Fossils and Sovereignty: Science Diplomacy and the Politics of Deep Time in the Sino-American Fossil Dispute of the 1920s

Isis 115 (1):1-22 (2024)
  Copy   BIBTEX

Abstract

In the early twentieth century, with the development of Western scientific imperialism, Asia, South America, and Africa became sites for Western scientific exploration. Many paleontological specimens, including dinosaur bones, were discovered in China by foreign scientists and explorers and exported to museums in France, Sweden, and the United States. After the establishment of the Nationalist Government in Nanjing in 1927, anti-imperialist Chinese intellectuals attempted to prevent foreigners from exporting specimens unearthed on Chinese territory. In the summer of 1928, the fossils discovered in the Gobi Desert by the Central Asiatic Expedition of the American Museum of Natural History were detained in China. A series of negotiations ensued between Chinese and American diplomats and scientists over the issues of the ownership of fossils and the format of international scientific collaborations. By studying the interests and stakes for players in the different social worlds involved in the dispute, this essay explores the relations among science, diplomacy, and the politics of deep time.

Links

PhilArchive



    Upload a copy of this work     Papers currently archived: 91,475

External links

Setup an account with your affiliations in order to access resources via your University's proxy server

Through your library

Similar books and articles

In defense of living fossils.Derek D. Turner - 2019 - Biology and Philosophy 34 (2):23.
The Epistemic Value of the Living Fossils Concept.Aja Watkins - 2021 - Philosophy of Science 88 (5):1221-1233.
The New Bone Wars.R. Spencer Foster & Virginia W. Gerde - 2009 - Proceedings of the International Association for Business and Society 20:207-217.
The living fossil concept: reply to Turner.Scott Lidgard & Alan C. Love - 2021 - Biology and Philosophy 36 (2):1-16.

Analytics

Added to PP
2024-02-27

Downloads
17 (#860,469)

6 months
17 (#145,330)

Historical graph of downloads
How can I increase my downloads?