the thirteenth and twentieth centuries, has been found on over one hundred sites in Britain and Ireland but did not reach Scotland' (Hurst 1991, 212). In an attempt to up-date the...Haggarty, George R
-
Journal article
Scottish East Coast Transfer Printed Wares
In this paper I will use both extant examples and shards recovered archaeologically to highlight what evidence we have, for production of transfer printed wares, by the potteries situated between Portobello and PrestonpansHaggarty, George R
-
Journal article
Museum during a crisis
These are strange times. As I write this (16th March 2020), the number of coronavirus or rather Covid-19 infections is rapidly increasing and I am uncertain whether our Museum, the National Museum of Scotland (NMoS), will even be open to the public this time next week. This 160 year old...Walcott, Rachel
Coronavirus, National Museums Scotland, National Museum of Scotland, and Covid-19
-
Journal article
Iconic jewellery in space. Research on Modernist Nordic jewellery
Sarah Rothwell Curator of Modern & Contemporary Design, at the National Museums Scotland, Edinburgh has a special interest in Modernist Nordic jewellery, among other things. Her research included looking into the necklace and bracelet worn by Princess Leia in the 1977 film Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope,...Rothwell, Sarah
-
Journal article
Ecology and Genetic Structure of the Parasitoid Phobocampe confusa (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) in Relation to Its Hosts, Aglais Species (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae)
The biology of parasitoids in natural ecosystems remain very poorly studied, though they are key species for their functioning. Here we focused on Phobocampe confusa, a Nymphalini specialist, responsible for high mortality rates in charismatic butterfly species in Europe (genus Aglais). We studied its ecology and genetic structure in connection...Audusseau , Hélène ; Baudrin, Gaspard ; Shaw, Mark R ; Keehnen, Naomi L P ; Schmucki, Reto …
A. io, andscape heterogeneity, A. urticae , phenology, and genetic variation
-
Journal article
Aquatic habits and niche partitioning in the extraordinarily long-necked Triassic reptile Tanystropheus
Tanystropheus longobardicus is one of the most remarkable and iconic Triassic reptiles. Mainly known from the Middle Triassic conservation Lagerstätte of Monte San Giorgio on the Swiss-Italian border, it is characterized by an extraordinarily long and stiffened neck that is almost three times the length of the trunk, despite being... -
Journal article
Skull morphology diverges between urban and rural populations of red foxes mirroring patterns of domestication and macroevolution
Human activity is drastically altering the habitat use of natural populations. This has been documented as a driver of phenotypic divergence in a number of wild animal populations. Here, we show that urban and rural populations of red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) from London and surrounding boroughs are divergent in skull...Parsons, K J ; Rigg, Anders ; Conith, A J ; Kitchener, Andrew C ; Harris, S …
Canidae , domestication, developmental bias , contemporary evolution, morphometrics, and urban ecology
-
Journal article
Morphological and functional variation between isolated populations of British red squirrels (Sciurus vulgaris)
Isolation due to habitat fragmentation can lead to morphological and functional variation between populations, with the effect being well documented in rodents. Here, we investigated whether such morphological variation could be identified between British populations of the Eurasian red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris). This species was once widespread across Great Britain,... -
Journal article
Hidden in Plain Sight: Comprehensive Molecular Phylogeny of Keroplatidae and Lygistorrhinidae (Diptera) Reveals Parallel Evolution and Leads to a Revised Family Classification
We provide the first molecular phylogeny of Keroplatidae and Lygistorrhinidae, families of fungus gnats (Diptera: Bibionomorpha: Sciaroidea). Phylogenies reconstructed by Maximum Likelihood and Bayesian methods, based on four nuclear and four mitochondrial gene markers (5106 base pairs) sequenced for 75 genera and 105 species, show Keroplatidae as monophyletic only with... -
Journal article
Comment on the letter of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology (SVP) dated April 21, 2020 regarding “Fossils from conflict zones and reproducibility of fossil-based scientific data”: Myanmar amber
Recently, the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology (SVP) has sent around a letter, dated 21st April, 2020 to more than 300 palaeontological journals, signed by the President, Vice President and a former President of the society (Rayfield et al. 2020). The signatories of this letter request significant changes to the common...Haug, J T ; Azar, D ; Ross, Andrew ; Blagoderov, Vladimir
-
Journal article
Metabarcoding unsorted kick-samples facilitates macroinvertebrate-based biomonitoring with increased taxonomic resolution, while outperforming environmental DNA.
While previous studies have highlighted the potential of DNA‐based methods for the biomonitoring of freshwater macroinvertebrates, a limited number have investigated homogenization of bulk samples that include debris, in order to reduce sample‐processing costs. This study explores the use of several DNA‐based survey methods for water quality and biodiversity assessment...Pereira‐da‐Conceicoa, Lyndall ; Elbrecht, Vasco ; Hall, Andie ; Briscoe, Andrew ; Barber‐James, Helen …
eDNA , South Africa, freshwater , next‐generation sequencing , and macroinvertebrates
-
Journal article
A new Jerusalem ‘at the ends of the earth’: Interpretating Charles Thomas’s Excavations at Iona Abbey 1956–63
Iona was a major European intellectual and artistic centre during the seventh to ninth centuries, with outstanding illustrated manuscripts, sculpture and religious writings produced there, despite its apparently peripheral location ‘at the ends of the earth’. Recent theological discourse has emphasised the leading role of Iona, and particularly its ninth...Campbell, Ewan ; Maldonado, Adrián
early monasticism , Charles Thomas, Christianity , archaeology , ecclesiastical studies , and coenobitic monastery
-
Journal article
Habitat requirements affect genetic variation in three species of mayfly (Ephemeroptera, Baetidae) from South Africa
This study investigates genetic diversity in three species of Ephemeroptera, one eurytopic and therefore widespread (Afroptilum sudafricanum) and two stenotopic and thus endemic (Demoreptus natalensis and Demoreptus capensis) species, all of which co-occur in the southern Great Escarpment, South Africa. Mitochondrial DNA was analysed to compare the genetic diversity between... -
Journal article
The Excavation of Neolithic Pits and a Bronze Age Burial Site at Ness Gap, Fortrose
An investigation by Headland Archaeology (UK) Ltd took place in early 2013 in advance of a housing development at Ness Gap, Fortrose, Highland. The excavation revealed domestic activity dating from the Neolithic to the Early Bronze Age. A cluster of Neolithic pits provided insights into the development of agriculture in...Woodley, Nuala C ; Lochrie, Julie ; Sheridan, J A ; Cowie, Trevor ; Christie, Claire
cremation, pits, metalwork , Burial, cinerary urn, cordoned urn, faience, and cist
-
Journal article
First record of True’s beaked whale, Mesoplodon mirus, in Britain
A female beaked whale, Family Ziphiidae, was reported as stranded on 29th January 2020 at Kearvaig Bay, Sutherland, Scotland. Examination of its skull confirms that this is the first recorded stranding of True’s beaked whale, Mesoplodon mirus, in Britain.Kitchener, Andrew C ; Georg , Hantke ; Herman, Jeremy S ; ten Doeschate, Mariel ; Brownlow, Andrew C
skull, stranding, Ziphiidae, Mesoplodon mirusy, and pathology
-
Journal article
Deposition of modified human remains as evidence for complex mortuary treatment in East Africa during the first millennium AD
In 2019 partial, disarticulated human remains with evidence of perimortem fractures and tool marks were excavated from the site of Kabusanza in southern Rwanda (first millennium AD). The nature and location of these modifications demonstrate that some elements were subject to intentional dismemberment and defleshing, whereas the arrangement of the...Watts, Rebecca ; Mugabowagahunde , Maurice ; Ntagwabira, André ; Giblin, John
defleshing , Urewe, anthropogenic modification, dismemberment , and Rwanda
-
Journal article
Collecting and displaying the decommissioning of North Sea Oil and Gas at the National Museums Scotland
National Museums Scotland (NMS) has a long history of collecting industrial objects. Our predecessor museum, the Industrial Museum of Scotland, was founded with the intention of collecting the materials and processes of manufacture; that is, contemporary technologies and the tacit skills that went with them [1]. For a lot of...Swinbank, Ellie
museum, Scotland, decommissioning, industry, collection, and oil
-
Journal article
The Tod Head lighthouse lantern. The conservation-restoration of a technical object that has been continuously modified over the years
This paper presents the conservation and reassembly of the Tod Head lighthouse lantern in the storage area of the National Museums Scotland. The Tod Head lighthouse was located on the Scottish east coast, north of Edinburgh. The lantern was dismantled in 2011 and sent to the National Museums Collection Centre....Grima, Marie
lighthouse, Fresnel, lantern, and Stevenson
-
Journal article
Combined visual and biochemical analyses confirm depositor and diet for Neolithic coprolites from Skara Brae
Coprolites (fossilized faeces) can provide valuable insights into species’ diet and related habits. In archaeozoological contexts, they are a potential source of information on human-animal interactions as well as human and animal subsistence. However, despite a broad discussion on coprolites in archaeology, such finds are rarely subject to detailed examination... -
Journal article
Intraspecific macroscopic digestive anatomy of ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta), including a comparison of frozen and formalin-stored specimens
Digestive tract measurements are often considered species specific, but little information exists on the degree to which they change during ontogeny within a species. Additionally, access to anatomical material from nondomestic species is often limited, with fixed tissues possibly representing the only available source, though the degree to which this...Clauss, Marcus ; Trümpler, Jelscha ; Ackermans, Nicole L ; Kitchener, Andrew C ; Hantke, Georg …
-
Audio
The Declaration of Arbroath
2020 marks the 700th anniversary of the Declaration of Arbroath, one of Scotland's most important historical artefacts. To mark the anniversary we spoke to two experts to understand more about how it was created, and why it still resonates today. In this podcast we are joined by National Museums Scotland's...Wylie, Alice ; Blackwell, Alice ; Broun, Dauvit
-
Book chapter
Mementoes of power and conquest: Sikh jewellery in the collection of National Museums Scotland
This chapter traces the historical trajectory of pieces of jewellery and personal effects in the collection of National Museums Scotland which once belonged to the last Sikh ruler of Panjab, Maharaja Duleep Singh (1838–93). Deposed from the throne after the Second Anglo–Sikh War, exiled and deprived of his possessions, religion...Voigt, Friederike
Post-Colonial Studies , War Studies, Imperial/Colonial History , Cultural History, and Museum & Gallery Studies
-
Journal article
The first records of the pictured-winged fly Homalocephala bimaculata (Wahlberg, 1838) (Diptera, Ulidiidae) from Norway
The picture-winged fly Homalocephala bimaculata (Wahlberg, 1838) is reported from Norway for the first time bringing to five the number of species of Homalocephala Zetterstedt, 1838 reported from the country. H. bimaculata is recorded from Hvaler, Viken, and Oslo, Oslo, and, based on numerous and scattered records, the species is...Gustad, Jørn R ; Græsdal, Arve G ; MacGowan, Iain
Homalocephala bimaculata, distribution, Ulidiidae, Norway, first record, Diptera, and biology
-
Research report
Ancient Egyptian Collections in Scottish Museums
Several reviews of collections have been conducted historically, though they have not been focused in the same manner as that under discussion presently. For example, in 1887 the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland conducted a report on local museums in Scotland, funded by a financial gift. The report, published in...Potter, Daniel M
-
Book chapter
Introduction
At a time of heightened international interest in the colonial dimensions of museum collections, Dividing the Spoils provides new perspectives on the motivations and circumstances whereby collections were appropriated and acquired during colonial military service. Combining approaches from the fields of material anthropology, imperial and military history, this book argues...Lidchi, Henrietta ; Allan, Stuart
Post-Colonial Studies , War Studies, Imperial/Colonial History , Cultural History, and Museum & Gallery Studies
-
Book
Dividing the spoils: Perspectives on military collections and the British empire
At a time of heightened international interest in the colonial dimensions of museum collections, Dividing the Spoils provides new perspectives on the motivations and circumstances whereby collections were appropriated and acquired during colonial military service. Combining approaches from the fields of material anthropology, imperial and military history, this book argues...Lidchi , Henrietta ; Allan, Stuart
Post-Colonial Studies , War Studies, Museum & Gallery Studies , Cultural History, and Imperial/Colonial History
-
Book chapter
Indigenising folk art: eighteenth-century powder horns in British military collections
Engraved power horns are a well-known aspect of the material culture of the Seven Years’ War (1756–1763), also known in North America as the French and Indian War. In looking at collections in military museums across the UK it emerged that powder horns were a distinctive form of material culture...Lidchi, Henrietta ; Allan, Stuart
Post-Colonial Studies , War Studies, Museum & Gallery Studies , Cultural History, and Imperial/Colonial History
-
Book chapter
The officers' mess: an anthropology and history of the military interior
This chapter uses a model of British Army organisational culture and historical analysis to examine the nature of the ‘military interior’ – specifically the public rooms in the officers’ mess and the artefacts found within. The authors seek to combine their expertise to create a broader understanding of how military...Kirke, Charles ; Hartwell, Nicole M
Post-Colonial Studies , War Studies, Museum & Gallery Studies , Cultural History, and Imperial/Colonial History
-
Book chapter
Seeing Tibet through soldiers' eyes: photograph albums in regimental museums
In his ‘Notes on Photography’ dated 1860 Captain Henry Shaw of the Royal Engineers itemised the uses to which photography could be applied for military and scientific purposes. He notes that over time, capturing scenes, places and persons would prove of personal interest to the photographer and more generally, justifying...Henrietta , Lidchi ; Rosanna, Nicolson
Post-Colonial Studies , War Studies, Imperial/Colonial History , Cultural History, and Museum & Gallery Studies
-
Journal article
Aquatic stem group myriapods close a gap between molecular divergence dates and the terrestrial fossil record
Most arthropod diversity is now found on land, with hexapods (insects), arachnids, and myriapods being major terrestrial radiations. Molecular dating consistently predicts that these groups have earlier evolutionary origins than are recorded by fossils. A reason for this difference between molecular- and fossil-based age estimates is that few candidates for... -
Research report
East Asia Collections in Scottish Museums
The opportunity to conduct a review of the East Asian collections in Scotland arose alongside the development and opening of a new gallery, Exploring East Asia, at National Museums Scotland. Initial research revealed that, although there were East Asian collections of fine and decorative arts, archaeology and dress across Scotland,...Tothill, Vanessa
-
Other
Library Special Collections: Jessie M. Sweet – Finding List
Papers of Jessie May Sweet (1901-79), mineralogist and historian of science. Jessie Sweet worked in the Department of Mineralogy of the British Museum (Natural History) from 1927 until her retirement in 1961, when she moved to Edinburgh. She then became an authority on the life of Robert Jameson (1774-1854), Professor...National Museum Scotland
history of science, Edinburgh University, Robert Jameson, 1774-1854, correspondence, Archives, natural history, mineralogy, British Museum, and Jessie May Sweet, 1901-1979
-
Journal article
Collecting COVID-19 at National Museums Scotland
This opinion piece discusses National Museums Scotland’s first responses to collecting COVID-19. Drawing on perspectives from social history, biomedical science and military history, this short paper contextualizes COVID-related collecting within the contexts of the organization’s programme of contemporary collecting and the nation’s ongoing socio-political journey.Laurenson, Sarah ; Robertson, Calum ; Goggins, Sophie
Scotland, Contemporary collecting, social history, military history, and medical history
-
Journal article
Rapid evolution of the primate larynx?
Tissue vibrations in the larynx produce most sounds that comprise vocal communication in mammals. Larynx morphology is thus predicted to be a key target for selection, particularly in species with highly developed vocal communication systems. Here, we present a novel database of digitally modeled scanned larynges from 55 different mammalian...Bowling, Daniel L ; Dunn , Jacob C ; Smaers, Jeroen B ; Garcia, Maxime ; Sato , Asha …
-
Book chapter
Afterword: material reckonings with military histories
Looking at European developments from 2017 to 2019, the Afterword situates the volume among the resurgent interest in questions of contested histories, calls for restitution, and the resurgence of provenance research. It argues that given the varied ways European nations are addressing questions of colonial collections, it seems contradictory that...Lidchi, Henrietta
Post-Colonial Studies , Cultural History, Imperial/Colonial History , War Studies, and Museum & Gallery Studies
-
Journal article
The Old State Drawing Room from Hamilton Palace at the National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh
This article examines one of the most important rooms from Scotland’s largest and greatest private residence, which has been transferred from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, and installed as a focal point in the centre of one of the ten new galleries in the National Museum of Scotland,...Evans, Godfrey ; Stable, Charles
-
Journal article
Thai ceramics
Among the museum's collection are a group of ceramics excavated from the ruins of ancient kilns at Sawankhalok in Thailand.Nicolson, Rosanna
-
Exhibition
Wild and Majestic: Romantic Visions of Scotland
Dramatic highland landscapes, heroic histories, tartan and bagpipes are among the defining images of Scotland for many people around the world today. This exhibition considers the origins of these ideas and explores how they were used to represent Scotland around the world. From the Romantic movement of the 18th and...National Museums Scotland
Scottish tourist industry, Military dress, Highland dress, Literature, Art, and Royal visits to Scotland
-
Book
Wild and majestic: romantic visions of Scotland
In the era of the European Romantic movement of the 18th and 19th centuries, Scotland became the subject of international fascination. Using material evidence, the exhibition – and the book – traces Scotland’s journey into the global imagination, and show how, by the end of Queen Victoria’s reign, a particular...Watt, Patrick ; Waine, Rosie
Royal visits to Scotland, Highland dress, Military dress, Scottish tourism industry, art, literature
-
Other
The Daniel Wilson Scrapbook Listing
Sir Daniel Wilson (1816-1892) was an archaeologist, author, antiquarian and Secretary of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland from 1845 - 1853). Wilson donated his scrapbook (which he referred to as his "Memorials of Auld Reekie") to the Society. It contains illustrations of Edinburgh and other material, some of which...National Museums Scotland
Archives, Leith, Edinburgh, Library, Memorials of Edinburgh in the olden time , Sir Daniel Wilson FSA (Scot) (January 5, 1816 – August 6, 1892), engravings, and Index
-
Other
Alexander Archer Drawings Index
Alexander Archer was an amateur artist, resident in Edinburgh in the 1820s and 1830s. The library holds a collection of around 160 detailed pencil drawings by Archer of Edinburgh and the surrounding area featuring details such as the typical shops of the time, names of business owners and whole streets...National Museums Scotland
Edinburgh and Leith, Architectural drawing, Index, Alexander Archer, 19th century, artist, and Archive
-
Journal article
Earwigs (Dermaptera) from the Mesozoic of England and Australia, described from isolated tegmina, including the first species to be named from the Triassic
Dermaptera (earwigs) are described from the Triassic of Australia and England, and from the Jurassic and Cretaceous of England. Phanerogramma heeri (Giebel) is transferred from Coleoptera and it and Brevicula gradus Whalley are re-described. Seven new taxa are named based on tegmina: Phanerogramma australis sp. nov. and P. dunstani sp....Ross, Andrew ; Kelly, Richard S ; Jarzembowski, Edmund A
palaeoentomology, Polyneoptera taxonomy/systematics, palaeobiogeography, and Archidermaptera
-
Journal article
Dirt, purity, and spatial control: anthropological perspectives on Ancient Egyptian Society and Culture in the Middle Kingdom
The concepts of purity and pollution were central to the maintenance of social boundaries in ancient Egyptian culture. Anthropological approaches, in particular the work of Mary Douglas, are useful in examining their impact on social structure and individual lived experience. Cleanliness and dirtiness were represented as defining characteristics of the...Maitland, Margaret
-
Journal article
Synchronous diversification of Sulawesi's iconic artiodactyls driven by recent geological events
The high degree of endemism on Sulawesi has previously been suggested to have vicariant origins, dating back to 40 Ma. Recent studies, however, suggest that much of Sulawesi's fauna assembled over the last 15 Myr. Here, we test the hypothesis that more recent uplift of previously submerged portions of land...Frantz, Laurent A F ; Rudzinski, Anna ; Nugraha, Abang Mansyursyah Surya ; Evin, Allowen ; Burton, James …
geology, Wallacea, evolution, and biogeography
-
Journal article
Jones, E, Sheridan, J A & Franklin, J 2018 'Neolithic and Bronze Age occupation at Meadowend Farm, Clackmannanshire: Pots, pits and roundhouses' Scottish Archaeological Internet Reports 77
The excavations at Meadowend Farm, Clackmannanshire produced evidence for occupation at various times between the Early Neolithic and the Middle to Late Bronze Age. Significantly, it yielded the largest and best-dated assemblage of Middle Neolithic Impressed Ware yet encountered in Scotland, comprising at least 206 vessels. Episodes of Early to...Jones, Elizabeth ; Sheridan, J A ; Franklin, J
-
Journal article
The ceramic assemblage. In: Lowther, J 2018 ‘The Excavation of a Medieval Burgh Ditch at East Market Street, Edinburgh: Around the Town’, Scottish Archaeological Internet Reports 78
In 2015 excavation works undertaken in preparation for a new hotel development at East Market Street, Edinburgh, encountered the remains of a substantial ditch feature likely relating to previously excavated ditches in the medieval burghs of Edinburgh and Canongate. A substantial stratified artefact assemblage including both animal bone and ceramics...Haggarty, George
-
Journal article
Collecting the personal: stories of domestic energy and everyday life at the National Museum of Scotland
Energise is one of ten award-winning new galleries at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh. Aimed at a family audience, it explores the sources, generation, distribution and use of energy and questions how science and technology may transform how we power our lives in the future. This short case-study... -
Journal article
The changing use of the ovipositor in host shifts by ichneumonid ectoparasitoids of spiders (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae, Pimplinae)
Accurate egg placement into or onto a living host is an essential ability for many parasitoids, and changes in associated phenotypes, such as ovipositor morphology and behaviour, correlate with significant host shifts. Here, we report that in the ichneumonid group of koinobiont spider-ectoparasitoids (“polysphinctines”), several putatively ancestral taxa (clade I...Takasuka, Keizo ; Fritzén, Niclas R ; Tanaka, Yoshihiro ; Matsumoto, Rikio ; Maeto, Kaoru …
-
Journal article
New partial dentaries of amphitheriid mammal Palaeoxonodon ooliticus from Scotland, and posterior dentary morphology in early cladotherians
We describe two partial dentaries of mammals from the Middle Jurassic of Scotland. They belong to the early cladotherian Palaeoxonodon ooliticus. These dentaries comprise the first specimen of P. ooliticus ever found—although its significance was initially unrecognised so it remained undescribed until now—and the most recently discovered specimen, found during...Panciroli, Elsa ; Benson, Roger B J ; Butler, Richard J
UK, Mammalia, Scotland., Jurassic, Bathonian, Cladotheria, Kilmaluag Formation, and Palaeoxonodon ooliticus
-
Journal article
A New Kind of Menswear for a New Kind of Man: constructs of masculinity at JW Anderson and Loewe, 2008-2017
Once radically dividing critics with his lace shirts and knee-high boots for men. J W Anderson's conscious cross-pollination of menswearm and womenswear elements has earned his eponymous label a cult following, precipitating a dizzying ascent. In 2013, LVMH investment in his label coincided with his appointment as Creative Director of...Ripley, Georgina
-
Journal article
Drawing damaged bodies: British Medical Art in the Early Twentieth century
Historians are acutely aware of the role of art in medicine. Elaborate early modern works catch our eye; technical innovations attract analysis. This paper beats a different path by examining three little-known artists in early twentieth-century Britain who deployed what may seem like an outdated method: drawing. Locating the function...Alberti, S J M M
First World War, surgery, medical illustration, wounds, and pathology
-
Journal article
Scientific instrument curators in Britain: building a discipline with material culture
From the mid-1960s a new breed of scientific instrument curators emerged in the United Kingdom. This small community of practice developed in parallel to but distinctly from the expanding generation of university historians of science and other cognate museum sub-professions. Presenting the trajectories, experiences and practices of personnel in British...Alberti, S J M M
-
Journal article
Geomagnetic instruments at National Museums Scotland
In 1981, the sole book about historic geomagnetic instruments was by Anita McConnell. Using it as a timeline, the Royal Scottish Museum’s temporary exhibition ‘The Earth is a Magnet’, was put on to co-incide with an international congress held in Edinburgh that year. The experience emphasised curatorial awareness that this...Morrison-Low, A D
Scottish geomagnetic history, curatorial practice, Temporary exhibitions, and Dr Anita McConnell.
-
Journal article
Fossil scales illuminate the early evolution of lepidopterans and structural colors. e1700988
Lepidopteran scales exhibit remarkably complex ultrastructures, many of which produce structural colors that are the basis for diverse communication strategies. Little is known, however, about the early evolution of lepidopteran scales and their photonic structures. We report scale architectures from Jurassic Lepidoptera from the United Kingdom, Germany, Kazakhstan, and China...Zhang, Qingqing ; Mey, Wolfram ; Ansorge, Jörg ; Starkey, Timothy A ; McDonald, Luke T …
-
Journal article
The complexities of Metal Detecting Policy and Practice: a response to Samuel Hardy, ‘Quantitative Analysis of Open-Source Data on Metal Detecting for Cultural Property’ (Cogent Social Sciences 3, 2017)
In his paper ‘Quantitative analysis of open-source data on metal detecting for cultural property’, Samuel Hardy suggested that permissive policy is ineffective in minimizing the damage done to cultural heritage by non-professional metal detecting. This response paper contests the basic assumptions upon which this analysis is based. While Hardy‘s comparative,... -
Journal article
A review of Necrotauliids from the Triassic/Jurassic of England (Trichoptera: Necrotauliidae)
Species previously attributed to Necrotauliidae are revised from the Late Triassic and Early Jurassic of England based on examination of type specimens and non-type material. The necrotauliids have been considered as a basal family of caddisflies (Trichoptera) or as a paraphyletic assemblage of stem-amphiesmenopterans. Herein a new genus, Austaulius, is...Kelly, Richard S ; Ross, Andrew ; Coram, Robert A
palaeoentomology, taxonomy/systematics, Polyneoptera, palaeobiogeography, and Archidermaptera
-
Journal article
When ivory came from the seas. On some traits of the trade of raw and carved sea-mammal ivories in the Middle Ages
Even if it played a part, it is not so much the lesser availability of elephant ivory as the Norse expansion in the Northern Atlantic that brought the success of walrus ivory throughout Western Europe and far beyond. The strength of demand did not only bring the extinction of the...Dectot, Xavier
trade, walrus, Middle Ages, Iceland, narwhal, Ivory, Greenland, unicorn, and khutū
-
Journal article
The last apothecary: Eric Knott (1896–1993) and 20th-century pharmacy in Scotland
Eric Knott was the last Apothecary at the Royal Public Dispensary and the last Principal of the Duncan School of Pharmacy. He linked pre-war apothecary practice to post-war chemist dispensing. This paper tracks his career from the Duncan School of Pharmacy, transfer to Heriot-Watt College in 1936, to the close...Goggins, Sophie
Pharmacy, general practice, Dispensary, Royal Public, chemist and druggist, and apothecary
-
Journal article
People and planes: technical versus social narratives in aviation museums
Redevelopment of two Second World War hangars at the National Museum of Flight in East Lothian provided an opportunity to re-interpret the museum collections. This short account of the project looks at the integrated incorporation of oral history recordings. In particular, it looks at the new approach taken to the...Brown, Ian
-
Journal article
Maude Abbott and the origin and mysterious disappearance of the Canadian Medical War Museum
From the mid-1960s a new breed of scientific instrument curators emerged in the United Kingdom. This small community of practice developed in parallel to but Context.—In the early 1900s, it was common practice to retain, prepare, and display instructive pathologic specimens to teach pathology to medical trainees and practitioners; these...Wright Jr, James R ; Alberti, S J M M ; Lyons, Christopher ; Fraser, Richard S
-
Journal article
Morphology of the petrosal and stapes of Borealestes (Mammaliaformes, Docodonta) from the Middle Jurassic of Skye, Scotland
We describe, in unprecedented detail, the petros-als and stapes of the docodont Borealestes from the Middle Jurassic of Scotland, using high resolution lCT and phase- contrast synchrotron imaging. We describe the inner ear endocast and the vascularized interior structure of the pet-rosal, and provide the first endocranial view of a...Panciroli, Elsa ; Schultz, Julia A ; Luo, Zhe-Xi
pet-rosal, Borealestes, inner ear, endocast, Mammaliaformes, and docodont
-
Journal article
Molecular confirmation of Hymenolepis hibernia in field mice (Apodemus sylvaticus) from St Kilda has potential to resolve a host-parasite relationship
Insular wildlife populations provide opportunities to examine biological questions in systems that are relatively closed and potentially tractable, striking examples being the long-term studies of ecology and evolution in the red deer and feral sheep populations on the Hebridean islands of Rum and St Kilda. In the case of parasitology,... -
Journal article
‘Ava’: a Beaker-associated woman from a cist at Achavanich, Highland, and the story of her (re-)discovery and subsequent study
This contribution describes the discovery and subsequent investigation of a cist in a rock-cut pit at Achavanich, Highland. Discovered and excavated in 1987, the cist was found to contain the tightly contracted skeletal remains of a young woman, accompanied by a Beaker, three flint artefacts and a cattle scapula. Initial...Hoole, M ; Sheridan, J A ; Boyle, A ; Booth, T ; Brace, S …
-
Journal article
Shaping scientific instrument collections: A historiography
There is an extensive literature on the history of what we now term scientific instruments. As a result, we know a great deal about how devices such as telescopes, clocks and astrolabes were made and used, especially those dating from the seventeenth to the nineteenth centuries. Many of these artefacts...Alberti, S J M M
-
Journal article
Cyprus as an ancient hub for house mice and humans
Aim The distribution of the western house mouse (Mus musculus domesticus) around the world has been strongly influenced by the movement of humans. The close association between the house mouse and human phylogeography has been primarily studied in the peripheral distribution of the species. Here, we inferred the complex colonization...García‐Rodríguez, Oxala ; Andreou, Demetra ; Herman, Jeremy S ; Mitsainas, George P ; Searle, Jeremy B …
house mouse, phylogeography, mtDNA, human, bioproxy, and Cyprus
-
Conference paper (published)
The remarkable palaeodiversity in Burmese amber
Ross, Andrew