Fossil research affected by significant colonial bias

Date:
January 6, 2022
Source:
University of Birmingham
Summary:
The fossil record, which documents the history of life on Earth,
is heavily biased by influences such as colonialism, history and
global economics, palaeontologists argue.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
The fossil record, which documents the history of life on Earth, is
heavily biased by influences such as colonialism, history and global
economics, argues a new study involving palaeontologists at the University
of Birmingham and the University of Erlangen-Nu"rnberg.


==========================================================================
The findings have significance across the field of palaeontology, but
also for the ways in which researchers are able to use our knowledge
of ancient fossil records to gain clearer, long term perspectives on
Earth's biodiversity.

In the study, published in Nature Ecology & Evolution, the researchers investigated the influence and extent of these biases within the
Paleobiology Database, a vast, widely used and publicly accessible
resource which forms the cornerstone of analytical studies in the field.

They found significant bias in areas such as knowledge production, with researchers in high or upper middle income countries contributing to 97
per cent of fossil data. This means that wealthy countries, primarily
located in the Global North control the majority of the palaeontological research power.

In addition, the team found the top countries contributing to
palaeontological research, carried out a disproportionate amount of work abroad, more than half of which did not involve any local researchers (researchers based in the country where the fossils are being collected).

There are many famous examples of colonial, political and economic biases across the natural sciences and humanities. During the 19th century,
specimens uncovered following exploratory expeditions were shipped back
to respective imperial capitals to be housed in museums, where many are
still used for scientific research today. Perhaps foremost among these,
are the Parthenon sculptures, sometimes called the Elgin Marbles, which
the Greek government has repeatedly requested be returned since they
were taken from Athens in the early 19th century.

These biases affect the way in which palaeontologists conduct their
research, and can lead to unethical practices in the most extreme cases.

Co-lead author Dr Emma Dunne said: "Although we know there are these irregularities and gaps in our knowledge of the fossil record, the
historical, social and economic factors which influence these gaps are
not well understood.

Many of the research practices that are informed by these biases
still persist today and we ought to be taking action to address them."
"We are familiar, for example, with 'scientific colonialism, or 'parachute science', in which researchers, generally from higher income countries
drop in to other countries to conduct research, and then leave without
any engagement with local communities and local expertise. But this
issue goes further than that -- the expertise of local researchers is
devalued, and laws are often violated, hindering domestic scientific development and leading to mistrust between researchers." The first
step towards conducting research that is more equitable and ethical,
argue the researchers, is to address the power relations driving the
production of scientific research. This means properly involving and acknowledging local expertise.

One project which strives to do this is a research project involving researchers from both European and African universities, based in a
remote area of Western Cape in South Africa. Here palaeontologists from
Witz University and the University of Johannesburg are at the forefront
of the research and are working with local education specialists Play
Africa to create interactive materials that can be toured around schools
in the region.

Dr Dunne added: "We know we can't just eradicate bias, but by
understanding it we open up whole new avenues for understanding
our past that cross boundaries and stretches across science
and arts subjects. Palaeontology really flourishes when we
embrace this kind of diversity." special promotion Explore
the latest scientific research on sleep and dreams in this
free online course from New Scientist -- Sign_up_now_>>> academy.newscientist.com/courses/science-of-sleep-and-dreams ========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_Birmingham. Note:
Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Nussai"bah B. Raja, Emma M. Dunne, Aviwe Matiwane, Tasnuva Ming
Khan,
Paulina S. Na"tscher, Aline M. Ghilardi, Devapriya Chattopadhyay.

Colonial history and global economics distort our understanding
of deep- time biodiversity. Nature Ecology & Evolution, 2021; DOI:
10.1038/s41559- 021-01608-8 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/01/220106105955.htm

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