Prehistoric Beast at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History: Deep Time

Even though I was born and raised in Northern New Jersey, I have always had a close relationship with Maryland and Washington D.C. because a large part of my family lives there.  That being said I have been to the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History several times over the years.  I wrote about it here back in 2016 and then again more recently for its seasonal exhibit, The Last American Dinosaurs.  This past June, however, the main fossil hall was opened to the public again after being renovated and I was finally able to visit it for myself.  Let's check it out!

The David H. Koch Hall of Fossils takes place in an open hallway on the main floor of the museum.  Large dinosaurs are of course a focal point, but the overall exhibit is meant to explore the concept of deep time, and all the different life forms that have existed and what they can teach us, not just the most popular ones.  A popular question is "How does paleontology benefit humanity?" Personally, I find this question a bit egocentric and closeminded.  Nature shouldn't be directly paying us in order to be valued.  Despite this truth, studying deep time does in fact provide us with valuable information to better ourselves.  This exhibit does a good job addressing this question by forcing us to look at prehistoric animals in new ways, their direct relationships with life today, and of course, the concept of extinction.  Understanding extinctions from the past can tell us information about current extinctions (of which there are unfortunately many occurring) and how we can best prevent them. The earth has changed climate patterns many times throughout history and resulted in many observable extinctions in the fossil record, but never as rapid as the one caused by humans now.  Looking back and seeing the consequences of catastrophic events in the past can give us insight on how to best combat the crisis that is currently happening.

Diplodocus (left) and Camarasaurus (right) re the two largest dinosaurs on display.

The first fossil you see when approaching the exhibit is the first ever discovered specimen of the beloved spike-tailed dinosaur, Stegosaurus.  This is a wonderfully complete specimen, showcasing all the plates, the tail spikes, and even the bony throat armor, which many people don't realize this iconic dinosaur had.  Because this specimen was partially disarticulated, however, it posed as a sort of puzzle for paleontologists as to exactly how the plates were arranged and how the animal stood and carried itself in life for a long time.  The specimen is right there in the hallway at eye level behind a wall of glass so visitors can get very close to it and see all the details and textures on the bones.

Stegosaurus holotype on display.

The other side of the hall is the museum's active paleontology lab.  You can watch employees and volunteers behind glass prepping fossils for study or display.  This is a really great feature for educational purposes.  So many kids go into museums with dreams of working with real fossils one day.  This gives them a chance to see up close what that really entails.  It also is a chance for people of all ages to see that fossils aren't simply yanked out of the ground, perfectly complete and ready to display.  Fossils are often encased in excess rock on all sides from being taken out of the field and require sometimes years of careful work to remove all that rock until the fossil is ready to be studied. Sometimes we can't even identify what creature a fossil is from until much or all of the prep work is done!

One thing I always appreciated about the Smithsonian was that it makes a point to give you a sense of what it might have been like to actually step into the prehistoric environments from all sides by surrounding you with all kinds of elements, not just the biggest, most charismatic animals.  This newest version of the fossil hall was no exception.  There are many displays that show you what the smaller animals, invertebrates, and plants would have looked like from the same community.

The Smithsonian has lots of exhibits starring smaller fossil organisms that would have coexisted the more charismatic giants everyone already knows and loves.

Another great feature of this exhibit is the presence of several free-standing miniature dioramas of various reconstructed environments across time.  These are complete with scale models of land formations, bodies of water, plants, and of course the animals that are featured in the environments.  The fact that they can be viewed from all sides lets more visitors enjoy them at once, and also makes small details more visible.

Miniature diorama showcasing early Permian life.  Note how guests can view from both sides.

Of course the big skeletons of dinosaurs draw the most attention regardless of all the other wonderful features included in this exhibit.  That being said, many of the most iconic species are posed showcasing behaviors that are less common in art and other popular media, forcing visitors to think of their favorite prehistoric beasts in ways they never have before.

A perfect example of this is the Smithsonian's Allosaurus.  Allosaurus is widely known as a predatory dinosaur, often depicted attacking/killing/threatening/eating other dinosaurs.  It's hard not to with teeth and claws like that!  This Allosaurus, however, is posed in a resting position, tenderly guarding a nest of eggs.  Dinosaur eggs and families are no stranger to museum exhibits, but it's hardly ever the top predators who are shown tending to them.  This mount forces us to remember that ALL dinosaurs, even the most fearsome hunters, started tiny and helpless.

Parent Allosaurus.

Another unusual mount that is much more dynamic is their Stegosaurus in the process of knocking the meat-eater, Ceratosaurus, to the ground with its tail.  Just like the case with the nesting Allosaurus, this is a scenario that likely could have happened but is not often portrayed.  People naturally expect the predator to win the fight, even though they likely didn't more than half the time.  Being a predator is dangerous because it forces an animal to confront and kill other animals or starve trying.  Other animals don't want to be eaten so they do everything in their power to escape, or in the case of the Stegosaurus, fight back with formidable defensive weapons.  It is because of this that predators of most species typically have higher mortality rates.

Stegosaurus in the process of knocking over Ceratosaurus.  Notice all the bony throat armor included on this mount.

For those out there who just can't survive without seeing some good old fashioned predatory carnage, look no further than the Smithsonian's mount of the world's favorite carnivore, Tyrannosaurus rex.  T. rex is posed standing over a defeated Triceratops', separating the poor horned dinosaur's head from the rest of its lifeless body.  This scene was inspired by relatively recent studies regarding unhealed Tyrannosaurus bite marks on the frills of Triceratops skulls, suggesting that the meat-eaters would pull the heads off their ceratopsian victims in order to get to the neck meat when feeding.  The same Triceratops skeleton was previously displayed in a walking position in the previous American Dinosaurs exhibit as well as the main fossil hall before renovations.

Tyrannosaurus with Triceratops.

Nestled in the heart of all these massive dinosaurs is a beautiful section on the relationship between modern birds and other dinosaurs.  It points out the fact that birds ARE dinosaurs, as well as going into how they achieved flight.  There is a gorgeous mechanical model of a bird suspended from above guests that provides a moving visual demonstration of the mechanics of dinosaur flight compared to that of pterosaurs and other flying animals.

Say it with me.  BIRDS. ARE. DINOSAURS.

There is of course so much more to see in this hall I just can't fit into one post.  Of course the best way to enjoy this exhibit is seeing it in person.  If you're ever in the DC area, make the Smithsonian your first priority!

References

Kaplan, Matt. “How to Eat a Triceratops.” Nature, 2012, doi:10.1038/nature.2012.11650.