China-Canada Dinosaur Project

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Not to be confused with The Dinosaur Project.
China-Canada Dinosaur Project
Date1986 - 1991
LocationCanada, China
ParticipantsCanadian Museum of Nature, IVPP, Royal Tyrrell Museum

The China-Canada Dinosaur Project (Chinese: 中国-加拿大恐龙计划; Pinyin: Zhōngguó-jiānádà kǒnglóng jìhuà; also known as Sino-Canadian Dinosaur Project) was a six-year series of palaeontological expeditions carried out by scientists from China and Canada.

History

Background

In the 19th and early-20th centuries, foreign and domestic researchers, including Roy Chapman Andrews and Yang Zhongjian, made many dinosaur-related discoveries in China and Mongolia, particularly in the Gobi Desert. This changed with the rise of the Chinese Communist Party and establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949, which saw Chinese academia reorganized and some fields, including anthropology, fall out of favour over their perceived ties to imperialism.[1] The Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP) in Beijing had many of its students reassigned onto other projects, such as the Down to the Countryside Movement,[2] but began to rebuild in the mid-1970s with the reestablishment of the institute's journal Vertebrata PalAsiatica and monumental discoveries like the Dashanpu bonebeds. Chinese palaeontologist Dong Zhiming became prominent in the organization following the death of Yang Zhongjian, his mentor and the "father of Chinese vertebrate paleontology."[3]

A period of economic and political reforms known as the "Opening of China" in the West led to scientific cooperation beginning between researchers in the country and abroad, drawing the attention of Canadian researchers. While establishing the Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology in 1982, Provincial Museum of Alberta palaeontologist Philip J. Currie suggested to communications consultant Brian Noble that the Gobi Desert was an ideal location for discovering dinosaur fossils. Noble received an $8,000 CAD grant from the Canada Council to begin a feasibility study into creating a cultural program that could facilitate joint research missions by Canadian and Chinese palaeontologists, and in 1984 founded the Ex Terra Foundation, an Edmonton-based non-profit. Noble would remain executive director of the foundation for the duration of its existence, later bringing on Kevin Taft to serve as CEO from 1986 to 1991.

Creation

The China-Canada Dinosaur Project (CCDP) was formally launched by the Ex Terra Foundation in 1985 to organize cooperative expeditions between the

Canadian Airlines International
provided transportation to China for Canadian researchers involved in the project.

The stated mission of the Dinosaur Project was to improve the understanding of dinosaurs from North America and Asia by conducting field work in the Canadian Arctic, the Gobi Desert, the Junggar Basin, and other places of interest over the course of the following eight years.[6] Philip J. Currie of the Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology, Dong Zhiming of the IVPP, and Dale Russell of the Canadian Museum of Nature served as project leads for the CCDP. Dong Zhiming and Sun Ailing of the IVPP visited Alberta in October–November 1985.[2][7] The project's official logo featured the English word "dinosaur" adjacent to its Chinese translation, "恐龙."[8]

Field work

Mamenchisaurus sinocanadorum

Field work related to the China-Canada Dinosaur Project began in May 1986 with an eight-day expedition to the Gobi Desert, the first to involve Western scientists since 1930.

braincase, was made by Tang Zhilu.[7][10]

The 1987 field season was extremely productive for the CCDP. Between August and October, the team uncovered fossils which would later serve as the holotypes for Mamenchisaurus sinocanadorum and Sinraptor dongi in China,[11] and began work on the Devil's Coulee fossil site discovered earlier in the summer by Wendy Sloboda in Canada.[12][13][14]

In 1988, Dale Russell discovered the

therizinosaurid Alxasaurus in the Gobi Desert. A team led by Phil Currie uncovered five juvenile Pinacosaurus and sixty-six protoceratopsians near the town of Bayan Mandahu, in addition to three dinosaur egg nests and an incomplete Alectrosaurus skeleton from the Iren Dabasu Formation.[4] Two years later, further work at the site would uncover seven more juvenile Pinacosaurus in the same quarry.[5]

The 1989 field season represented a turning point for the Dinosaur Project. Canadian researchers arrived in China and began work on dig sites in

ankylosaurid skull belonging to Edmontonia
.

With the conclusion of the 1991 field season, the China-Canada Dinosaur Project ended six years into their eight-year mandate. The CCDP produced an enormous amount of fossils, with over fifteen tonnes of fossil material collected in Canada and another sixty tonnes in China.[9][13]

Impact

Discoveries

Sinraptor dongi

New dinosaur

atoposaurid tentatively assigned to the genus Theriosuchus.[26] The CCDP also produced six distinct types of fossilized embryos believed to belong to the protoceratopsians Protoceratops and Bagaceratops.[27]

In addition to specimens recovered in the field, CCDP researchers also reanalyzed fossil material that had gone ignored following earlier expeditions. This includes a partially-complete

ankylosaur skull discovered in 1959 or 1960 by a multinational expedition made up of Chinese and Soviet researchers but which was placed into storage and never properly described. The skull was rediscovered while searching for fossils to feature in the Dinosaur Project's touring show; in 2001, it was made the holotype for a new genus of dinosaur: Gobisaurus.[28]

A survey conducted of the

age of the Late Cretaceous.[4]

Chinese response

The National Natural Science Foundation of China was founded in 1986 in conjunction with the China-Canada Dinosaur Project and reflected on the program's successes at an international palaeontology symposium which ran from 10 to 12 October 2001 to celebrate the foundation's fifteenth anniversary.[29] Even after the CCDP ended, some Canadian and Chinese palaeontologists continued to work together, resulting in the description of newly named dinosaurs like Gobisaurus and the reevaluation of known genera such as Shanshanosaurus.

After the CCPD concluded, Chinese institutions were quick to begin collaborating with other foreign bodies, resulting in three additional dinosaur projects being launched in the 1990s: the Sino-Japan Silk Road Dinosaur Expedition (1992-1993), the China-Japan-Mongolia Mongolian Plateau Expedition (1995-1999), and the Sino-Belgium Dinosaur Project (1995-2001).[30] Zhao Xijin and other participants in the CCDP continued to lead multinational expeditions to the Gobi Desert for years after the project ended.[31]

Dale Russell, one of the CCDP's leaders, departed from the Canadian Museum of Nature in the years after the Dinosaur Project concluded and was replaced by fellow Dinosaur Project researcher Wu Xiaochun.

Western response

At the conclusion of the 1990 field season, Ex Terra Foundation CEO Kevin Taft was quoted as saying, "This concludes one of the biggest hunts in history."[5] Peter Dodson, an American palaeontologist from the University of Pennsylvania, called the China-Canada Dinosaur Project "a very significant expedition."[9] Phillip J. Currie, one of the project's leads, attributed the ongoing collaboration between Canadian and Chinese populations to the relationships established during the CCDP and referred to the project as a high point in the careers of all involved.[29] Another project lead, Dale Russell, described working in the Gobi Desert as "like being on another planet. You have a wonderful feeling of time, of antiquity."[14]

In recognition of shared customs between the Indigenous peoples in Canada and China, the Indian Association of Alberta (IAA) organized a symbolic exchange of tipis from the Peigen Reserve (now Piikani 147) and yurts from Kazakhs living in Inner Mongolia. The tipis were presented by Piikani elder Joe Crowshoe, Sr. at a research site in China in September 1987 at a ceremony which, following the tipi raising, featured a series of cultural events including horse races and dancing.[32] A lack of funding resulted in the IAA and the Ex Terra Foundation initially cancelling the event before additional funding was secured.[33]

Less than five years after opening and after four years participating in the CCDP, the Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology received the title "Royal" from Queen Elizabeth II on 28 June 1990 near the start of the 1990 field season.[34]

The CCDP was the subject of the 1993 non-fiction book The Dinosaur Project by Wayne Grady.[35]

In 1996, the Royal Tyrrell Museum put on a special exhibit entitled "Kong-Long: Dinosaurs from the Gobi" which covered discoveries made by the CCDP and other researchers in the Gobi Desert.[36][37] To promote a 2013 Pacific National Exhibition attraction based on Genghis Khan, science journalist Don "Dino Don" Lessem travelled to China and Mongolia with the radio show Ideas and revisited the site where Mamenchisaurus sinocanadorum was discovered by the CCDP in 1987 as part of the program.[38]

Dinosaur Project World Tour

Preparation

One of the largest science exhibitions in history was organized by the Ex Terra Foundation to showcase dinosaur fossils from China and Canada, with a heavy focus on those discovered by the CCDP.[6] The show was alternatively known as "The Dinosaur Project," "The Greatest Show Unearthed" and "The Dinosaur Project World Tour," and was meant to raise funding for non-fiction books and documentaries that covered the research done by the CCDP.[5]

Work began on the touring show in 1986. A preliminary analysis conducted by the Harrison Price Company to determine the possible financial returns of the project was completed in 1989 and projected that the Dinosaur Project exhibition could draw 900 to 3,200 daily visitors in North American markets and 6,000 to 10,000 in Japan.[39] In preparation for the show, Ex Terra acquired archived fossil material from historic expeditions in China, leading to the rediscovery of previously-overlooked fossils such as a skull which was later made the holotype for Gobisaurus.[28] Some names used to identify fossils featured in the show, such as "Gobisaurus" and "Sinornithoides," had not been published in academic literature at the time of the show. As a result, these names were considered nomen nudum until they were described in official publications.

Tour

The show was originally scheduled to tour Canada, the United States, Europe, Australia, and Japan in 1990, but was delayed multiple times. Officials announced in October 1990 that Edmonton would host the premiere showing of the Dinosaur Project World Tour from 15 May to 5 July 1992 before moving on to Toronto; other locales which had been considered to host the show were Calgary, Ottawa, and Winnipeg. The government of Alberta contributed $1.94 million CAD towards the Edmonton portion of the tour.[40] Ultimately, the event was delayed again and went forward in 1993, premiering in Edmonton before travelling to Toronto. The show made its international debut in Osaka in 1994 and then appeared in Singapore and Vancouver in 1995 before moving on to Sydney for the summer of 1996–1997.[13][41][42] The show also appeared in Dallas, Milwaukee, and Winnipeg.[43] In 1997, the Ex Terra Foundation ended the tour and sold many of its assets to the Royal Tyrrell Museum.[44] Of the eleven cities suggested as venues by a 1989 consultation with the Harrison Price Company, only Dallas and Toronto ever hosted the show.

The opening of the Edmonton show was attended by Ralph Klein, Premier of Alberta; Donald H. Sparrow, Minister of Economic Development and Tourism; Dianne Mirosh, Minister of Innovation and Science; and Tom Musgrove, MLA for the Bow Valley electoral district. Mirosh and Musgrove were critical of the show, saying it lacked sufficient recognition for Dinosaur Provincial Park's contributions to palaeontology.[45] The show was also derided as "Bedrock meets Epcot" by critics as it toured Canada.[43] However, Deputy Premier Ken Kowalski repeatedly defended the show and deemed it a success. During an October 1993 meeting of the Alberta Legislative Assembly, Kowalski deemed dinosaurs one of Alberta's primary tourist attractions:

Most of the reviews that are done clearly indicate that people are fascinated by three things in the province of Alberta. They're fascinated by

RCMP with red serge coats, they're fascinated by the Rocky Mountains, and they're absolutely fascinated by dinosaurs. There's something international about a dinosaur, and of course Alberta is really the great home of the dinosaur.[46]

Features

Fossils featured prominently in the tour included samples from a

Brian Cooley. Many of the sculptures and other palaeoart used in the tour were acquired by the Royal Tyrrell Museum in 1997 and have been periodically reused by the museum and other touring exhibitions.[44]

The exhibition was set up in each locale under large tents and consisted of several areas. The Great Hall, or "Boneworks,"[39] featured not only dinosaur fossils but an interactive centre for children and several tables where guests could engage with CCDP researchers.[43] The final product also featured a recreation of one team's field camp.[9]

Formations visited by year

1986

1987

1988

1989

1990

1991

  • Judith River Formation, Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta

References

  1. ISBN 978-3-319-89983-1
    . Retrieved 10 August 2020.
  2. ^ a b Williams, Martin (27 July 2008). "Dinosaur hunter Dong Zhiming". drmartinwilliams.com. DocMartin. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
  3. ISBN 978-0-253-00930-2
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  4. ^
    doi:10.1139/e01-083
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  5. ^ a b c d e "APS Bulletin December 1990" (PDF). Alberta Palaeontological Society. 5 (4): 6–7. December 1990. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  6. ^ a b c Gray, Malcolm (29 September 1986). "On the dinosaurs' trail". Maclean's. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
  7. ^
    ISBN 0253345952
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  8. ^ "DINOSAUR THE GREATEST SHOW UNEARTHED - Trademark Details". trademarks.justia.com. Justia. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
  9. ^ a b c d e f "Giants of history". Maclean's. 14 June 1993. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
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  12. ^ "History of the Museum". devilscoulee.com. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  13. ^
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  14. ^ a b Francis, David R. (22 December 1986). "Dinosaur display: Asian bones and Canadian eggs". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  15. doi:10.1139/e93-179
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    doi:10.1139/e01-083
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  30. ^ Dong, Zhiming (2003). "Contributions of new dinosaur materials from China to dinosaurology" (PDF). Memoir of the Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum. 2: 123–131. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  31. ^ "Young dinos lived and died together". The Hindu. N. Ravi. The Hindu Group. 16 March 2008. Archived from the original on 2012-11-08. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  32. ^ Dibbelt, Dan (23 October 1987). "Crowshoes return from China, surprised by cultural similarities" (PDF). Windspeaker. Aboriginal Multi-Media Society. AMMSA. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  33. ^ "Tipi-yurt trade postponed" (PDF). Windspeaker. Aboriginal Multi-Media Society. AMMSA. 14 August 1987. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
  34. ^ Reid, Monty. "Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology". thecanadianencyclopedia.org. The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  35. ^ Sues, Hans-Dieter (25 November 2000). "'Dim' dinosaur idea no longer flies". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  36. ^ Treloar, Lee (2015). "The 2014 Canadian Chapter Award Recipients" (PDF). Far Afield - News for the Canadian Chapter. 6 (2): 38–39. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  37. ^ Coy, Clive. "Clive Coy". grad.biology.ualberta.ca. University of Alberta. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  38. ^ Thomas, Sandra (8 August 2013). "Genghis Khan invades PNE for new exhibit". Vancouver Courier. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  39. ^ a b Harrison Price Company (1 September 1989). "Market and Financial Analysis of the Dinosaur Project Exhibit Tour". Harrison "Buzz" Price Papers. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  40. ^ Ken Kowalski, Deputy Premier of Alberta (13 September 1993). "Economic Development and Tourism" (PDF). Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Legislative Assembly of Alberta. p. 192.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  41. ^ a b Sivasothi, N. (31 January 1996). "Dinosaur World Tour". The Mudskipper. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  42. ^ Godfrey, Stephen J. "STEPHEN J. GODFREY - PALEOPROFILES". vertpaleo.org. Society of Vertebrate Paleontology. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  43. ^ a b c d Voell, Paula. "Toronto's Earthly Delights". The Buffalo News. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  44. ^ a b Tanke, Darren H. (June 2011). "A History of Albertosaurus-related Popular Culture Events and Activities in Canada". Palaeontological Society of Alberta Bulletin. 26 (2): 18–19. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  45. ^ Tom Musgrove, Bow Valley MLA (14 May 1993). "Dinosaur World Tour" (PDF). Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Legislative Assembly of Alberta. p. 2784.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  46. ^ Ken Kowalski, Deputy Premier of Alberta (7 October 1993). "Dinosaur World Tour" (PDF). Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Legislative Assembly of Alberta. p. 780.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
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