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Journal article
On the “screamer-like” birds from the British London Clay: An archaic anseriform-galliform mosaic and a non-galloanserine “barb-necked” species of Perplexicervix
We revisit recently described putative anseriform birds from the early Eocene London Clay of Walton-on-the-Naze (Essex, UK). Phylogenetically relevant skeletal elements of Danielsavis nazensis Houde et al., 2023 are reported that were omitted from the original description, including the pterygoids and palatines. We detail that anseriform affinities of D. nazensis...Mayr, Gerald ; Carrió, Vicen ; Kitchener, Andrew C
Aves, new family, Walton-on-the-Naze, new species, and fossil birds
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Book
Preliminary investigation into the threat of Bronze Birch Borer (BBB - Agrilus anxius) to Scotland
This report details findings and recommendations from a year-long project investigating the threat that bronze birch borer (BBB, Agrilus anxius) poses to Scotland. The project concentrated on three areas: the current and potential distribution of Agrilus species in Scotland, potential BBB entry pathways, and BBB surveillance methods.Dainton, Katrina ; Pollard, Chris ; Trotter, Felix ; Paterson, Alaina ; Dunn, Michael …
bronze birch borer, Agrilus species , invasive species, and Scotland
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Journal article
Can modern technology uncover the secrets of evolution?
A mysterious group of fossils called the Elgin Reptiles has been puzzling scientists for centuries. Existing only as cavities hidden within rocks, these fossils could help scientists unravel the mysteries of evolution. Thanks to modern technologies, Dr Davide Foffa, a research associate at National Museums Scotland, and his colleagues have...Foffa, Davide
Palaeoecology, lagerpetids, Vertebrate Palaeontology, μCT scanning , Elgin Reptiles, Scleromochlus , and Palaeobiology
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Lecture
Moray's Contribution to Pangaea and Triassic Park
Join Dr Nick Fraser as he explored Moray's Contribution to Pangaea and Triassic Park. The Triassic was a critical time for the evolution of life on Earth. This period witnessed the first appearance of some of the most successful animals that ever lived, including lizards, dinosaurs, turtles and crocodilians, the...Fraser, Nicholas C
fossils, Elgin reptiles, palaeontology, Triassic period, and evolution
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Journal article
Early Eocene fossils elucidate the evolutionary history of the Charadriiformes (shorebirds and allies)
We report charadriiform and charadriiform-like birds from the early Eocene London Clay of Walton-on-the-Naze (Essex, UK). A partial skeleton of a small modern-type charadriiform is described as a new species, n. gen. n. sp., and most closely resembles taxa of the Charadrii (plovers, stilts, oystercatchers, and other “wader-like” shorebirds). Affinities...Mayr, Gerald ; Kitchener, Andrew C
charadriiform bird, Walton-on-the-Naze, fossil record, early Paleogene , and Eocene London Clay
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Abstract
Piecing together Baltic amber fungus gnats: a comprehensive review and material assessment
Fungus gnats (Diptera, Sciaroidea) represent the largest group in the fossil record and are among the most diverse groups of living flies. The Mycetophilidae family alone comprises approximately 400 described fossil species (surpassed only by Limoniidae) in 126 genera. The majority of these species were described from Baltic amber by...Blagoderov, Vladimir ; Evenhuis, Neal L
Baltic amber, Eocene, fungus gnats, and Sciaroidea
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Journal article
Dr Allen David Cumming Simpson, 13 December 1947-3 December 2022
Allen Simpson was born in Edinburgh, went to school there, attended the University of Edinburgh, worked there, married and raised a family, and finally died there. He worked at what eventually became National Museums Scotland between 1970 to 1998, as an Assistant Keeper, and subsequently, Curator and Principal Curator in...Morrison-Low, Alison
curatorial research, Scottish weights and measures, Science & Technology, obituary, National Museums Scotland, Department of Technology, and Royal Museum of Scotland
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Conference paper (unpublished)
Buying Power: British Archaeology and the Antiquities Market 1880 – 1939
This project is the first to focus on how archaeologists involved in British-led excavations in Egypt and Sudan were entangled with the antiquities market and how this impacts what we see today in museums across the world. It will examine how and why archaeologists bought and sold objects, how they...Potter, Daniel M
colonial collecting practices, Archaeologists , Egypt and Sudan, British-led excavations, antiques market, and colonial histories and legacies
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Book chapter
Towards an Ontology of Pre-20th Century Scientific Instrument Types
This paper introduces the project Tools of Knowledge: Modelling the Scientific Instrument Trade, 1550–1914, and focuses on our ongoing development of an ontology to represent knowledge about scientific instrument types produced during this period. After a brief introduction, we discuss the background to the project and a summary of previous...Middle, Sarah ; Butterworth, Alex
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Presentation
Tools of Knowledge: Modelling the Scientific Instrument Trade, 1550–1914, January 2021 - December 2023 & How Did We Get Here? Transitioning the Communities & Crowds Project to Zooniverse (Digital Intersections Around Science Collections – online conference sessions)
The first part, drawing on the Tools of Knowledge project, will explore how digital methods and tools can capture, model and visualise the ‘lives’, or itineraries, of scientific instruments. It will introduce Voyages in Time, a volunteer transcription project on Zooniverse.org created with Royal Museums Greenwich, which provides data on... -
Abstract
From There to Posterity: Modelling Diverse Itineraries of Scientific Instruments
It is reasonable to claim that there are few types of historical artefact more complex or consequent than the scientific instruments of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. In them are encoded generations of craft knowledge, while individually and in combination they enabled new vistas of knowledge production, real and figurative,...Middle, Sarah ; Butterworth, Alex ; Higgitt, Rebekah
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Abstract
Identifying community requirements for Linked Humanities Data infrastructures
It is likely that the application of LOD approaches to the Humanities will result in large, rich, heterogeneous datasets with huge research potential, but in turn raise a considerable challenge: how can these datasets be managed and published in forms that are flexible, scalable, interoperable and, critically, usable and sustainable?...Middle, Sarah ; Hay, Duncan ; Butterworth, Alex
research project, Pelagios community, data, and Digital Humanities
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Abstract
How to collect a crisis: Displaying and collecting COVID-19
COVID-19 is not the first, nor will it be the last, global pandemic or health crisis. The Influenza pandemic of 1918 killed an estimate 50 million people worldwide and had far reaching impact and consequences. However, in the National Museums Scotland collection, made up of 12 million objects, only two...Goggins, Sophie
personal stories, scientific and medical objects , global pandemic , COVID-19, museum collections, and material culture
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Journal article
Palaeogenomic Evidence for the Long-Term Reproductive Isolation Between Wild and Domestic Cats
Domestic cats were derived from the Near Eastern wildcat (Felis lybica), after which they dispersed with people into Europe. As they did so, it is possible that they interbred with the indigenous population of European wildcats (Felis silvestris). Gene flow between incoming domestic animals and closely related indigenous wild species...Jamieson, Alexandra ; Carmagnini, Alberto ; Howard-McCombe, Jo ; Doherty, Sean ; Hirons, Alexandra …
domestication, palaeogenomics, and cats
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Abstract
Fragmented metalwork hoards as a selective practice in Late Bronze Age north-western Europe
Hoards of fragmented metalwork are often seen as one of the defining practices of Late Bronze Age communities in Europe. Such hoards have attracted much attention with debates around how and why metalwork was broken and buried. Were hoards abandoned scrap? Or was there a ritual aspect? Although it is...Knight, Matthew G
Europe, communities , Hoards, Late Bronze Age , and fragmented metalwork
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Journal article
Revealing observatory networks through object stories: Observatory audiences
Like the contributions to the other papers in this collection (‘Object itineraries’ and ‘Instrumental networks’), those in this final section explore instrumental networks and object itineraries in order to tell new histories of observatory sites and their associated networks. (For a discussion of the genesis and thinking behind the collection... -
Journal article
Revealing observatory networks through object stories: Introduction
This paper introduces a group of three articles that bring together object stories relating to observatory history and networks. The three articles (‘Instrumental networks’, ‘Object itineraries’ and ‘Observatory audiences’) each bring together three object stories by different authors that contribute to the article theme. Here the genesis of the collection...Higgitt, Rebekah
object stories, observatory sites, astronomy, networks, collections, object biography, scientific instruments, object itineraries, Time, observatory sciences, and observatories
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Abstract
The long, strange journey of Viking-age ringed pins
Ringed pins are the calling card of the Viking Age in Britain and Ireland: small, low-value metal cloak fasteners, found in dressed burials, and frequently encountered as stray finds. They have a complex trajectory, beginning as Irish dress items in the pre-Viking period. From the middle of the ninth century,...Maldonado, Adrián
death rituals, Viking Age in Britain and Ireland, burials, ringed pins, Hiberno-Norse, and cloak fasteners
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Lecture
Beyond Picts and Vikings: Northern mainland Scotland 800-1100
Adrian Maldonado speaking about the artefacts and carved stones from the end of the Pictish period and Viking Age in the northern mainland. This is a re-recording of a talk given person at Strathpeffer on 28th October 2023 for NOSAS's 25th anniversary celebrations.Maldonado, Adrián
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Journal article
The mitochondrial DNA diversity of captive ruffed lemurs (Varecia spp.): implications for conservation
Ruffed lemurs ( and ) are categorized as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, and genetic studies are needed for assessing the conservation value of captive populations. Using 280 mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) D-loop sequences, we studied the genetic diversity and structure of captive ruffed lemurs in Madagascar, Europe and...Vega, Rodrigo ; Hopper, Jane ; Kitchener, Andrew C ; Catinaud, Jérôme ; Roullet, Delphine …
Biodiversity, diversity, Lemuridae, genetic, primates, conservation, and Madagascar
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Journal article
Exhibition Review: Tales in Gaelic (Temporary exhibition - Sgeul/Story: Folk Tales from the Scottish Highlands, National Library of Scotland, Edinburgh)
Bruce Blacklaw finds folklore and beauty in this celebration of the Gaelic languageBlacklaw, Bruce
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Book
Dyes in History and Archaeology 41
This Special Issue features contributions from the conference DHA41. Dyes in History and Archaeology (DHA) is an annual international conference that focuses on the academic discussion of dyes and organic pigments which have been used in the past. Every year since 1982, this meeting has drawn together conservators; curators; (technical)...Sandström, Edith
contributions, conference , organic colorants, Dyes in History and Archaeology, and conservation
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Journal article
Two Sculptures, One Master? A Technical Study of Two Rare Examples of Polychrome Sculptures Associated with “the Master of Saint Catherine of Gualino”, Italy, Fourteenth Century
Between the 1960s and 1990s art historian Giovanni Previtali identified a group of polychrome wood trecento sculptures from the Umbrian-Abruzzo region of Italy as the work of one hand. He named his artist the Maestro della Santa Caterina Gualino after one of the pieces considered to epitomize the style he... -
Journal article
The Power of Glass: Craft Scotland Conference, 2022
In 2022, the UN marked the International Year of Glass, celebrating the essential role glass has, and will continue to have, in society. One element of this celebration was the importance of glass within art and its history, which the Craft Scotland 2022 Conference: The Power of Glass looked to... -
Journal article
Fair Isle Knitwear
Fair Isle knitwear with its brightly-coloured geometric patterns, is known across the world today. The style has had various fashion flashpoints over the last two centuries, not least in the 1920s when the Prince of Wales, the future Edward VIII, was photographed looking very dapper wearing Fair Isle sweaters. It...Wyld, Helen ; Laurenson, Sarah
research , craft, textiles, Fair Isle knitwear , knitting, and National Museums Scotland collections
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Journal article
A new species of Lygistorrhina (Lygistorrhina) Skuse, 1890 (Diptera: Keroplatidae, Lygistorrhininae) with a key to the subgenus
A new species of Lygistorrhina (Lygistorrhina) Skuse, 1890, Lygistorrhina woodi sp. nov., is described. The specimen was dissected from an alcohol-preserved flower of Ceropegia aristolochioides ssp. deflersiana Bruyns (Apocynaceae, Asclepiadoideae, Ceropegieae) stored in the Kew herbarium. This is the first occurrence of the lygistorrhine gnats in a hot, semi-arid climate....Blagoderov, Vladimir ; Ollerton, Jeff ; Whittington, Andrew
Fungus gnats , Taxonomy , Apocynaceae, Biodiversity, Ceropegia, New taxa , Diptera, and Afrotropical region
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Journal article
Hwiccewyrm trispiculum gen. et sp. nov., a new leptopleuronine procolophonid from the Late Triassic of southwest England
The fissure fill localities of southwest England and South Wales are well‐known for preserving rich assemblages of predominantly small‐bodied Late Triassic to Early Jurassic tetrapods, but many aspects of these assemblages remain contentious. The age of the Late Triassic fissures is disputed, with some lines of argument suggesting a latest...Butler, Richard J ; Meade, Luke E ; Cleary, Terri J ; McWhirter, Kai T ; Brown, Emily E …
Procolophonidae , phylogeny , Parareptilia , fissure fills , and Triassic
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Journal article
Albinism in the common shrew Sorex araneus
Albinism is a hypopigmentation disorder which occurs as a consequence of mutations in genes involved in melanin biosynthesis. It is recorded in many mammalian species but is generally considered to be rare in natural populations. Here, we describe a fully albino individual of the common shrew found in south-western Poland....Wójcik, Jan M ; Kowalczyk, Rafał ; Rybiałek, Jerzy ; Herman, Jeremy
Fur colouration , Albino , Shrews, Pelage , and Soricidae
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Journal article
Skull morphology of bottlenose dolphins worldwide and patterns of adaptation between coastal and offshore environments
The morphological differentiation between coastal and offshore ecotypes of bottlenose dolphins (genus ) has been researched since the 1960s, particularly in (Montagu, 1821), although most morphological studies have focused on localized populations. Therefore, it is unclear how patterns observed in these individual populations integrate within the global morphological variation. Here...Oxford‐Smith, N ; Ruta, M ; Gao, A ; Viaud‐Martinez, K A ; Sabin, R …
ecotype , dolphin , offshore , adaptation , biogeography , Tursiops truncatus, coastal , and skull morphology
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Journal article
How genomic insights into the evolutionary history of clouded leopards inform their conservation
Clouded leopards ( spp.), a morphologically and ecologically distinct lineage of big cats, are severely threatened by habitat loss and fragmentation, targeted hunting, and other human activities. The long-held poor understanding of their genetics and evolution has undermined the effectiveness of conservation actions. Here, we report a comprehensive investigation of...Yuan, Jiaqing ; Wang, Guiqiang ; Zhao, Le ; Kitchener, Andrew C ; Sun, Ting …
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Journal article
Genetic swamping of the critically endangered Scottish wildcat was recent and accelerated by disease
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Journal article
Integrative taxonomy reveals unrecognised species diversity in African Corypha larks (Aves: Alaudidae)
The species complex comprising the rufous-naped lark Corypha africana, Sharpe’s lark Corypha sharpii, the red-winged lark Corypha hypermetra, the Somali long-billed lark Corypha somalica and Ash’s lark Corypha ashi encompasses 31 recognised taxa across sub-Saharan Africa, many of which are extremely poorly known and some not observed for decades. Only...Alström, Per ; Mohammadi, Zeinolabedin ; Donald, Paul F ; Nymark, Marianne ; Enbody, Erik D …
behaviour, morphometrics, Africa, bird, and new classification
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Journal article
A revision of the ‘coelophysoid-grade’ theropod specimen from the Lower Jurassic of the Isle of Skye (Scotland )
The broadest diversification of early predatory dinosaurs is represented by the ‘coelophysoid-grade’ neotheropods, but their Hettangian–Sinemurian ( 191–201 Ma) record is scarce worldwide. More information is needed to shed light on the evolution of this dinosaur group after the end-Triassic mass extinction ( 201 Ma). Here we revisit the anatomy...Ezcurra, Martín D ; Marke, Daniel ; Walsh, Stig A ; Brusatte, Stephen L
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Lecture
Mineralogy of the Mobile phone
Did you know that mobile phones use over fifty different chemical elements to work? Where do these come from and how are they used?Walcott, Rachel
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Journal article
Reaching Further with Earth Science Data
Earth Sciences cover a broad spectrum of research fields such as petrology, sedimentology, structural geology, seismology, and geomorphology, to name a few, which aim to understand interrelated processes on the surface and in the interior of our planet. Many of the research questions studied in the Earth sciences, such as,...Walcott, Rachel ; Lehnert, Kerstin
geology, mineralogy, geochemistry, Mineral Extension for Darwin Core, and soil science
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Book chapter
Vers une histoire globale de la mode. Un debat entre BuYun Chen, Beverly Lemire et Lucy Norris
Perspective interroge la mode en tant que pratique rhétorique, artistique et culturelle. Historiens de l’art, de la mode et archéologues, mais aussi designers et conservateurs se penchent sur les manières dont le vêtement et la parure ont servi à exprimer le lien des individus aux identités individuelles et collectives qui...Breward, Christopher ; Riello, Giorgio
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Abstract
Late Ordovician echinoderms from the Brabant Massif (Belgium): Taxonomic revision, palaeoecology and palaeobiogeographic implications
In the Ordovician, the Brabant Massif (Belgium) was situated in the eastern part of the Avalonia microcontinent, which then also comprised eastern Newfoundland, southern Ireland, Wales, England, the Netherlands, southern Denmark and northwestern Germany. With the exception of the British Isles, which yielded a more or less continuous fossil record...Lefebrve, Bertrand ; Candela, Yves
Brabant Massif (Belgium), taxonomy, Ordovician , and echinoderms
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Journal article
A documentation checklist for (Linked) humanities data
Documentation, including information, instructions, and use cases, is key to reproducibility in Digital Humanities research and usability of resulting tools and resources. However, despite multiple studies that support this assertion, clear and comprehensive documentation is often lacking due to fundamental incompatibilities with existing funding models and the resulting prioritisation of...Middle, Sarah
Reproducibility , User research, Usability , Digital humanities , and Linked data
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Journal article
Human consumption of seaweed and freshwater aquatic plants in ancient Europe
During the Mesolithic in Europe, there is widespread evidence for an increase in exploitation of aquatic resources. In contrast, the subsequent Neolithic is characterised by the spread of farming, land ownership, and full sedentism, which lead to the perception of marine resources subsequently representing marginal or famine food or being...Buckley, Stephen ; Hardy, Karen ; Hallgren, Fredrik ; Kubiak-Martens, Lucy ; Miliauskienė, Žydrūnė …
Lipids and Archaeology
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Journal article
Limited historical admixture between European wildcats and domestic cats
Domestic cats were derived from the Near Eastern wildcat (Felis lybica), after which they dispersed with people into Europe. As they did so, it is possible that they interbred with the indigenous population of European wildcats (Felis silvestris). Gene flow between incoming domestic animals and closely related indigenous wild species...Jamieson, Alexandra ; Carmagnini, Alberto ; Howard-McCombe, Jo ; Doherty, Sean ; Hirons, Alexandra …
ancient DNA, cats, hybridization , and domestication
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Lecture
Skeleton Keys: Using Archaeology to Unlock Whithorn's Past’
For five years archaeologists have been investigating evidence of early medieval life in Whithorn. Now they can disclose some of the exciting insights they've achieved, bringing the past closer than ever before. What scientists and archaeologists are unearthing will revolutionise our understanding of the origins and spread of Christianity in...Maldonado, Adrián ; Curtis-Summers, Shirley
Early Medieval Scotland, Christianity , Whithorn, archaeology, and digital visualisation
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Lecture
Putting metalwork in its place. An analysis of the Late Bronze Age and Earliest Iron Age finds from Somerset
An analysis of the Late Bronze Age and Earliest Iron Age finds from Somerset. During the Late Bronze Age and Earliest Iron Age (c.1150-600 BC), many bronze and gold objects were buried across Europe. This lecture will explore the meanings of metalwork deposition through the evidence from Somerset and investigate...Knight, Matthew G
Bronze Age, metal dispositionb, Somerset, finds, bronze , Iron Age , and gold
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Lecture
‘Some finds “of more than ordinary interest”: Exploring small socketed axeheads from northern Britain’
In 2019 a miniature bronze socketed axehead was discovered near Morebattle, Scottish Borders. These enigmatic finds are rare in northern Britain and are often considered to date anywhere from the Late Bronze Age to the Roman period. The discovery at Morebattle prompted a research project analysing unusually small socketed axeheads... -
Conference paper (unpublished)
Re-discovering a Lost Neolithic Tomb in 2023
The Neolithic site in Holm was largely destroyed by Victorian antiquarians 127 years ago. Experts from National Museums Scotland (NMS) and Cardiff University rediscovered the tomb after a search for its precise location. Despite the damage, the archaeologists have found 14 skeletons of men, women and children.Anderson-Whymark, Hugo ; Cummings, Vicki
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Book chapter
'Neolithic' and 'Chalolithic?/Early Bronze Period' In: Boughey, Keith, A Tale of Two Collectors: The Lithic Collections of Geoffrey Taylor and David Heys (with particular reference to the county of Yorkshire)
The book begins with brief biographies of the two collectors and outlines the areas in which they collected, principally the North York Moors, and their method of working, before attempting to set their work into its wider prehistoric context. It then explains how the over 18,000 worked pieces in the...Sheridan, J A
Flint, Jet, North York Moors, Neolithic, Lithics, and Bronze Age